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192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published July 12, 2011
‘THE Valentino king of rose-giving is on the loose again,’ Heather Gale remarked,
‘How long did this love interest last?’ she asked, knowing Heather enjoyed keeping tabs on his affairs. Jordan Powell was the rose farm’s biggest spender on the private-client list.
‘Stands to reason. He always starts off with the double chocolate fudge when he first sends roses to a new woman. Clearly into seduction at that point.’
‘Has he ever stuck with any woman very long?’ ‘According to my records, six months has been the top limit so far, and that was only once. The usual is two to four months.’
Her parents had never divorced but had lived separate lives, with Ivy being brought up by her father on the farm, while her mother indulged her need for cultural activities in the city.
Margaret cut in with a sniff of disgust at his obvious gullibility. ‘I don’t mind you having a string of affairs. At least that’s more honest than marrying and cheating. You can parade as many women as you like through this house, but I won’t be treated with disrespect.’
There were always beautiful women vying for his attention and he enjoyed having a taste of them, but none of them stayed as constantly delectable as Margaret’s meals.
‘Why not pursue it, at least for this evening?’ he pressed persuasively.
He’d just acted like a randy teenage boy who couldn’t wait to get his rocks off—a rampant bull, incapable of stopping. No sophistication. No finesse.
And worse! No thought of protection!
It all happened so fast, the jolt when he plunged into her, the savage joy of it, the relief, the release of all nerve-tearing tension as her inner muscles convulsed and creamed around the marvellously deep penetration.
‘I can’t believe I did that,’ he muttered, shock tumbling into words he didn’t mean to speak aloud. He was still out of control. ‘I can’t, either.’
Sex had never been like that for her … so compellingly reckless, so explosive, so erotically euphoric.
A billionaire would be a great catch for a farm girl.
Except the billionaire had no intention of being caught.
‘That was enough, Heather. You know he’s a playboy. I left while he was still asleep and ran into his housekeeper on my way out. If you’d seen the way she looked at me …’ ‘Another notch on his bedpost?’
He was hooked. But that didn’t mean he was caught.
Ivy gritted her teeth and revealed the truth. ‘You order them from me, Jordan. It’s my rose farm you deal with over the Internet. From this moment on, I’m writing you off as a client. When it’s over with me and you find someone else, find yourself another rose source. Okay?’
She simply couldn’t shake the fatalistic feeling that this harmony with Jordan was too good to last.
She loved him, loved everything about him. She lived for the next time they’d be together.
She had spoken the truth. All the weekends with Ivy had been a getaway from his normal life. It had made them special. She had made them special.
He hadn’t wanted anything she might not like to intrude on what they had together.
He’d deliberately spun that strategy out, using the cruise to keep it going, because he had expected their relationship to hit a snag somewhere along the line and come to an end. It was a perfectly rational expectation. He had actually anticipated his real life becoming one of the snags, not the omission of it.
‘I simply wanted you to be happy with me, Ivy,’ he explained.
‘Happy with where we were and what we were doing.’
‘Happy to be in your bed,’ she retorted fiercely, dashing the tears from her eyes, her chest heaving as she scooped in a deep breath and faced him with what she believed.
‘It’s just sex with you, isn’t it, Jordan? You’re not looking for a life partner. You certainly don’t see me as one. So why don’t you simply admit that and let me pass because we are not going anywhere any more.’
A life partner … No, he hadn’t been looking for one, had been determined on not going down the marital road with all its pitfalls to suck a man down.