âFalcon.â
Annie could hear the relief in her own voice as she half ran and half stumbled across the room, all but flinging herself into Falconâs arms, but she simply didnât care.
âTheyâre trying to take him from me. Theyâre trying to say that Iâm a bad mother.â
âThe child is a Leopardi,â she could hear the old Prince insisting. âHis place is here withââ
âWith me.â Falcon stopped his father in mid-rant. âAnd that is exactly where Oliver will be from now on. With me and with his mother, since she has agreed to be my wife. I shall be formally adopting him as my son.â
Falconâs arm was round her, supporting her, tightening in warning as she made a small, shocked sound of protest.
âAnd I should warn you that there is no law in this land or any other that will remove from me the right to be the guardian of my stepson, a child of my own blood, and the protector of both him and his mother.â
THE LEOPARDI BROTHERS
Sicilian by nameâ¦Scandalous, scorching and seductive by nature!
Three darkly handsome Leopardi men believe it is their duty to hunt down their missing heirâas Sicilians, as sons, as brothers!
Falcon has found the child, and he has found its motherâ¦but he has also discovered the dark secrets of his late half-brother.
âThere is something I have to say to you,âFalcon told Annie. âYour right to your sexuality hasbeen stolen from you by a member of my sex, and thedamage that has been done has been compounded by amember of my family. As a Leopardi, and the eldest ofmy brothers, I have a duty to make recompense to youand to restore to you what has been taken away. Thatis the law of the Leopardi family,and the code by which we live.â
In November look out for Penny Jordanâs new Modern⢠Romance just in time for Christmas!
Penny Jordan has been writing for more than twenty years and has an outstanding record: over 170 novels published, including the phenomenally successful A PERFECT FAMILY, TO LOVE, HONOUR AND BETRAY, THE PERFECT SINNER and POWER PLAY, which hit the Sunday Times and New YorkTimes bestseller lists. Penny Jordan was born in Preston, Lancashire, and now lives in rural Cheshire.
Recent titles by the same author:
THE SICILIAN BOSSâS MISTRESS (The Leopardi Brothers) CAPTIVE AT THE SICILIAN BILLIONAIREâS COMMAND (The Leopardi Brothers) TAKEN BY THE SHEIKH THE SHEIKHâS BLACKMAILED MISTRESS VIRGIN FOR THE BILLIONAIREâS TAKING
FALCON LEOPARDI grimaced in distaste. This was supposed to be a memorial gathering to mark what would have been the birthday of his late half-brother Antonio. It was their fatherâs idea, and one that strictly speaking Falcon did not approve ofâespecially not an excuse to get drunk. But then the majority of Antonioâs so-called friends obviously shared his late half-brotherâs love of over-indulgence just as they had shared his love of a louche lifestyle.
One of them was breathing alcoholic fumes over Falcon now, as he leaned drunkenly towards him confidingly and spoke to him.
âDid Tonio ever tell you about that woman whose drink he spiked in Cannes last year? He swore to us all that heâd get his revenge on her for turning him down, and he did that, all right. Last I heard she was trying to claim that heâd fathered the brat she was carrying.â
Falcon, who had been about to move away in disgusted irritation, turned back to look at the unpleasant specimen of manhood now reeling unsteadily in front of him.
âI seem to remember him mentioning something or other about the situation,â he lied. âBut why donât you refresh my memory?â
The drunk was more than happy to oblige.
âWeâd seen her at Nikki Beach. She wasnât joining in the fun like the other girls there, even though she was with one of the film outfits. Always turned up in a blouse and skirt, looking like a schoolteacher. Antonio soaked the shirt with champagne for a joke, trying to get her to lighten up, but she wasnât having any of it. Really got his back up, she didâthe way she treated him. Rejecting him like she was something special. He told us all he was going to have his revenge on her, and he certainly did that. He found out where she was staying, then he bribed one of the waiters to slip something into her drink. Knocked her out flat. It took three of us to get her back to her room. Of course Antonio swore us to secrecy, threatened us with a whole lot of bad stuff if what heâd done ever got out. âCourse, me telling you now is different, âcos heâs dead and youâre his brother.â He hiccupped and then belched, before continuing. âTonio made us keep guard outside. He told us afterwards that she was so tight she must have been a virgin.â
The manâs expression began to alter and his manner changed from one of swaggering confidence to something far more sheepish as Falconâs cold silence penetrated his drink-befuddled state, bringing home to him the true shameful reality of the horrific tale he was relating. âNot that Tonio got away with it,â he rushed to reassure Falcon. âHe told me that her brother came after him, saying that heâd got her pregnant. But that there was no way he was going to do as she wanted and provide for the kid she was carrying.â