THE SECRETS OF XANOS
Two brothers alike in charisma and power; separated at birth and seeking revenge â¦
Nicoâthe good twin
Brought up to be a good Greek boy,
heâs always felt like an outsider. Heâs turned his back on his parentsâ fortune to become one of Xanosâ most powerful exports.
Nothing will stand in the way of him discovering
the truthâuntil he stumbles upon a virgin bride ⦠an encounter that has shameful consequences â¦
Zanderâthe forgotten twin
He took his chances on the streets rather than
spend another moment under his cruel fatherâs roof. Heâs pulled himself up by the bootstraps and is unrivalled in businessâand the bedroom!
He wants the best people around him, and
Charlotte is the best PA! But she works for his rival ⦠unless he can tempt her over to the dark side â¦
Look out for Zanderâs story
AN INDECENT PROPOSITION Coming soon!
âI will not be your long-time lover. I am no oneâs escape â¦â He saw her eyes shutter. âBut I will be with you tonight.â
âJust tonight?â She wanted more than that.
âOnly tonight â¦â He looked at her, his eyes roaming the body he had been thinking about for hours now. A virgin bride, who would stay that way if not for him. âYou come to my bed. I will show you all you miss out on if you choose to live this lie â¦â
âI have no choice.â
âAlways we have choices,â Nico said, and this was hisâto choose not to examine his feelings tonight. His mind was black and here was light. The streets of Xanos had unsettled him, stirred emotions that he sorely wanted gone. He wanted diversion and here it had been delivered to himâin the shape of a tear-streaked, beautiful virgin.
CAROL MARINELLI recently filled in a form where she was asked for her job title and was thrilled, after all these years, to be able to put down her answer as âwriterâ.
Then it asked what Carol did for relaxation and, after chewing her pen for a moment, Carol put down the truthââwritingâ. The third question asked, âWhat are your hobbies?â Well, not wanting to look obsessed or, worse still, boring, she crossed the fingers on her free hand and answered âswimming and tennisâ. But, given that the chlorine in the pool does terrible things to her highlights, and the closest sheâs got to a tennis racket in the last couple of years is watching the Australian Open, Iâm sure you can guess the real answer!
Recent titles by the same author:
HEART OF THE DESERT
THE DEVIL WEARS KOLOVSKY
Carol also writes for Mills & Boon>® Medical>⢠Romance!
Did you know these are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk
âTONIGHT they have their own rooms,â Alexandros said. âSeparate rooms.â
âWhat harm â¦?â Roula started and then stoppedâshe had learnt not to question Alexandrosâs decisions, but on this one she had to stand up to him. It would be cruel to separate the babies, so she tried another route. âThey will wake you with their tears.â
âLet them cryâthat is the way they will learn that at night you are with me.â He ran a hand between her thighs, told her that tonight there would be no excuses, not that he listened when she made them.
Her only relief was the slam of the door when he left to spend the day sitting outside the taverna, playing cards and drinking, but Roulaâs relief lasted just a moment before the countdown startedâdreading his return.
Seventeen and the mother of twins, they were her only shining light. More beautiful than any other babies, she could watch them sleep for hours, the little snubs of their noses, pushed up by their fingers as they sucked on their thumbs, eyelashes so long that they met the curve of their cheeks. Sometimes one would open his eyes to look at the other. Huge black eyes would gaze at his brother, soothed by what he saw, and then close again.
Mirror image twins, the midwife had told Roula when sheâd delivered them. Identical, but opposite, one right handed the other left, their soft baby hair swirled to the right on Nico, to the left on little Alexandros.
At almost a year, still they shared a cot, screaming if she tried to separate them. Even if their cribs were pushed together, their protests would not abate. Now tonight he would force them into separate rooms.
And she would hear their screams all night as her husband used her bodyâand Roula could not take it any more.
Would not.
Her father would surely help if he knew. Alexandros did not like her to go out, so she had seen her father only a couple of times since her marriageâhe had wanted her to marry, the little money he got for his paintings could not support them both. He had been a little eccentric since her motherâs death; he preferred to be alone, but he would surely not want this life for his daughter and grandsons.
âNow,â she told herself, âYou must do it now.â She had maybe five or six hours before Alexandros would return. She ran down the hallway, pulled out a case and filled it with the few clothes she had for her babies, and then she ran into the kitchen to a jar she had hidden, filled with money she had been secretly hoarding for months now.