All's Fair in Lust & War
What happens in Vegas… is even hotter in New York!After a fling in Vegas that was so wild even she can’t believe it happened, copywriter Becky has finally got her mojo back. Time to get back to New York and win that promotion!But things veer catastrophically off course when her new co-worker Mark saunters in… and he’s much too familiar. Worse… Mark and Becky will be competing for the promotion – and he’s just as good in the boardroom as he was in bed! So what’s a girl to do when Mr One-Night becomes Mr One-Desk-Away? Stand her ground, of course – if there’s going to be a war, she’s going to make sure she enjoys it!
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âLetâs get one thing clear,â she said. âWhat happened was supposed to stay in Vegas. It will never happen again.â
âNever, huh? Thatâs a long time.â
âIâm serious. Iâve worked too hard to get where I am to let some man screw up my life.â
He pulled her into his arms and tilted her face up to his.
âI think you know Iâm not just âsome man,ââ he said as he brushed his lips across hers. âIâm magic.â
With that, he deepened the kiss. Their tongues darted and danced and he pulled her closer, wanting more.
He was reaching for the buttons on her blouse when the sharp whistle that signalled the arrival of a text message on his phone blared.
Becky jumped back, staring at him with undisguised horror.
âIâm not sure if youâre magic,â she whispered. âBut I am beginning to think you might be the devil.â
âIâve been called worse by my competition,â he said. âBut usually not until after I beat them.â
Iâve worked in the world of advertising for far longer than is healthy. Itâs a wild and woolly world, filled with beautiful people, strong personalities, and lots and lots of drama.
It is, in other words, the perfect place to set a romance novel.
For a really long time I was too busy living in it to find time to write about it. When inspiration finally did strike it was National Novel-Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo, as those of us insane enough to participate like to call it), and I had thirty days to pound out a fifty-thousand-word novel.
For twenty of those days the words flew through my fingers and on to my computer screen faster than I could speak them. Unfortunately on day twenty-one I discovered I was telling the wrong story. The words stopped, the story stalled, and Mark and Becky took up residence in my head.
They stayed there for almost four years. And, let me tell you, they were obnoxious house guestsâalways whispering in my ear, trying to get me to write the right story and set them free.
I finally did it last fall, during the So You Think You Can Write contest. I didnât win, but Mark and Becky caught the right editorâs attention. And now, less than five months later, Iâm writing you this letter.
Itâs been the adventure of a lifetime. A dream come true. And one heck of a reliefâMark and Becky have finally vacated my head.
If you enjoy this story one-tenth as much as I enjoyed writing it youâre in for a treat. Theyâre delightful people, living in a delightfully insane world.
Thanks for reading!
Amber
AMBER PAGE has been writing stories sinceâwell, since she could write, and still counts the pinning of her âBubble Peopleâ tale to the classroom bulletin board in the third grade as one of her happiest childhood memories.
Sheâs also an avid reader, and has been addicted to romances since she first discovered them on the dusty shelves of her favourite library as a young teen. The nerdy little bookworm she was is still pinching herself to make sure that this whole âgetting published by Mills & Boon>®â thing is real.
When not penning Happily-Ever-Afters, Amber works as an advertising writer in the heart of Indiana, where she lives with the love of her life, their daughter, and a menagerie of furry animals. She also blogs, gardens, and sometimes even manages to sneak in a few hours of sleep.
Donât ask her how she does it all. Sheâs too tired to remember.
ALLâS FAIR IN LUST & WAR is Amber Pageâs debut book for Mills & Boon>® Modern Tempted⢠and is also available in ebook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk
To my husband, my biggest cheerleader and occasional butt-kicker. Thank you for refusing to let me give up.
To Allison, Amanda, Christina, Meagan, Rhonda and Tanya, whose speed-reading skills and smart critiques helped make this book what it is.
And to everyone else who cheered me along the way (you know who you are).
Contents
Mark awoke slowly, his mouth fuzzy and his limbs strangely heavy. He rolled over, expecting to see...who? Certainly not the empty pillow that greeted him.
Head spinning slightly, he lifted himself up on his elbow to look around the room. He was in his hotel room, right? Seeing his laptop on the desk, he decided it was probably safe to assume he was still in Vegas and hadnât hopped on a plane to Bangladesh or something.
He kept his gaze moving, noting two wine glasses, a knocked-over bottle of red wineâdamn, he hoped they didnât charge him for that stain on the carpetâand there, by the heavy hotel room door, a pair of cheetah-print stilettos.
Suddenly memory came rushing back.
Walking down to the AdWorld closing party. Seeing the pretty blonde in the tight red dress giggling into her phone. Feeling compelled to talk to her. And thenâwham! Being hit in the gut by a lightning bolt of lust when she turned to grin up at him with her sparkling green eyes.
