Decadent
All she wants is a taste…But can she resist wanting more? Alessandra Baroni has had her fill of American men. So arrogant. Like handsome-as-the-devil Dante Donato, who's determined to buy back the winery his family once owned—even if it means playing deliciously dirty! But Dante's met his match in Alessandra. Now the stakes are getting wicked…and with this much heat even the coldest of hearts is in danger of falling hard.
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All she wants is a taste…
But can she resist wanting more?
Alessandra Baroni has had her fill of American men. So arrogant. Like handsome-as-the-devil Dante Donato, who’s determined to buy back the winery his family once owned—even if it means playing deliciously dirty! But Dante has met his match in Alessandra. Now the stakes are getting wicked…and with this much heat even the coldest of hearts is in danger of falling hard.
ALEXX ANDRIA is a USA TODAY bestselling romance author who writes about bad boys with a tough exterior but a soft, warm heart deep down. She loves sweet but dirty romance with lots of witty banter and, of course, sizzling scenes in the bedroom (or kitchen…or wherever they happen to end up) and a guaranteed HEA.
ISBN: 978-1-474-08688-2
DECADENT
© 2019 Kimberly Sheetz
Published in Great Britain 2019
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
My deepest gratitude and appreciation goes out to Pat and Lori Dodd, for their gracious help (and lovely hosting of our Italian dinner) in building the foundation behind my fictitious winery, Castello di Baroni. Your help and expertise in both the wine industry and the Italian way of life was invaluable in crafting this book. You provided a treasure trove of information that was tactile, tasty and educational that I will never forget.
Any mistakes are my own, and no reflection of the generous information shared.
Thank you so much!
Contents
“Inside my soul a treasure is buried.
The key is mine and only mine.
How right you are, you drunken monster!
I know: the truth is in the wine.”
(“The Unknown Lady”)
—Alexander Blok
Dante
“YOU CAME A long way for nothing. As I told your father previously, Castello di Baroni isn’t for sale, nor will it ever be.” Alessandra Baroni, sole living heir to the centuries-old Tuscan winery, wasn’t pleased. But out of courtesy, she sat stiffly through my requested meeting.
“In my experience, everything and everyone has a price,” I returned, undeterred. I wouldn’t back down. I was leaving Italy with the deed to this historic winery, one way or another.
The green-eyed beauty narrowed her gaze. “Your presumption that my position might change with a face-to-face was a waste of both our time. I am a busy woman, Mr. Donato. I do not have the luxury of idle conversation.”
I took my time before saying, “For a winery steeped in tradition and generational heritage… I am surprised a woman is at the head of the business table.”
Her eyes flashed but whatever temper flared, she kept reined in. A slow smile followed, which seemed far more dangerous. “Careful, Mr. Donato…one might accuse you of being a misogynist.”
He’d been called worse.
Her Italian accent flavored her impeccable English, giving an otherwise sharp rebuke an exotic flair.
