Defying Her Billionaire Protector

“You need me to keep you safe...”

Marietta Vincenti is furious when her brother’s best friend—private security tycoon Nicolas César—takes her to his Mediterranean island to protect her from a stalker. Because Marietta isn’t weak. She survived the accident that cruelly stole the use of her legs and she’ll survive now.

Nico is battle-hardened and scarred, and Marietta crashes against the impenetrable shields that surround this powerful magnate, sensing a kindred spirit beneath. But Nico unearths a passion in her that threatens to expose hopes and dreams she’d buried long before...

Can she take a leap of faith with this man who could undo her completely?

“There are still things I’d like to do. Swimming in the ocean...” That little smile continued to play about Marietta’s mouth. “Naked.”

And just like that the steady, persistent hum of awareness in Nico’s blood intensified—until he felt as if a high-voltage current were arcing through his veins.

“Somewhere private, of course,” she said. “Your beach would be perfect!”

An image of Marietta naked in the clear water at the foot of his cliff flashed into his head. Heat and lust ignited in his belly—along with a stab of anger.

She did feel the pull of attraction, the crackle of awareness in the air between them. He could see it—the sudden hectic colour in her cheeks, the way her eyes glittered and held his in silent challenge.

She was provoking him.

Playing with fire.

He lunged up out of his chair, strode to her side and seized her chin. The dark, angry look he gave her should have intimidated. Instead her lips parted, soft and inviting, as though she were anticipating...a kiss.

Dieu.

He wanted to kiss her. Wanted to crush his mouth onto hers and let her feel the full unleashed power of the lust she was deliberately inciting. Wanted to punish her for dangling temptation in front of him like a treat he didn’t deserve.

He held himself rigid. Controlled.

“Be very careful what you wish for, Marietta.”

And then he released her and stalked into the house, back to the relative safety of his study—where he should have had the sense to stay in the first place.

Irresistible Mediterranean Tycoons

Impossibly arrogant, overwhelmingly sexy... Meet the men you can’t say no to!

Gorgeous, powerful and darkly brooding, Leo Vincenti and Nicolas César have dominated their fields–not only in their home countries of Italy and France, but across the globe.

Now it’s time for them to turn their unwavering focus on a different challenge: conquering two defiantly delectable heroines of their own!

But have these billionaires bitten off more than they can chew?

Find out in:

Surrendering to the Vengeful Italian

Defying Her Billionaire Protector

Available now!

Defying Her Billionaire Protector

Angela Bissell

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ANGELA BISSELL lives with her husband and one crazy Ragdoll cat in the vibrant harbourside city of Wellington, New Zealand. In her twenties, with a wad of savings and a few meagre possessions, she took off for Europe, backpacking through Egypt, Israel, Turkey and the Greek islands before finding her way to London, where she settled and worked in a glamorous hotel for several years. Clearly the perfect grounding for her love of Mills & Boon Modern Romance! Visit her at angelabissell.com.

Books by Angela Bissell

Mills & Boon Modern Romance

Irresistible Mediterranean Tycoons

Surrendering to the Vengeful Italian

Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.

For my friend Lisa, a brave, beautiful and inspiring woman.

Thank you for your valuable insights—and for letting me have a spin in your wheels.

Here’s to many more Princess Days in the sun!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Irresistible Mediterranean Tycoons

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

‘MAMMA MIA! HERE they come.’

Marietta’s hands stilled over the keys of her computer, her assistant’s warning—low-voiced yet laced with an unmistakable thread of anticipation—shattering her train of thought like crystal under a hammer. She looked up in time to see the courier pushing open the glass doors of the gallery she managed in the heart of Rome’s affluent Parioli district. In his arms he cradled a huge, hand-tied bouquet of roses.

‘Bellissimo.’ Lina moved from the storeroom doorway and stood by Marietta’s desk at the rear of the gallery. ‘They are the best yet!’

Marietta would have liked to disagree with that assessment, but Lina was right. The long-stemmed roses were beautiful, each head—at least two dozen of them—exquisite, the velvety petals a vivid red that in the whiteness of the gallery made Marietta think, perversely, of blood.

Her thoughts snapped to the elegant spray of white orchids that had been delivered earlier in the week—surprisingly, because until then the flowers had always arrived on a Friday. Pretty and delicate, the orchids, like the roses, had been lovely to look at, but their sweet, cloying scent had lingered in her nostrils and left her feeling faintly ill long after she had disposed of them.