Luc reached for her the momentthey were seated in the relativeprivacy of the car.
His fingers were in her hair, expertly seeking and removing pins as his lips slanted over hers and demanded she open for him. He groaned when she did, the raw and needy groan of a man pushed to his limits, and his tongue began a fiercely sensual invasion, stripping her of everything but the need to respond. Gabrielle wrenched her lips from his and pushed him away with an unsteady hand.
âDrive,â she ordered raggedly.
âWhere?â
âAnywhere.â Although⦠âMaybe not Caverness.â Her courage did not extend to flaunting her intimacy with Luc in her motherâs faceânot because of what she might think of her, but because Gabrielle feared that somehow, heaven only knew how, she would turn her feelings for Luc into something ugly. âMy room.â
âCaverness is my home, Gabrielle.â His voice was as ragged and strained as hers. âSooner or later I will want you there.â But he drove towards the old mill, and said, as they exited the car and strode towards the front door, âI aim to stay the night.â
Accidentally educated in the sciences, Kelly Hunter has always had a weakness for fairytales, fantasy worlds, and losing herself in a good book. Husband⦠yes. Childrenâ¦two boys. Cooking and cleaningâ¦sigh. Sportsâ¦no, not reallyâin spite of the best efforts of her family. Gardeningâ¦yes. Roses, of course. Kelly was born in Australia and has travelled extensively. Although she enjoys living and working in different parts of the world, she still calls Australia home. Visit Kelly online at www.kellyhunter.net
Kellyâs novel SLEEPING PARTNER was a 2008 finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA>® award, in the Best Contemporary Series Romance category!
Look out for
REVEALED: A PRINCE AND A PREGNANCY
the second book in Kellyâs deliciously sexy duet
Hot Bed of Scandal
Available later this year!
Dear Reader
I found the setting for this story on my way from the Netherlands to France via the back roads. The history of this part of Europe captivated me: the castles and the caves, the churches and the cafés⦠My stepsisters, born and raised in this part of the world, delighted in bringing the cultural details alive for me. I had my setting. I had my characters. I had a smart, sophisticated tale of true love all lined up.
I never dreamed that when I returned to Australia and finally began to write out would pour a simple coming home story. Oh, I love coming home storiesâdonât get me wrong. Barbara Samuelâs superbly written NoPlace Like Home saw to that. But where was my smart, sophisticated tale, rich in all those cultural details Iâd collected? Could it really be that the most joyous moment of a fascinating trip came at the very end, when I walked through the doorway of my home and into the arms of my family?
Yes. Yes, it could.
Write what you know. Iâve heard that before. Not always practical when writing about heiresses and princes and billionaire tycoons. Not always practical when your childhood was wonderfully ordinary and life is better than fine. Sometimes what you know simply isnât enough, and you have to imagine the rest. I imagined plenty when it came to writing this story, but there was one truth I clung toâone vivid and powerful emotion that made this story real for me. I wanted my heroine to find her way home.
Happy reading!
Kelly Hunter
To Maytoners.
And Puppies.
CHAPTER ONE
âBREATHE IN, breathe out,â muttered Gabrielle Alexander as she stood and stared at the daunting wooden door that led to the servantsâ quarters of Chateau des Caverness. She knew this door, knew the feel of it beneath her palm and the haughty hollow sound the brass knocker made when it connected with the wood. Gabrielle had been sixteen when sheâd last walked through this door; sixteen and shattered at the thought of leaving everything she knew and loved behind. Such turbulent times, thought Gabrielle with a wry smile for the girl sheâd once been. How sheâd pleaded with her mother to be allowed to stay; Lord, how sheâd begged and argued and finally wept. But the people sheâd loved had not loved her. Josien Alexander had shipped her daughter off to Australia with a heart as hard and as cold as an arctic iceberg.
All because of a kiss.
âIt wasnât even a good kiss,â muttered Gabrielle as she stared at the door and dug deep for the courage to put her hand to the knocker and make it do its thing. Seven years had passed; Gabrielle knew a lot more about kissing these days. She knew the feel of hot sweet kisses on her lips. Ragged greedy kisses on her skin. âIt was a very ordinary kiss.â
Liar, said a little inner voice that would not remain silent.
âA practice kiss. A practically meaningless kiss.â
Big fat liar.
âSo shoot me,â she murmured to that little voice inside her. âYou remember it your way and Iâll remember it mine.â She grasped the knocker and lifted it. âBetter still, letâs not remember it at all.â