A note from the editorâ¦
Well, this is itâthe last month of Harlequin Temptation. Weâve had a good run, but everybody knows that all good things have to end sometime. And you have to admit, Temptation is very, very goodâ¦.
When we celebrated our twentieth anniversary last year, we personified the series as a twenty-year-old woman. She was young, legal (well, almost) and old enough to get into trouble. Well, now that sheâs twenty-one and officially legal, sheâs leaving home. And sheâs going to be missed.
Iâd like to take this opportunity to thank the countless number of authors who have given me, and other Harlequin Temptation editors past and present, so many hours of enjoyable reading. They made working at Harlequin an absolute pleasure.
Iâd also like to thank our loyal readers for all their support over the past twenty-one years. Never forgetâyou are the reason we all do what we do. (Check out the back autograph section if you donât believe me.)
But this doesnât have to be the endâ¦.
Next month Harlequin Blaze increases to six books, and will be bringing the best of Harlequin Temptation along with it. Look for more books in THE WRONG BED, 24 HOURS and THE MIGHTY QUINNS miniseries. And donât miss Blazing new stories by your favorite Temptation authors. Drop in at tryblaze.com for details.
Itâs going to be a lot of fun. I hope you can join us.
Brenda Chin
Associate Senior Editor
Temptation/Blaze
Cat had decided to seduce Dylan about one minute after sheâd learned he was a drifter
Soon. Immediately. Tonight.
Actually, sheâd been toying with the idea from the moment sheâd met Dylanâs stare across the crowded bar. Something had happenedâsomething electrifying and emotional and completely unexpected. She wasnât sure why, but she hadnât been able to shake the feeling that this thing building between them was destined to happen. In that moment it had risen above the sexual want theyâd been dancing around since Friday night and had suddenly becomeâ¦more.
Thank heaven she hadnât told anybody else about her new plans for herself and her life, because theyâd think her crazy. The truth about Dylanâs situation might have made her run screaming in the opposite direction if sheâd already succeeded in her transformation from the reckless Cat to the mature responsible one.
Luckily, that hadnât happened yet. Besides, a girl could take on only so much at once, right? Saying goodbye to the family bar, Temptation, was quite enough all by itself, without throwing virtual celibacy into the mix.
So for now, Cat Sheehan was going to enjoy the hell out of Temptationâ¦and temptation. With a man who epitomized the word.
Dear Reader,
I hate saying goodbye. Whether itâs hugging a loved one I seldom see after an all-too-brief visit or packing up my Christmas decorations wondering how the holidays could be over alreadyâor even finishing a book populated by people Iâve come to care aboutâI find myself getting down with every farewell.
This one is especially tough. I love Harlequin Temptation, and knowing I wonât be seeing those sassy red-covered books on the store shelves every month makes me very sad.
As a reader, I stumbled onto Harlequin Temptation back in the early nineties and read them avidly. So selling my very first book to my favorite line was a dream come true. I never imagined that a short six years later Iâd be writing the last Temptation novel to be published in North America.
This book was truly a work of love. I and the other authors in this last month wanted to create a suitable tribute to the line that has sparked the careers of so many popular romance writers of todayâand the line that has forged such a tight bond of friendship between its authors. So as you read the books, you might stumble across some familiar namesâ¦and yes, there are definitely some inside jokes. After all, Harlequin Temptation has always been about having fun and being just a little bit naughty.
I sincerely hope Her Last Temptation is worthy of standing beside all the marvelous Temptation stories that preceded it. And on behalf of all the Temptresses, thank you very much for your support and your enthusiasm. Itâs been a true pleasure entertaining you.
Best wishes always,
Leslie Kelly
To the Temptresses of the past who inspired me.
And to the Temptresses of today who have given me some of the greatest friendships of my life.
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
Autographs
IF SOMEBODY STARTED singing that Little Orphan Annie song about the sun coming out tomorrow, Cat Sheehan was gonna hurl. Or run screaming into the street, pulling her hair out and kicking every road construction worker she came across right where it counted. Or maybe just wail to the sky, let the tears sheâd never let drip from her eyes fall where they may, and face what she did not want to face.
Her uncertain future. Worseâ¦the negation of her past.