âKiss me,â Ryan said.
Emmaâs heart pounded hard. âBad idea.â
He had the audacity to smile at her. She felt his gaze on her like a brand. It slid over her breasts and stomach, and her insides tightened with an unwanted but impossible-to-ignore desire.
âSee, I knew you knew words other than no, Em.â
âI need to get out of here.â But she didnât move. They were alone in the library of Xavier Franklinâs mansion with a party going on outside the heavy closed doors. She could hear the voices, the laughter, the band playing some classical number.
âSo, youâre still maintaining that you hate me,â Ryan said.
She nodded. âI canât stand you.â
âBut you want me.â
Unfortunately, yes. Damn it.
It was Emma who closed the distance between them. Her mind was foggy, but her body knew what it wanted. It wanted Ryan. It had wanted Ryan since almost the first moment sheâd met him. And the lust potion, just a small splash of it, had heightened that need inside of her to an uncontrollable level.
Just because it was inconvenient didnât mean it wasnât true.
Dear Reader,
I think some things are Inevitable.
When Emma and Ryanâboth agents for the Paranormal Investigation and Recovery Agencyâmet, it was difficult for them to keep their hands off each other. But between maintaining their self-control and holding on to a friendship they found too valuable to risk destroying with a fling, things just didnât work out. As they meet again after six months apart, the sparks flyâ¦but they still have those pesky walls getting in the way of their happiness.
Thatâs why Iâm here! (evil laugh) I like to give my reluctant characters a little push in the right direction. For Emma and Ryan, I chose a lust potion. Instead of waiting for things to happen naturally, they fall into each otherâs armsâ¦and bed!
Between misunderstandings, magic potions, heartbroken ghosts, stolen goods and masquerade parties, I think they just might find their way toward their very sexyâand inevitableâhappily ever after!
I hope you enjoy Emma and Ryanâs story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please visit my website anytime at www.michellerowen.com. I love hearing from readers!
Happy reading!
Michelle Rowen
National bestselling author Michelle Rowen writes all sorts of paranormal romanceâlight and dark, sexy and sweet, and has won an RT Book Reviews Reviewersâ Choice Award and a Holt Medallion for her work. A voracious but picky reader, TV viewer and movie watcher, she prefers all her entertainment to include a happily ever afterâ¦or else! Michelle lives in Southern Ontario. Inevitable is her third foray into the marvelously sexy fictional world that is Harlequin Blaze. Please visit her online at www.michellerowen.com.
For Eve, Jackie, Jill, Michele, Charlene, and Megan.
Write on, ladies!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
âIâD BET YOUâVE NEVER SEEN one this big before, have you?â
Emma Black forced a smile to her face. âWow. Itâs really big.â
âThank you, my dear.â Eighty-year-old billionaire Xavier Franklin gently placed the eighteen-inch-tall antique perfume bottle on a shelf along with other examples of his priceless glassware collection. The brightly lit glass and chrome showroom felt more like something out of a museum than one that would be found in a private home. âBut enough about my hobbies, Iâve been monopolizing your time for far too long. You likely want to get back to the party, donât you?â
No. What Emma really wanted was to get her hands on the potion bottle sheâd been sent here, to New York City, to retrieve. When sheâd arrived at Franklinâs twelvethousand-square-foot mansion on Central Park West, it had seemed like such a simple assignment.
That had been two hours ago.
Sheâd arrived to find one of Franklinâs infamous masquerade parties going on. Sheâd read about them beforeâglitzy events put on by a man who still thought of himself as one of the cityâs most eligible bachelors. With a lot of time on his hands and a ton of money at his disposal, his parties had become the place for the most beautiful and important people in the Manhattan social scene to meet up, drink fountains of champagne, andâ Well, whatever happened, happened.
And here she was, being given the grand tour by the eighty-year-old bachelor himself. She supposed she should feel honored. There werenât a lot of glitzy parties in Mystic Ridge, the town where she lived, unless you counted going for a few drinks at the local bar.
Since Emma had arrived sans costume, sheâd been handed a mask at the door. The billionaire also wore a mask, a green one with a large feather.
âActually, Mr. Franklinââ she said, wanting to move things along.
âPlease, my dear. Call me Xavier.â
It was obvious heâd had a few too many glasses of champagne. He grinned at her like a tipsy teenager, the deep wrinkles fanning out around his eyes.