âI told you, I donât have the cash. So what do you want?â
That was a loaded question if Linc had ever heard one.
âI want you,â he said slowly and watched as Jadeâs eyes grew bigger, âfor one week.â
âWhat?â she finally whispered. âAre you out of your everlasting mind?â
âIâm offering you a way out. Spend the week with me, or Iâll call the police.â Even to his ears the ultimatum sounded offensive. Even so, he waited with baited breath for her answer. He shouldâve stopped, kept a reasonable distance from her but he simply couldnât. The tension crackled between them as he lowered his head until his lips were inches from her ear. âI want you for six nights in my bed and seven days at my beck and call.â His tongue scraped her earlobeâ¦.
Jade melted. Heaven help her she was still attracted to this monster. And now she owed him money. She was at his mercy.
was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, where she currently resides with her husband and three children. An active imagination and a love for reading encouraged her to begin writing in high school and she hasnât stopped since.
Determined to bring a new edge to romance, she continues to develop intriguing plots, racy characters and fresh dialogueâthus keeping the readers on their toes! Visit her Web site at www.acarthur.net.
To Damon, for your patience and encouragement.
Dear Reader,
Love Me Like No Other introduces the first of the Donovan clan to be swept away by love. The Triple-Threat Donovans are three brothers known for three things only: their breathtaking good looks, the size of their bank accounts and their inability to commit to lasting relationships.
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegasâat least thatâs what Jade Vincent thinks until sheâs face-to-face with her college sweetheart. Now, to save her sister, sheâs forced to make a deal with the devil! Lincoln Donovan is tired of the life he thought he wanted, but heâs too stubborn to see what that change is, until she literally falls in his lap.
I am thrilled to share Linc and Jadeâs story of rekindling lost love with you. Lincâs story needed to be told first, not because heâs the oldest Donovan brother, but because I so enjoyed watching him grow. He and Jade were meant for each other and I hope youâll agree. When you get a chance, please visit my Web site for a closer look at the Donovan clan, www.acarthur.net. And donât hesitate to share your comments about Linc and Jade via e-mail at [email protected].
A. C. Arthur
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
âYou need a wife.â
Clenching his jaw, Lincoln tried his best to remember this was his mother he was speaking to. âI donât need anybody or anything.â
âWhat good is all this success if you have nobody to share it with?â Beverly Donovan was unwavering when it came to the well-being of her children. Sheâd watched her oldest grow into a handsome man, an intelligent man, an entirely too serious and business-oriented man. And she didnât like it one bit.
âI have my family, unless youâre planning on disowning me because I refuse to get married.â He gave her a half smile, the one he always gave her when he was trying to win her over. Normally it worked. Today, howeverâ¦
âDonât be fresh, Lincoln.â
â¦her tone cut that short.
Beverly stood, brushed imaginary lint from her pink Chanel-style suit and looked down at her son. âYour father and I are celebrating forty years together, son. Forty long, beautiful years of loving and supporting each other. These have been the best forty years of my life.â She moved to him then caressed his clean-shaven cheek. âI only want that same happiness for you.â
Beverly Donovan had a way with words. His parents were happy. Happier than most married folk he knew. It was only natural that sheâd want the same for her children. He loved that she cared about his happiness and he loved that sheâd never been too busy with her own life to see to his. He simply did not agree with her plans for his future. âI am happy, Mom.â
âThatâs what you think.â
âCraps!â the man dressed in too-tight black pants and a colorful vest with a bright red bowtie said. His expression remained dour, the way it had been for the last three hours since sheâd been here.
Jade Vincent shifted. Her feet hurt. Whatever possessed her to wear slacks and pumps to a casino?
The man with the long black stick and the blank gray eyes leaned into the table, retrieving the diceâthe ones that had just cost her another fifty dollarsâand with a quick glance he handed them to her again.
Taking them out of his hand she looked down at the pile of chips that once represented all the free cash she had to spendâthe entire three hundred and forty-two dollars.
What was she doing here?
The pale man waited for her to either roll the dice or walk away from the table.