Lynne GRAHAM
is one of Mills & Boonâs most popular and bestselling novelists. Her writing was an instant success with readers worldwide. Since her first book, Bittersweet Passion, was published in 1987, she has gone from strength to strength and now has over ninety titles, which have sold more than thirty-five million copies, to her name.
In this special collection, we offer readers a chance to revisit favourite books or enjoy that rare treasureâa book by a favourite writerâthey may have missed. In every case, seduction and passion with a gorgeous, irresistible man are guaranteed!
CHAPTER ONE
âAND since Leland has given me power of attorney over his affairs, I shall trail that little tramp through the courts and ruin her!â Jennifer Coulter announced with vindictive satisfaction.
Angelos Petronides surveyed his late motherâs English stepsister with no more than polite attention, his distaste concealed, his brilliant black eyes expressionless. Nobody would ever have guessed that within the last sixty seconds Jennifer had made his day by putting him in possession of information he wouldâve paid a considerable amount to gain. Maxie Kendall, the model dubbed the Ice Queen by the press, the one and only woman who had ever given Angelos a sleepless night, was in debt...
âLeland spent a fortune on her too!â As she stalked his vast and impressive London office, Jennifer exuded seething resentment. âYou should see the bills Iâve uncovered... you wouldnât believe what it cost to keep that little trollop in designer clothes!â
âA mistress expects a decent wardrobe...and Maxie Kendall is ambitious. I imagine she took Leland for everything she could get.â Angelos stoked the flames of his visitorâs outrage without a flicker of conscience.
Unlike most who had witnessed the breakup of the Coulter marriage three years earlier, he had never suffered from the misapprehension that Leland had deserted a whiter than white wife. Nor was he impressed by Jenniferâs pleas of penury. The middle-aged blonde had been born wealthy and would die even wealthier, and her miserly habits were a frequent source of malicious amusement in London society.
âAll that money gone for good,â Jennifer recounted tight-mouthed. âAnd now I find out that the little tart got this huge loan off Leland as wellââ
Imperceptibly, Angelos had tensed again. Trollop, tart? Jennifer had no class, no discretion. A mistress was a necessity to a red-blooded male, but a whore wasnât. However, Leland had broken the rules. An intelligent man did not leave his wife to set up home with his mistress. No Greek male would ever have been that stupid, Angelos reflected with innate superiority. Leland Coulter had made a fool of himself and he had embarrassed his entire family.
âBut you have regained what you said you wanted most,â he slotted into the flood of Jenniferâs financial recriminations. âYou have your husband back.â
The dry reminder made the older woman flush and then her mouth twisted again. âOh, yes, I got him back after his heart attack, so weak heâs going to be recuperating for months! That bitch deserted him at the hospital...did I tell you that? Simply told the doctor to contact his wife and walked back out again, cool as a cucumber. Well, I need that money now, and whatever it takes I intend to get it off her. Iâve already had a lawyerâs letter sent to herââ
âJennifer...with Leland laid low, you have many more important concerns. And I assure you that Leland would not be impressed by the spectacle of his wife driving his former mistress into the bankruptcy court.â From below lush black lashes, Angelos watched the blonde stiffen as she belatedly considered that angle. âAllow me to deal with this matter. I will assume responsibility for the loan and reimburse you.â
Jenniferâs jaw slackened in shock. âYou...you will?â
âAre we not family?â Angelos chided in his deep, dark, accented drawl.
Slowly, very slowly, Jennifer nodded, fascinated against her will. Those incredible black eyes looked almost warm, and since warmth was not a character trait she had ever associated with Angelos Petronides before she was thrown off balance.
The head of the Petronides clan, and regarded with immense respect by every member, Angelos was ruthless, remorseless and coldly self-sufficient. He was also fabulously wealthy, flamboyantly unpredictable and frighteningly powerful. He scared people; he scared people just by strolling into a room. When Leland had walked out on his marriage, Angelos had silenced Jenniferâs martyred sobs with one sardonic and deeply unsympathetic glance. Somehow Angelos had discovered that her infidelity had come first. Chagrined by that galling awareness, Jennifer had avoided him ever since...