Secret Paradise
Nikki Dupree feels like the luckiest designer in the world. She's just been commissioned to reinvent the magnificent island home of wealthy recluse Lucian Kontos.From the moment the private plane he sends for Nikki touches down, she's enchanted by the breathtaking sunsets over the shimmering blue waters of the Mediterranean. But all bets are off when Nikki meets her insufferably arrogant alpha employer….After his world was scarred by fire, Lucian thought his life was over. But Nikki could be his second chance. With her sensual beauty and passion for life, she's slowly healing his heart. In her arms, the smoldering secrets of the past are consumed by the desire burning between them. Can Nikki see beyond the past of a wounded man who wants to spend the rest of his days loving her?
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Paradise just got a lot hotter
Nikki Dupree feels like the luckiest designer in the world.
Sheâs just been commissioned to reinvent the magnificent island home of wealthy recluse Lucian Kontos. From the moment the private plane he sends for Nikki touches down, sheâs enchanted by the breathtaking sunsets over the shimmering blue waters of the Mediterranean. But all bets are off when Nikki meets her insufferably arrogant alpha employerâ¦.
After his world was scarred by fire, Lucian thought his life was over. But Nikki could be his second chance. With her sensual beauty and passion for life, sheâs slowly healing his heart. In her arms, the smoldering secrets of the past are consumed by the desire burning between them. Can Nikki see beyond the past of a wounded man who wants to spend the rest of his days loving her?
âYouâve bewitched me.
âYou sit there quietly watching me with those eyes of yours unafraid, but also unsure. I can see a cascade of emotions crossing your face, but I canât read them. You intrigue me even when I donât want you to. I canât afford to. But it feels good because you make me forgetââ He gripped his hand into a fist. âYou make me forget things I have no right to.â He brushed the flower against the hollow of her neck, his gaze trailing behind it like a slow, sensual caress. âPerhaps Iâm wrong. Youâre not a goddess, youâre a sorceress.â
âNo,â Nikki said, breathless and tense lest she do or say anything to break the invisible bond between them. âI have no magic in me.â
âThat I find hard to believe.â Lucian lifted Nikki to her feet and his mouth covered hers. The touch and taste of his lips were even better than sheâd remembered. Her entire body came alive at his touch. The air felt more fragrant, the breeze cooler and his body solid and as hot as volcanic fire. She surrendered to the demanding mastery of his hands and the practiced persuasion of his mouth. Every fiber of her body went weak at his touch.
He pulled away, his eyes smoldering with fire, but his voice cool. âI didnât expect this.â
âNeither did I.â
âI shouldnât let this happen.â
âThen blame me,â Nikki said, bold and impulsive. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
DARA GIRARD
fell in love with storytelling at an early age. Her romance writing career happened by chance when she discovered the power of a happy ending. She is an award-winning author whose novels are known for their sense of humor, interesting plot twists and witty dialogue.
When sheâs not writing she enjoys spring mornings and autumn afternoons, French pastries, dancing to the latest hits and long drives.
Dara loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her at [email protected] or P.O. Box 10345, Silver Spring, MD 20914.
Dear Reader,
Have you ever wanted to get away from it all? The obligations, the job that no longer excites you, the on-again, off-again boyfriend you should have broken up with months ago? Thatâs exactly how Nikki Dupree feels when she impulsively takes an assignment to redesign the house of the reclusive Lucian Kontos.
Initially, I thought Nikki would have fun with JDâs brother from All I Want Is You. But they were having too much fun and nothing was happening so I had to go with someone who could prove a challenge to her. Enter JDâs friend Lucian.
Immediately, an electricity ignites between them that seems to expand to everything and everyone around them. An attraction so powerful that even the gods and goddesses of myth seem to take a hand in it.â¦
So, my dear reader, here is another tale I hope you enjoy.
Dara Girard
Contents
Prologue
He would die tonight in this hell of his own creation. Flames licked at the walls outside his bedroom, shattering the windows down the hall, and turning everything they touched into blackened ash. Everything burned around him and he would soon burn with it. The fire had yet to reach the room where heâd imprisoned himself, but he knew the smoke would take him first. He imagined gossamer black arms seeping under the door, slowly gathering together to strangle him. Lucian Kontos let the smoke invade his lungs, just as heâd let Alana invade his life and his heart.
Even now he could see her face, remember the scent of her lotion, the seductive fragrance of her perfume, the touch of her hand, the beautiful slope of her neck when she threw her head back and laughed. She loved to laugh. It was what had attracted him to her at first. Now he wondered if sheâd been laughing at him. It seemed likely now, as he looked back. Heâd been a fool. Not only because heâd carelessly let her into every part of his life, but because heâd given her his heart as well. That had made him as weak and blind as a newborn puppy. God, how heâd loved her, and now heâd die because of it. But he welcomed this end. His shame demanded this punishment. It suited his sense of honor and justice. His foolish heart had led him to a fiery grave.
