The Innocent's One-Night Surrender
Seduced by her rescuer…Desperate to escape a predatory suitor, Laurel Forrester has no one to turn to in Rome but her stepbrother, Cristiano Ferrero. A dangerous chemistry has always burned between them, even if he does believe her to be exactly like her manipulative mother. And, trapped in his luxurious penthouse, Laurel realises how vulnerable she is to his raw magnetism…Cristiano desires Laurel just as much as he despises her. Intent on getting her out of his system, he proposes one night of sin. But Laurel’s surprising inexperience only increases his thirst for her, and makes Christiano determined to entice her to surrender again…and again!
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Seduced by her rescuer...
Desperate to escape a predatory suitor, Laurel Forrester has no one to turn to in Rome but her stepbrother, Cristiano Ferrero. A dangerous chemistry has always burned between them, even if he believes her to be exactly like her manipulative mother. And trapped in his luxurious penthouse, Laurel realizes how vulnerable she is to his raw magnetism...
Cristiano desires Laurel just as much as he despises her. Intent on getting her out of his system, he proposes one night of sin. But Laurel’s surprising inexperience only increases his thirst for her, and makes Cristiano determined to entice her to surrender again...and again!
‘Where am I to sleep?’ Laurel asked.
‘There’s a guest bedroom across the hall.’ Cristiano pushed open the door opposite his own.
She turned to glance at him and that was her mistake. Her breath came out in a rush as heat flared between them. He put his hand on her wrist.
‘Don’t, Cristiano,’ she whispered.
‘Don’t what?’
‘Don’t touch me.’
‘Don’t tempt you?’ He stroked the silky skin of her inner wrist with his thumb. ‘Is that what you mean?’
Laurel remained frozen, her pulse hammering.
‘Why deny what is between us, bella?’
‘There’s nothing between us.’ She had to nearly gasp the words out.
‘Your body begs to differ.’ Cristiano could see the indecision in her fractured gaze…the desire as well as the doubt. ‘Stop worrying so much. What are you afraid of?’ he murmured, his lips very nearly brushing hers.
‘This…’ she whispered, and then Cristiano kissed her.
After spending three years as a die-hard New Yorker, KATE HEWITT now lives in a small village in the English Lake District with her husband, their five children and a golden retriever. In addition to writing intensely emotional stories, she loves reading, baking and playing chess with her son—she has yet to win against him, but she continues to try. Learn more about Kate at kate-hewitt.com.
Books by Kate Hewitt
Mills & Boon Modern Romance
Moretti’s Marriage Command
Inherited by Ferranti
One Night With Consequences
Engaged for Her Enemy’s Heir
Larenzo’s Christmas Baby
Seduced by a Sheikh
The Secret Heir of Alazar
The Forced Bride of Alazar
The Billionaire’s Legacy
A Di Sione for the Greek’s Pleasure
Secret Heirs of Billionaires
Demetriou Demands His Child
The Marakaios Brides
The Marakaios Marriage
The Marakaios Baby
Rivals to the Crown of Kadar
Captured by the Sheikh
Commanded by the Sheikh
Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.
To Jenna,
Thanks for spurring me on with this book! Love being able to chat with you. Love, K.
Contents
LAUREL FORRESTER BURST from the hotel room like a bullet from a gun, aiming for the lift down the hall. Her breath came in tearing gasps and she stumbled in the heels she wasn’t used to wearing—stupid, sky-high stilettos her mother had insisted on.
She heard the sound of the door to the executive suite being wrenched open behind her and then heavy footfalls.
‘Come back here, you stupid little—’
With a mewling gasp of terror, Laurel put on a burst of speed, racing around the corner. The gleaming black doors of the lift shimmered ahead of her, a promise of freedom.
‘Wait until I...’
She closed her mind to Rico Bavasso’s threats and stabbed the button for the lift with a shaking finger. Please, please open. Save me...
Bavasso came round the corner, moving swiftly for a man pushing sixty. Laurel risked a glance back and then wished she hadn’t. Three diagonal cuts slashed one of his lean cheeks, where she’d scratched him, blood oozing down his face in crimson, pearly droplets.
Please, please open. If the lift doors didn’t open, she didn’t know what she’d do. Fight for her safety, for her life. Go down kicking and screaming, because go down she would. Bavasso might be older but he was big, strong and angry, and she was five-foot-four and just a little over a hundred pounds soaking wet.
With a glorious ping the doors opened and Laurel threw herself inside, bruising her shoulder against the far wall before she scrambled upright. She pushed just about every button she could, anything to get her away from the hell that had erupted with Bavasso’s demands and grabs, his insistence that he would get what he’d paid for. What her mother had promised him.
Bile rose in Laurel’s throat at that memory and she choked it down. She didn’t have the luxury of memories or even thoughts in this moment. This was about basic survival. She pushed the ‘door close’ button repeatedly as Bavasso stumbled towards the lift, a smile of triumph curving his cold mouth, his glowering face thrust forward. His bow tie was askew, his tuxedo shirt straining against the buttons as he reached one hand forward to keep the doors from closing. Laurel shrank back against the lift wall, her heart beating in her chest like some wild, winged thing.
