Valdez's Bartered Bride

Blackmailed into marriage...by Christmas!

Genealogist Lydia Carter-Wilson is horrified by the debts her father has run up in her name. Then magnate Raul Valdez approaches her with an outrageous proposition. If she helps him claim his inheritance, he’ll pay off her debts and save her tarnished reputation. But there’s a catch. If she fails, she will marry Raul on Christmas Eve!

No matter their instant and electrifying attraction, Lydia knows Raul’s proposal amounts to blackmail. Yet faced with an impossible choice—risking ruin or becoming Raul’s bartered bride—Lydia finds she cannot resist her desire to make a deal with the dark-hearted billionaire!

‘Don’t you dare laugh at me!’ Indignation hurtled out with those words, all but lashing at Raul, and he reluctantly pushed away the image of this woman in his bed.

‘Maybe a little laughter is how we need to deal with this situation. Now, please sit down. The poor waitress has no idea if we are staying or going.’ He tried to instil some order into their meeting—which didn’t feel anything like a business lunch.

He liked the way Lydia’s brunette hair moved: slipping over her shoulder, those loose curls bouncing with the movement, and the way she tucked it back behind her ears. There was an air of vulnerability about her, but he didn’t buy into that at all. There was no way this fiery creature was vulnerable. Spoilt and used to getting her way, yes, but vulnerable? No.

‘I’m not entirely sure being forced into marriage is a laughing matter.’

She fixed those gorgeous eyes on his face, her full lips pouting slightly, making him briefly wish this was a date and that by the end of the evening he would be able to kiss them.

Savagely he pushed those thoughts aside. This was not a time to become distracted. ‘Then on that we agree.’

Introducing a sizzling and sexy new duet from Rachael Thomas

Convenient Christmas Brides

Estranged brothers Raul Valdez and Maximiliano Martinez are about to unlock some dark and hidden secrets. But with Christmas around the corner first comes seduction!

Lydia Carter-Wilson finds herself blackmailed into an engagement by Raul Valdez in

Valdez’s Bartered Bride

Available now!

Maximiliano’s life is turned upside down when his estranged wife announces she is carrying his heir in

Martinez’s Pregnant Wife

Coming soon!

Valdez’s Bartered Bride

Rachael Thomas

www.millsandboon.co.uk

RACHAEL THOMAS has always loved reading romance, and is thrilled to be a Mills & Boon author. She lives and works on a farm in Wales—a far cry from the glamour of a Mills & Boon Modern Romance story—but that makes slipping into her characters’ worlds all the more appealing. When she’s not writing, or working on the farm, she enjoys photography and visiting historical castles and grand houses. Visit her at rachaelthomas.co.uk.

Books by Rachael Thomas

Mills & Boon Modern Romance

The Sheikh’s Last Mistress

New Year at the Boss’s Bidding Craving Her Enemy’s Touch Claimed by the Sheikh A Deal Before the Altar

The Secret Billionaires

Di Marcello’s Secret Son

One Night With Consequences

A Child Claimed by Gold

From One Night to Wife

Brides for Billionaires

Married for the Italian’s Heir

The Billionaire’s Legacy

To Blackmail a Di Sione

Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.

For Marie Dry and the happy memories of the fun time we spent in Madrid and Seville.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Convenient Christmas Brides

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

PROLOGUE

Middle of September, two months earlier

‘DO YOU REALLY expect me to go through with it?’ Raul Valdez’s voice thundered around the room, his Spanish words fluid and fast.

‘The debt needs to be repaid and, whether you like it or not, the contract your father made before his death with Henry Carter-Wilson still stands. As a member of the board I insist upon it.’ Carlos’s voice ripped through Raul, increasing his anger to an explosive level.

Raul swore savagely as he glared at the older man. ‘Come on, Carlos, we go back further than that.’

‘As a long-standing family friend, I urge you to stop looking for someone who doesn’t want to be found and marry the girl—as your father obviously intended.’

‘Marry her?’ Raul couldn’t believe he was hearing this, from Carlos of all people.

‘Repay the debt, then file for a divorce once the two years are up.’

Rage charged through Raul like a bull. How could his father have done this? But that wasn’t a question he needed to ask. He’d never been able to gain his father’s approval, had tried all his life to no avail. This was just one more stab at the son he’d never wanted.

‘You make it sound so easy.’ Raul drew in a deep breath and marched to the windows looking out over Madrid, basking in the late summer sunshine. On paper it did look easy, but marriage was the one thing he’d never wanted.