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      His kiss was slow, deliberate and provocative.

      Masterful. His lips were soft but insistent. Surprisingly seductive. He tasted of rich, honeyed darkness, of mystery. The musky male scent of heat and spice clouded her bemused brain.

      Alissa’s eyes widened as she registered pleasure at his skilful caress. A tiny spark of feminine appreciation. A rippling tide of awareness that heated her blood.

      Ruthlessly she crushed it, ignoring too the sizzle of unexpected pleasure as his hands all but spanned her waist, making her feel dainty, feminine and delicate.

      Desperately she focussed on pushing him away. Yet her efforts had no effect. He swamped her senses till she was aware of nothing but his hot, heady presence, and the undertow of desire threatening to drag her under. A slow-turning twist of unfamiliar tension coiled deep inside her.

      Eventually he lifted his head and she stared, dumbfounded, at the man who was her husband. She hadn’t expected him to kiss her. More, she couldn’t believe his kiss had been so… disturbing. How could she have responded to a man she didn’t want?

      Annie West spent her childhood with her nose between the covers of a book—a habit she retains. After years of preparing government reports and official correspondence she decided to write something she really enjoys. And there’s nothing she loves more than a great romance. Despite her office-bound past, she has managed a few interesting moments—including a marriage offer with the promise of a herd of camels to sweeten the contract. She is happily married to her ever-patient husband (who has never owned a dromedary). They live with their two children amongst the tall eucalypts at beautiful Lake Macquarie, on Australia’s east coast. You can e-mail Annie at www.annie-west.com, or write to her at PO Box 1041, Warners Bay, NSW 2282, Australia.

       Recent books by the same author:

      THE DESERT KING’S PREGNANT BRIDE

      THE GREEK TYCOON’S UNEXPECTED WIFE

      BLACKMAILED

      BRIDE,

      INNOCENT WIFE

      BY

      ANNIE WEST

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

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      To all the readers who have enjoyed my stories.

      To the many who have taken the time

      to contact me about my books.

      And especially to Sofia, Cindy, Gena and Dottie,

      who were the very first to encourage

      a brand-new author on her debut.

      Thank you all!

      CHAPTER ONE

      ALISSA stepped off the tram just as the leaden Melbourne sky opened, releasing a downpour. She had no umbrella. The weather had been the last thing on her mind today.

      Thunder cracked so close she expected the pavement to shatter before her. The temperature plummeted. Alissa shivered, suddenly chilled to the marrow.

      It’s a sign, an omen.

      She grimaced, refusing to heed the superstitious inner voice. The voice of foreboding that had plagued her all day. The storm had been predicted days ago. It wasn’t an omen of disaster. It was mere coincidence.

      Alissa ignored the way the hairs on her neck prickled. She hunched her shoulders and darted along the pavement, heedless of the rain’s drenching needles.

      She’d planned this afternoon meticulously. Nothing, not a storm or her own doubts, would stop her when so much was at stake. Success was so close.

      All she had to do was…marry.

      Her pace faltered as her heel jammed against uneven pavement. She was doing the right thing, the only thing she could. Yet fear slid like an icy finger down her spine at the idea of marriage.

      Tying herself to a man.

      It didn’t matter that this wedding was her idea. That Jason was unthreatening. Safe. Or that the marriage would be short-lived. Experience had taught her the danger of being in a man’s power. All the logic in the world couldn’t stop the atavistic dread freezing her veins.

      But this was no time for caution. Donna needed her. This was her sister’s last chance.

      Alissa would do anything, even tackle her darkest terrors, to save her beloved sister. No one else could do this. The burden rested on her shoulders.

      Setting her jaw, she climbed the steps of the looming public building. One leaden foot in front of the other.

      It will be all right…unbidden, the old mantra filled her mind.

      Of course it would be all right. She and Jason would marry and after six months they’d go their separate ways, unencumbered but for the money they’d receive. The money that would save Donna’s life.

      It was a simple business arrangement. No power play. No threat. A win-win situation.

      Nothing could go wrong.

      She hurried through the entrance, plunged into the gloomy foyer and tripped over something.

      ‘Careful there!’ an abrupt voice commanded.

      Large hands grasped her elbows, holding her away from the solid body her momentum had flung her against. Heat encircled her, the smell of spicy, warm male skin and citrus aftershave. Alissa’s pulse skittered at the understated yet unmistakable invitation of that heady scent.

      She leaned away to see what she’d fallen over.

      Shoes. Large enough to match the hands holding her so firmly. Glossy black handmade shoes that had never seen a scuff in their privileged life. The sight of that perfect footwear, of elegant suiting stretched over long, powerful legs, unsettled her as much as the stranger’s silence.

      She stepped back but his hands didn’t fall. Annoyance skated through her.

      Alissa raised her eyes. Past the exquisitely cut jacket, custom-made to accommodate broad shoulders and a rangy frame. Up to an angular jaw, scrupulously shaved. A firm mouth, wide and superbly sculpted, a slash of sensuality across an otherwise hard face. A long, decisive nose, bracketed by high cheekbones that gave him an aristocratic air of disdain.

      The air hissed through Alissa’s teeth as she drew a sharp breath. His face was lean, harsh, arrogant. With his black hair combed back from a widow’s peak he looked impossibly elegant. But his eyes… Alissa reeled as she stared into a charcoal gaze ripe with disapproval.

      Heaven help the woman he’d come here to marry.

      With those looks—male model meets pure testosterone—his bride was probably too besotted to realise what she was in for. But one moment’s

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