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      “Fine. We have a no-strings affair. No questions. No promises. No problems. And you can reserve the right to change your mind if you feel the need. But—”

      He cut her off with a kiss so potent it left her breathless. His tongue was almost acrobatic in its mission. It twirled and flipped and spun in her mouth as if it were the star attraction in the greatest show on earth.

      She couldn’t be outdone so early in the game, so she moved her tongue slowly in and out of his mouth, interrupting his pace, slowing it down but keeping the heat of the kiss. She arched her back and moved her hips, swiveling them and rocking them against the hard press of his masculinity.

      He let her slide down off the wall. His eyes were hooded in desire as he gazed at her. He lifted the hem of her sundress, his hand inching up her thigh in a slow seductive manner until he reached the part of her inner thigh closest to her core.

      “Just relax and enjoy the ride,” he whispered.

      GWYNETH BOLTON

      was born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey. She currently lives in central New York with her husband, Cedric. When she was twelve years old, she became an avid reader of romance by sneaking books from her mother’s stash of Harlequin and Silhouette novels. In the ’90s she was introduced to African-American and multicultural romance novels and her life hasn’t been the same since. She has a B.A. and an M.A. in English/creative writing and a Ph.D. in English/composition and rhetoric. She teaches college-level classes in writing and women’s studies. She has won several awards for her romance novels, including five Emma Awards and a Romance in Color Reviewers’ Choice Award for new author of the year.

      When Gwyneth is not teaching or working on her own romance novels, she is curled up with a cup of herbal tea, a warm quilt and a good book. She can be reached via email at [email protected]. And readers can visit her website at www.gwynethbolton.com.

      Rivals in Paradise

      Gwyneth Bolton

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

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      This novel is dedicated to all my sistah-authors, for writing the amazing books that keep the genre of Black Romance alive. Nikki Giovanni told us that black love is black wealth and I know it’s true every time I read your books. Keep on writing and making this a genre that I am so proud to be a part of….

      Dear Reader,

      There is something about the rivals-to-lovers story that never gets old for me. Most of my favorite television couples have some element of rivals to lovers in their stories.

      Who can forget A Different World, when Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert traded barbs in the early days of the show when he thought he was head over heels in love with Denise Huxtable? We all know how that turned out—with the famous wedding-crasher show and Dwayne begging… “Whitley, I love you! Please, baby, please!”

      And then there is my all-time favorite couple, Maxine Shaw and Kyle Barker from Living Single. They took the “I hate you! I love you!” push and pull of rivals to lovers to passionate new heights.

      These couples made crossing that thin line between love and hate oh so much fun! And if you enjoy journeys to love that are just a little vexed but also a whole lot of fun, then you are going to enjoy Cicely “Cee Cee” Stevens and Chase “The Wolf” Yearwood’s trip down love’s rocky road immensely.

      From the minute Cicely stepped on the scene in If Only You Knew, I knew she’d have a wonderful story to tell one day. This younger sister was spicy and sassy and I knew I had to find just the right hero for her. It took me a minute, but I found him. You’re going to love Chase. He’s smooth, funny, 100 percent alpha male, every bit of fine and he loves Cicely to distraction (even if it takes him a minute to realize it). I hope you enjoy Cicely and Chase’s story. Be sure to look for my April 2011 release, At First Kiss!

      Much love and peace,

      Gwyneth

      Acknowledgments

      I want to acknowledge my family, because without their support I wouldn’t know what love is or be able to write about it. Special thanks to my husband, Cedric Bolton, my mom, Donna Pough, my sisters, Jennifer, Cassandra, Michelle and Tashina, my nieces Ashlee and Zaria and my nephew Michael.

      To all the readers, thanks so much for all your emails and notes. Hearing from all you smart and savvy readers always makes my day!

      Thanks to all the book clubs who have read my novels, especially SistahFriend, Sexy Ebony BBW African American Book Club, Sistas’ Thoughts from Coast to Coast and the Prominent Women of Color Book Club.

      I also want to thank the ladies of the Live, Love, Laugh and Books Yahoo Group. The readers, writers and aspiring writers in this group, along with my fellow host authors—Shelia Goss, Michelle Monkou and Celeste Norfleet—are one amazing group of people.

      Finally, I want to send an extra-special dose of love and appreciation to the Shelfari Black Romance Reading Group. I have so much fun talking about black romance novels with you all. I’m sure my local bookstore thanks you, too, because we are all so willing to enable each other’s book-buying addictions!

      Contents

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 1

      “Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. Oh. My. God! Harder. Harder. Harder!”

      Cicely “Cee Cee” Stevens walked toward the master bedroom of her condo with her eyes and mouth wide open. There was no way she could possibly be hearing what she thought she was hearing.

      Not in her house.

      Not in her bedroom.

      No damn way was this happening to her after the day she’d just had at work!

      But the squeaking of the bedsprings and the bang, clunk, bang, clunk, bang of the headboard didn’t lie. Isaac was cheating on her….

      That lowlife had another woman in her bedroom. In her bed! And he had better be thankful that she didn’t own a firearm. The old adage that God protected babies and fools was obviously true, because if she’d had a gun…heaven help the fool!

      At one time not all that long

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