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Time steadied. Sanity returned, bringing with it laughter, tenderness and a breathless wonder that they had found each other at last.
Their clothing restored to a more decorous level, they shared the armchair by the fireplace, Dana curled up on her husband’s lap, her face buried in his neck while he whispered softly to her in his own language.
‘I must learn to speak Italian,’ she murmured. ‘So that I can understand what you’re saying.’
He gave her a lazy grin. ‘Tonight, in bed, mia carissima, I promise that you shall have a full translation.’
‘Mmm.’ She nestled closer. ‘I can hardly wait.’ She sighed. ‘But it’s a shame you had the summer house pulled down. It would have been nice to go back there before we leave.’
‘You still wish to sell Mannion? Even though it brought us together?’
‘It could just as easily have driven us apart,’ Dana said soberly. ‘And it will always remind me of how blind I was.’ She shuddered. ‘How greedy. How mercenary.’
‘No, my darling.’ He silenced her gently, a finger on her lips. ‘Never that. Only confused and very unhappy. Your mother did her work too well.’
He added, ‘And it was Adam who destroyed the summer house. His final act of spite before he handed Mannion to me.’
She said in a low voice, ‘I always thought it was you who had me sent away—after that night. But that was Adam, too.’
‘He could never forgive a slight,’ Zac said after a pause. ‘And I suspect he knew that we were there together when he came looking for you.’
‘But why didn’t you tell Serafina the truth?’
‘Because I was ashamed of myself. I had not intended matters to go as far as they did, but you were so sweet, mia cara. So utterly irresistible. But, at the same time, too young for the serious commitment I already knew that I wanted.
‘Also,’ he added drily, ‘I seemed to be the last man in the world you would ever consider as a husband. So, I let you go—told myself to forget you. Except—I could not. But when I saw you again, I realised nothing had changed. That you were still obsessed with Mannion. And that I wanted you more than life itself. So I decided to make both our wishes come true. I told myself that once you were my wife, I could teach you to love me.’
‘Then why did you leave?’ She flushed a little. ‘You must have known how you’d made me feel.’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘But I also knew that giving you pleasure in bed was not enough. That, in fact, I was the greedy one because I wanted more than your body, my sweet one. I wanted your heart and soul as well, and nothing less would do.’
‘And now you have me,’ she said. ‘All of me. Wherever you are master, I shall be mistress. For ever.’
‘Mi adorata,’ he said softly and kissed her.
* * ***
If you loved Sara Craven’s take on the SEVEN SEXY SINS, you won’t want to miss the rest of this sizzling miniseries – available only from Harlequin Presents!
Cathy Williams – Sloth – TO SIN WITH THE TYCOON
Dani Collins – Lust – THE SHEIKH’S SINFUL SEDUCTION
Kim Lawrence – Pride – THE SINS OF SEBASTIAN REY-DEFOE
Maggie Cox – Gluttony – A TASTE OF SIN
Annie West – Envy – THE SINNER’S MARRIAGE REDEMPTION
Maya Blake – Wrath – A MARRIAGE FIT FOR A SINNER
Sara Craven – Greed – THE INNOCENT’S SINFUL CRAVING
Keep reading for an excerpt from BRUNETTI’S SECRET SON by Maya Blake.
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Presents title.
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Brunetti’s Secret Son
by Maya Blake
CHAPTER ONE
THE HIDEOUS MANSION was just as he’d recalled in his nightmares, the gaudy orange exterior clashing wildly with the massive blue shutters. The only thing that didn’t quite gel with the picture before him was the blaze of the sun glinting off the grotesquely opulent marble statues guarding the entry gates.
