The Greek Tycoon's Virgin BrideBillionaire Nikos Kristallis is shocked to discover his orphaned nephew is being raised by personal trainer Carrie Thomas. When Carrie refuses to give him the baby Nik whisks her away to Corfu, where he'll seduce her and then claim her as his bride!Carrie isn't prepared for the intense feelings Nik arouses in her, and the gorgeous Greek is only interested in a marriage of convenience. Then Carrie discovers something that could change everything....

NEWLY REVISED VERSION 4/2017"Quirky, insightful, witty!"Sometimes life gives you exactly what you do not want, precisely when you need it most. That’s how it was for Gideon. Not that he was guilty, at least not of rustling, but folks were pretty well set on hanging him anyway. Don’t get me wrong, Caswell Crossing is full of good people. Some would even call themselves upstanding citizens.Have you ever tried to change the minds of ‘good folks’ when they're half convinced the swift application of a rope will solve all their problems? Thing is, to Gideon, the prospect of being hung counted as a bothersome inconvenience. Maybe he was just too busy fending off the Rivers's attempts to help him to take notice of such things.Drinking water, deep breaths, standing upside down-- nothing will change the fact that life is full of hiccups. Gideon's life is more full than most. This story is Intelligent & insightful in a way that holds true, not only for its loosely American West setting, but for today's coffee drinking Joe as well. Told with a 'sitting beside you on the couch' feeling, this is a 'clean' read. Though 1st in the RIVERS series, titles can be read independently.

Once Lorenzo Valente sets his sights on something–or someone–he will not be deterred! His estranged wife, Chloe, might profess to hate him now, yet only weeks earlier she was claiming adoration...proving Lorenzo's belief that love is fickle.But now the stakes have gotten higher.... Chloe has become guardian to her friend's baby and wants a fresh start–plus a marriage annulment. Seeing Chloe as a mother, Lorenzo is more determined than ever to keep her...and claim the wedding night from which she fled!

Taken to his bed – for revenge… The time has come for billionaire Marco De Luca to avenge Claudia’s betrayal of four years ago. He’ll bed her once more, then coolly cast her aside as she did him! …and pleasure! What Marco’s not prepared for is the powerful effect Claudia still has on him. Soon one night isn’t enough to satisfy the demanding Italian’s needs. How many – very pleasurable – nights will it take to get her out of his system? Especially now that Claudia may be innocent after all…Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.'Marry you!' Claudia Hazelton gasped, too startled to mask her appalled reaction to the shocking proposal she'd just received. She set her cup down on her saucer with a clatter. 'You're not really asking me to marry you, are you?'She was suddenly shaking like a leaf and her heart was pounding horribly, but she held her head high and forced herself to look straight across the beautifully laid table at the Ritz Hotel, into the face of the fifty-year-old man who had just proposed to her.His name was Primo Vasile. He was her stepmother's cousin and her father's business partner. But, despite her family's connection to him, he had always made her skin crawl. There was no way in a million years she would ever consider marrying him.'I'm not asking you,' Vasile said quietly, a nauseatingly smug expression on his smooth Italian face, 'I'm telling you. Or would you rather see your father face a criminal investigation and then go to prison for embezzlement of the company pension fund—if he even lives that long?'Claudia stared at him in shock, horrified disbelief leaving her speechless for a moment. Surely Vasile could not really be saying that her father had stolen money from their joint business and that he expected Claudia to marry him, as a way of repaying that debt?Suddenly, a painful image of her father lying critically ill in hospital flashed through her mind, pushing all other thoughts aside for a moment and making her throat constrict with grief. He was so frail and was already suffering terribly. She couldn't bear to think of him facing a criminal investigation or—even worse—prison.But why was Vasile threatening that? She'd never liked him. But she couldn't believe he was actually trying to blackmail her into marriage.'I don't understand why you are saying these awful things,' Claudia said. Her golden brown eyes were wide with confusion as she looked at him. 'Why would you want to hurt my father?''I don't want to hurt him,' Vasile said. 'But, if you don't accept my proposal, I may be forced to. He took a great deal of money, which needs to be repaid.''I can't believe my father would do something like that.' Claudia pushed her hair back from her stark white face with a jerky gesture and turned in appeal to her stepmother, who was sitting with them at the table.They'd never been close. Francesca was not the type to let motherly responsibilities get in the way of her extravagant and self-indulgent lifestyle. But she must know the truth about the money—and surely even she wouldn't condone what her cousin was doing.'I'm afraid it's true, darling. Marrying Primo is the only way to get us all out of this terrible mess,' Francesca said.'When you are married, you will get access to your trust fund. We need that money to pay back what your father took from the company pension fund.'Claudia bit her lip, trying to take in what they'd told her. The family business really must be in terrible trouble for things to have got this bad—bad enough for blackmail.'There has to be another way,' Claudia said. 'I can help repay the debt.''Foolish girl!' Vasile scoffed. 'Apart from your trust fund— how could you ever raise the money needed?''I'll sell my flat and my car,' she replied. 'And maybe I could get a bank loan. I'll do whatever it takes—work as hard as I can to pay off the debt.''Don't be so naive!' The contempt in Vasile's voice clawed viciously across her nerves. 'We're talking about the pension fund here. Even I can't raise the amount of money needed. Hundreds of workers have paid contributions into that fund for years—and, if the money isn't replaced, they'll all lose their pensions.''How long will it be until the money is missed?' Claudia asked. She felt sick at the thought of all those loyal employees losing the income they were counting on for their retirement. She was sure her father could never have intended that innocent people should suffer—they had to find a way to put things right. 'What did my father do with the money? Surely we can get at least some of it back.''It's gone,' Francesca said. 'You must understand, darling—this really is the only way. You must marry Primo.''If we are not married by Christmas,' Vasile said, 'I'll be forced to go to the police.''Christmas!' Claudia gasped. 'It's already mid-December.Why does it have to be so sudden? Why would you want to go to the police so quickly—surely you have some loyalty to my father after all this time?''Embezzlement is a serious crime,'Vasile said. 'If I'm not careful I'll be implicated too. I won't sacrifice myself to save your father.''You mean you'll have nothing left if my father's business goes under,' Claudia said. 'You're just trying to save your own skin.''It wouldn't be necessary if your father hadn't stolen the money,' Vasile sneered.'I just can't believe my father could do such a thing,' Claudia repeated. She lifted her hands to cover her face for a second and let her long hair fall forward over her eyes. She closed them momentarily—still trying to come to terms with the fact that her father might have taken money that wasn't his.'It's a bitter pill to swallow.' Vasile's heavily accented voice jarred intrusively in her ears, dripping with self-satisfaction. 'Your precious father is not so perfect after all.''I want to see proof. See the figures for myself,' Claudia said resolutely. It was unbearable that Primo Vasile was gloating over her father's mistake.'No.' Vasile's voice was hard. 'There's no time for that.''Then I won't go through with it—not without proof that it's definitely necessary,' Claudia said. A wave of desperation rose up through her as she realised she might really have to marry Vasile to save her father from prison.'Don't push your luck,' Vasile said, but he picked up his briefcase and pulled out a wad of documents. 'Here's your evidence—proof that your father ordered the money transfers into various private accounts.'Claudia took the papers with a sinking heart. There, right in front of her eyes, were the documents to prove that her father had transferred company money into his own accounts. The numbers were huge—and there was a whole pile of transfer orders, each with her father's characteristic signature at the bottom.'You're asking too much of me,' Claudia protested.'No. Your father took too much,' Vasile said. 'And now you must give up the money he put in trust for you—if you want to save him from prison.''I don't care about the money!' Claudia brought her hands down to the table with a bang and her eyes snapped back up to Vasile's hateful face.It was true that she didn't care about it. In her mind she had always associated the family wealth with personal loss—first the death of her real mother when she was just five years old and then her grandmother.She'd never looked forward to her thirtieth birthday, when she was due to receive the money from her trust fund. It seemed so far away that she rarely thought about it. It had been her father's intention that by then she would have found her own way in the world. She would only receive the money earlier if she married. That was her father's way of providing for his grandchildren.'Lower your voice,' Francesca hissed. 'Remember where we are.'Claudia glared across the table at her stepmother. She looked so poised and confident.A sudden, irrational jolt of irritation jarred through her. At that moment she hated Francesca's chic Italian style. Even now, when they were discussing something so important, Francesca still looked as if she had stepped out of the latest edition of Vogue.'Only you would bring us here,' Claudia said crossly, glancing round at the opulent cream and gold room. She knew Francesca felt at home surrounded by the sophisticated splendour of the Ritz Hotel—the clink of silver teaspoons against bone china and the gentle hum of conversation was comforting to her. 'Only you could blackmail your stepdaughter over afternoon tea at the Ritz!'She looked down at the white tablecloth, wishing for the millionth time that her father had never married Francesca. But it wasn't his fault. He had been devastated by the death of Claudia's real mother and had been easy prey for the gold-digging Italian.Even at seven years old, Claudia had not been fooled by Francesca. She'd instinctively seen through the Italian woman's fake charm and two-faced behaviour. But her father had been blinded by grief. Out of desire for companionship, and to provide a mother for his daughter, he had fallen into Francesca's trap. And with Francesca came her cousin, Primo Vasile, an unscrupulous businessman, keen to use Claudia's father—and his money—in any way he could.'Blackmail?' Francesca echoed, looking almost genuinely bemused. 'No, no… it's nothing like that. It's just an arrangement that Primo has suggested in the interests of your father's health.''It's blackmail,' Claudia said frostily. 'Don't try to pretend it isn't.''No—' Francesca protested.But Vasile lifted a hand to silence her. 'Claudia understands the situation,' he said, fixing her with his shrewd black eyes.She shuddered. The sound of him saying her name and the way that he smiled at her made her stomach clench in revulsion.'I will provide all the necessary paperwork,' Vasile continued. 'You just need to come to the Caribbean for our wedding and sign the documents that will keep your father from prison. Allow him to end his days peacefully in hospital.'Claudia stared at Vasile in disgust, hardly able to believe the situation she had found herself in.'There is one more thing,' Vasile added. 'Given the fact that your father is far too ill to talk, it's scarcely necessary to say this, but I must be absolutely clear on this point. You are never to discuss our arrangement with your father—or with anyone else. If you do, I will cut my losses by going to the police immediately.'A flash of anger flared through Claudia at the cold-hearted way Vasile dismissed her ...

The ruthless Italian tycoon and his pregnant mistress…Powerful and arrogant, Vito Salvatore thinks Lily Chase is different from the women he normally beds. But when she tells him she's pregnant, he calls her a gold digger and throws her out!A marriage by arrangement!But now Vito needs a Salvatore heir. So he'll take Lily as his convenient bride!Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Lily shivered in the back of the water taxi as it travelled carefully along the foggy Venetian canal. The cold and damp seeped through her suede jacket, chilling her to the bone, but she was grateful for the fresh air. It was warmer inside the polished wooden cabin of the taxi, but it was stuffy, and the movement of the boat made her feel queasy. These days everything made her feel queasy, but at least now she knew why.She was pregnant.She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Pregnant. How was she going to tell Vito?She'd been living with him for five months, and during that time he'd been the most amazing, attentive lover she could have imagined. But she'd always known that as far as he was concerned it was only a temporary arrangement.From the start Vito had promised her complete exclusivity and, in return for his fidelity, he'd demanded the same from her. But he'd always made it plain that there was no future for the relationship. There would be no long-term commitment, and categorically no children.But now she was eight weeks pregnant. The stomach bug that she'd thought was taking a long time to clear up was actually morning sickness.And presumably the same stomach bug was responsible for the failure of the Pill.She shivered again and looked at her watch. Vito would be waiting at the palazzo for her, wanting to know what the doctor had said. She glanced up as the taxi passed under a familiar arched bridge. In only a few minutes she'd be home.Suddenly, despite her apprehension about telling Vito her news, she couldn't wait to be with him. A baby might not have been his plan right now, but she hadn't got pregnant deliberately. Vito would understand. He was a rich and powerful man, used to things going exactly the way he wanted, but he wasn't unreasonable. He might be surprised, shocked even, but after he had time to absorb her news she was sure that everything would be all right.She'd always wanted a family, and now that she thought about it she couldn't think of anyone she'd rather have as the father of her children. He was a successful and influential businessman, but she'd also seen the loving, tender side of him. He wouldn't reject his own baby just because it was unplanned.It was eerily quiet as the taxi stopped at the watergate entrance of the palazzo. The fog muffled the sounds of the city, and all Lily could hear was the lap of the water against the marble steps. She paid the driver and gratefully accepted his hand as she climbed unsteadily out of the boat. Then she made her way upstairs, where Vito was coming out of his study to greet her.Her breath caught in her throat, and she hesitated on the top stair, just staring at him—soaking up the absolute masculine perfection of Vito Salvatore, her lover.Over six-feet tall and broad shouldered, he carried himself with the physical grace and power of an athlete.His black hair was slightly wavy, and it was brushed back from his strong forehead to reveal his breathtakingly handsome face.She'd often wondered if she'd ever get over how amazing he was. It didn't matter whether he'd been away on business for a few days or whether they'd just been in different rooms for a few minutes—whenever she laid eyes on him after they'd been apart, her heart fluttered and excitement coiled through her. After knowing him for ten months and living with him for the past five months, she was still overwhelmed by the pure thrill of being with him.'You have returned at last.' Vito caught her with his blue eyes as he closed the distance between them and swept her into his embrace.'Hmm.'Lily snuggled against his strong chest, pressing her face against his velvety-soft black cashmere sweater. She breathed deeply, drawing his scent into her lungs. Safe in his arms, she felt so much better. The nausea she'd suffered in the water taxi was already a distant memory.'I tried to call you,'Vito said, lifting her face gently for a lingering kiss. 'But then I found your phone in the bedroom.''Sorry.' Lily looked up into his gorgeous face. As always his kiss had the power to make all thoughts fly out of her mind. 'I forgot to charge it.''Are you all right?'Vito asked, catching her hands in his. 'You're so pale and cold. Come and sit down. Would you like a warm drink?''I'm fine,' Lily replied, letting Vito lead her into his study. 'A glass of cold water would be lovely.' She smoothed her fingers over her hair, suddenly apprehensive again. Now she knew why she'd gone off tea and coffee—and in a minute she'd have to tell Vito. 'I thought Carlo was taking you to your appointment,' Vito said, looking over his shoulder at her as he dropped ice cubes into a glass and poured mineral water from a frosted bottle. 'I don't like you taking public taxis, especially when you aren't feeling well.''I was all right,'Lily reassured him. 'I thought I might want to walk a while—the fresh air makes me feel better.''Still, if I'd known you were going to dismiss Carlo I would have accompanied you myself,' Vito said, slipping his arm around her waist and guiding her over to a sofa by the window. 'I don't know how you persuaded me not to cancel my meeting.'Lily ran her hand over her long blonde hair again as she sat down. The humidity of the fog had made it frizz. It was absurd to worry about what she looked like at a time like this, but somehow the enormity of the situation suddenly made it easier to focus on smaller things.'What did the doctor say?'Vito asked, looking at Lily with concern. Her heart-shaped face really was incredibly pale, and there were dark smudges of fatigue under her expressive hazel eyes. 'Do you need antibiotics?''No,' Lily said.She was smoothing her hands over her hair. Vito recognised the nervous gesture. Since they'd been together he'd grown used to her body language, but he couldn't imagine why she was anxious now.'Then what is it?'Fear that there might be something seriously wrong suddenly sliced through him like the blade of a knife. He dropped to his knee beside her, and took her chilly hands in his. The thought of Lily ill was unbearable. 'What did the doctor say?' he pressed. 'Do you have to go back for tests?''No.' Lily hesitated, looking at his expression. His black brows were drawn down with concern, creating two vertical creases between his eyes. She was close enough to wonder at their amazing colour—the incredible vibrancy of sky-blue that made her feel like summer had come, rather than the cold and damp of early spring that still felt like winter.But she'd worried him—something she'd never meant to do. She should tell him the truth at once.'I'm pregnant.'Lily could not have prepared for what happened next. She'd anticipated surprise, maybe even displeasure. But she'd never expected the sudden dramatic change in his expression—as if cold steel-shutters had dropped down over his features. Nor the brutal finality of his words.'Pack your things.' He jerked abruptly to his feet, letting her hand fall from his fingers as if he could no longer bear to touch her. 'And get out of my house.'LILY opened her eyes and looked groggily at the clock. Damn! She was late.'Aren't you up yet?' Anna said, already smartly dressed for work, walking across the open-plan lounge to the kitchen area of her flat. 'I thought you had that presentation this morning. You know—the big make-or-break one.''Yes, it's at nine o'clock.' Lily pushed herself up into a sitting position on the sofa. She was so grateful to her friend for letting her stay since Vito had thrown her out, but this sofa wasn't exactly the most comfortable place she'd ever slept.'Oh dear, you look awful,' Anna said. 'I thought morning sickness was only supposed to last the first few months.''So did I.' Lily moved and breathed slowly in an attempt to keep her stomach calm.'Here,' Anna said, placing a glass of milk on the coffee table. 'Good luck this morning,' she added, already halfway to the front door.Lily picked up the milk and took a careful sip. It was cool and comforting, and within a couple of minutes she felt her stomach start to settle enough for her to manage a quick shower and get ready for work. Thank goodness for Anna, who'd remembered one of her colleagues talking about how milk had worked wonders for the nausea she'd suffered from during pregnancy.Forty-five minutes later Lily climbed out of a black cab she could ill afford, and hesitated on the wide London pavement, staring up at the imposing steel-and-glass building that was the home of L&G Enterprises. It was a subsidiary of the Salvatore empire, and a menacing shiver ran down her spine at the thought that Vito might be inside. But if she'd really thought, even for a moment, that there was any chance of him being anywhere near, she would never have agreed to make the presentation today.She took a deep breath, gripped her heavy briefcase tightly, and walked into the building. A long blonde coil of her curly hair was bouncing in front of her eyes, so she tucked it back forcefully behind her ear. She'd been so late that there hadn't been time to straighten and style her hair properly. She'd settled for pulling it back tightly into a twist at the nape of her neck, but it was already showing signs of breaking free.It was important she did well this morning. So far she hadn't managed to find the permanent job she desperately needed. But, if luck was on her side today, this could be the break she needed. She'd approached her old boss at the computer-software company she'd been working for when she'd met Vito, and as a personal favour he'd been prepared to offer her a chance. If she could sell his company's web-conferencing system to L&G Enterprises, he'd give her a commission and find her a permanent job.'But didn't Suzy Smith set up the pitch?' Lily had asked, thinking of the flamboyant brunette who'd willingly stepped into her shoes when she'd handed in her notice so that she could move to Venice to be with Vito.'She did,' Mike, her old boss, had conceded. 'But honestly, Lily, she won't be able to cut it. L&G are a notori...