Sensible Housekeeper, Scandalously Pregnant
June 2010 (United Kingdom)
September 2010 (North America)
Modern Romance/Harlequin Presents
"Will a ruthless, arrogant billionaire fall to his knees and beg his housekeeper to give him her heart?"
The Housekeeper
What right did Argentinian billionaire Rafael Cruz have to demand her in his bed? Housekeeper Louisa Grey had managed his homes impeccably. She'd catered to his every appetite – except...
The Boss
Oh, no, his virgin housekeeper did not flirt... but their simmering attraction meant Rafael had never been so close to losing control. And if there was one thing he was good at – besides seduction – it was taking charge!
The Baby?
But now they'd never be able to go back to being just boss and employee…
NA (September 2010) · ISBN 10: 0373527829 · ISBN
13: 978-0373527823 · UK
(June 2010) ISBN 10: 0263878171 · ISBN
13: 978-0263878172
Rafael Cruz had broken many hearts, and he did not feel particularly bad about it.
He wasn't being arrogant. It was simply a fact.
The world was full of beautiful women to fill his bed. But good employees were hard to find. He'd promised himself he'd never seduce an employee, and he never had once been tempted to break that vow.
Until a month ago in Paris.
He'd told himself he'd never let it happen again. But now, kissing Louisa was heaven. Her lips were so soft and sweet and yielding beneath his. Her skin smelled like soap and spring flowers. His whole body tightened with the force of his desire.
It was more than desire. He knew this was wrong – forbidden – but he longed for her in a way he'd never felt for any woman. The elusive Miss Grey. When he felt her surrender in his arms, a growl rose in the back of his throat. He wrapped his arms around her more tightly and started to pull her back towards the bed.
With a gasp, she wrenched away from his arms. "No!"
"Louisa – "
"No." She stumbled back from him violently. "We can't do this!"
He reached his arms out for her. "We must."
She jumped back another two steps with an intake of breath, exhaling with a flare of nostril. With a shuddering intake of breath, she put her fingertips on her lips as if she could still feel him kissing her. "I can't," she whispered. "I work for you."
He knew she was right. That just made him more angry, more determined to have her.
"It doesn't matter," he said fiercely.
"Oh, but it does. You have a rule, Mr. Cruz," she said, lifting her chin. Her beautiful chocolate-colored eyes glittered. "You never seduce your employees. That's the one line you don't cross!"
Rafael craved her desperately. She was the one tonic that would make him forget everything he'd lost today. But he could not tell her that. He must never appear vulnerable to anyone – not to any woman on earth, let alone one of his employees!
"It is my rule, not yours," he said coolly. "I can choose to make an exception."
But she stepped back, out of his reach.
"I choose differently," she said. "What happened between us in Paris is a mistake. It will never happen again. I can't lose my career, my reputation, my life," she whispered. "Not again!"
He frowned, trying to read her expression.
"What do you mean, again?"
She blinked fast as she looked away. "Nothing."
"I don't believe you." He knew almost nothing about her past beyond what was spelled out on her résumé. She'd always deflected personal questions with cool, dignified reserve. He narrowed his eyes. "There was another man before me," he guessed.
"You know there wasn't!"
"You were a virgin. That doesn't mean there wasn't another man." The thought made his shoulders feel tighter still.
He saw her eyes widen, heard her intake of breath. Then she smoothed her oversized gray woolen skirt beneath her trembling hands. "My past is my own." She turned away. "If there will be nothing else, sir, I will leave you now—"
"No, damn it." Rafael crossed the room in two steps, blocking the doorway so she could not leave. "I won't let you go. Not until you answer me. I..." I need you, he almost said, but the words caught in his throat as sharply as a razorblade. He hadn't said them to anyone for years. He'd created his whole life to avoid saying them.
Through the open window, he could see the lights of Istanbul flickering in the dusk. Black silhouettes of minarets plunged like daggers into the dying red sunset. He could hear a muezzin's broadcasted call to prayers echo across the sea.
His eyes locked with hers in the shadowy room. The tension between them changed. Electrified. Desire for her swept through him, negating all else.
"Get out of my way, Mr. Cruz," she whispered.
He could hear the quickness of her breath, see the rise and fall of her chest. "No."
"You can't keep me here!"
Rafael almost shook with the force of his need for her.
"Can't I?" he said softly. 
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