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Prepare to be swept away as two couples embark on an odyssey of secret longings and scorching desires...
City of Sin by Nana Malone
A weekend at Las Vegas’s over-the-top Decadence Hotel is strictly business for marketing analyst Synthia Michaels. Until her rival for a major account—gorgeous, blue-eyed Tristan Dawson—shows her just how irresistible a bad boy can be. But unless the reformed playboy can inspire her trust as well as her passion, what happens in Sin City will stay there.
Shipwrecked by Sienna Mynx
Professor Deja Jones still fantasizes about the mind-blowing kiss she shared with Jon Hendrix at their siblings’ wedding. Now an anniversary celebration on his family’s private island brings her face-to-face once again with the enticingly sexy sports agent. When a storm strands them together, will their explosive attraction ignite into something stronger and deeper?
City of Sin by Nana Malone
“You are infuriating and obstinate,” Tristan muttered.
The hell she was. She poked him again. “You’re a pompous jackass, so I guess—”
He shut her up with a hot, searing kiss. She should have seen it coming, but irritation had blinded her.
His strong arms wrapped around her, and his scent wove a hypnotic spell, seducing her, making it impossible to think.
Shipwrecked by Sienna Mynx
“What’s your name?” he asked. His hand moved to hers and squeezed.
“Huh?” she answered.
“Your name is Huh?” he asked.
She laughed and shook her head no.
“Tell me your name, beautiful,” he said. They were introduced just an hour before the wedding. He walked her down the aisle. Didn’t he remember? When she considered it further, she recalled that besides the spilled drink incident, they hadn’t spoken and were never formally introduced.
“Your name?” he whispered again. God help her, her knees nearly gave way. All he was doing was stroking her arm, and it excited her.
“Deja,” she said.
“Ahh, Deja. Very beautiful.”
NANA MALONE is a USA TODAY bestselling author. Her love of all things romance and adventure started with a tattered romantic suspense she borrowed from her cousin on a sultry summer afternoon in Ghana at a precocious thirteen years old. She’s been in love with kick-butt heroines ever since. You’ll find Nana working hard on additional books for her series. And if she’s not working or hiding in the closet reading, she’s acting out scenes for her husband, daughter and puppy in sunny San Diego.
SIENNA MYNX, bad-girl author of over thirty contemporary interracial romances, is acclaimed for her tales of torrid affairs between alpha heroes and the women born to tame them. Her stories awaken carnal desires and provoke laughter, soft sighs and gratifying tears of relief. Sienna’s novellas reflect her thirst for romance told from a steamy, passionate perspective with the diversity women of all colors crave in erotic romance. She lives in southern Georgia.
Tonight
City of Sin
Nana Malone
Shipwrecked
Sienna Mynx
www.millsandboon.co.uk
Table of Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
Introduction
About the Author
Title Page
City of Sin
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Dear Reader
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 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Shipwrecked
Dedication
Dear Reader
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Epilogue
Copyright
City of Sin
Nana Malone
To everyone who ever needs to let go a little.
Your fun is waiting.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to my terrific editor, Glenda Howard,
and my fabulous agent, Natalie Lakosil, for bringing me into the Harlequin Kimani Press family.
Dear Reader,
You know that saying, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”? What if it doesn’t? What if what happens in Vegas is love? Mortal business enemies Synthia and Tristan duke it out for their hearts and a job in one of my favorite cities. I loved writing this story because Syn is a woman close to my own heart, sometimes a little too serious. But when she lets go, the world is her oyster. The two of them are fun, snappy and unpredictable. I can’t wait for you to meet them.
Always remember to Romance the Sass.
Nana
If you don’t want to miss a single Nana Malone romance, make sure you join my reader group here: eepurl.com/blicGL.
Chapter 1
Tristan Dawson. Every woman’s dream man in the looks department. Smart, sexy and oozing with charm. Too bad he was the enemy. And currently trying to charm his way into a project that was rightfully hers.
She was going to kill him. The single thing stopping Synthia Michaels from lining up her alibi was the whole prison thing. She was way too cute for an orange jumpsuit. As she glared at her nemesis, she plotted all the possible ways she could engineer his demise.
The jerk was flirting with the client. Okay, maybe flirting was a strong word, but he was certainly working his Tristan Dawson make-them-panties-drop smile. And with that smile, Syn felt her chances of landing this assignment slipping away.
From the moment Tristan started working at Stellar Reach as a market analyst, they’d been at odds, butting heads over client decisions and methodology. She loathed everything he stood for. She worked her butt off with painstaking attention to detail and serious work ethic. She couldn’t deny it, his work was always done and it was difficult to find fault with the output. But his charisma and good looks gave him an unfair advantage. He’d poached some of her best clients with his effortless appeal. And God help the female clients. Syn turned her attention to Bella Bliss, Vice President of Marketing and Operations of Bliss Hotel Group, and almost felt sorry for the poor woman. Bella was a smart businesswoman, but here she was, salivating and stuttering over Tristan.
Not that Syn could entirely blame her. He was gorgeous. Tall and leanly muscled, he had a way of walking that made women stop and stare, imagining how good he’d be in bed. Couple the sheer sex appeal with his tanned skin and chiseled jaw, and most women around the office were goners.
On a regular day Tristan Dawson was hard to ignore, but in moments like this with him turning the full power of his allure on a client, the world was his. Syn was in no mood. She wanted this client.
She slid a glance over Tristan’s heart-stoppingly handsome face and studied the way he smiled at Bella, as if she were the only one in the room. When he spoke, he was professional, but there was something about the way he talked and that rasp infused into his voice. It made Synthia’s pulse race. Bella’s too apparently, because the petite hotel magnate was staring at him as if he were the second coming of battery-operated boyfriends.
Bella Bliss leaned forward, her cropped double-breasted jacket giving the whole room an excellent view of her cleavage. Their boss, Bryan James, pretended not to notice. And if Syn was being fair, she’d have to give Tristan a medal for effort. As far as she could tell, he’d kept his gaze on Bella’s eyes or at least in the general vicinity of her head.
Synthia also did her level best to ignore the blatant come-hither signals the hotel magnate was sending Tristan’s way, but it was hard.
This was her client, and she wasn’t about to roll over and let Tristan have it. No matter that the client was obvious about wanting him on the job. Bliss Hotel Group had been a long-standing client of Stellar Reach. It was standard practice to select the teams once the contract had been signed. It helped keep perspective fresh.
Synthia cleared her throat. “Bella, I’m thrilled about the opportunity to work with you again. I was part of the marketing and branding team for Bliss New York a few years ago.”
Bella dragged her intent gaze from Tristan. “Oh, you were?”
Synthia nodded. “Yes. I was just an intern at the time, but I’m familiar with the Bliss brand.”
Bella’s gaze blinked into sharper focus as if suddenly realizing she was here for work and not for a date. She nodded, sending her fluffy blond curls shifting around her shoulders. “I’ll have to review the work that was done on that. Since you have so much experience with the brand, you can bring Tristan here up to speed, Ms. Michaels.”
Synthia didn’t miss the familiarity Bella used with Tristan and the formality she used with her. In Bella’s head, Tristan was already running the branding campaign.
Suck it up, Michaels. So what if Bella Bliss was looking at Tristan as if he were an ice-cream cone in the middle of a Santa Ana summer? She wasn’t out of this yet. All she could do was her best. Lucky for her, on her worst day she could run miles around Tristan Dawson on his good day. She had this.
Tristan leaned closer to her, and her breath caught. For the most part, Synthia could ignore him, but when he turned those electric-blue eyes on her and made her the focus of all his attention, sometimes she forgot to breathe. But she was taking that little secret to the grave.
To make matters worse, he was silver-spooned, drove a BMW, and had the most sensual smile. Pretty much female kryptonite. And damn him, he knew it.
Syn tried to focus her attention on what Bryan was saying. Resolute, she kept her eyes on her laptop. But refusing to look at Tristan wouldn’t help. He would still be there in all his sexiness staring at her, taunting her. To keep herself from temptation she dragged her eyes to Bryan as he spoke.
“As the two of you know, we’ve been working with Bliss Hotel Group for years. They want a full competitive research and branding package for their new hotel in Las Vegas.”
A spike of adrenaline lit her blood, and her inner competitive nature stretched. She leaned forward and Tristan followed suit. God, the man was infuriating. He was always there. Always encroaching on her space. Syn kept her voice cool. “How soon do you want the research package?” As a senior market analyst for Stellar Reach, she excelled in market research for her clients. Identifying how to leverage what competitors were doing was one of her key strengths.
Bryan continued. “As you know, Bella’s team will be breaking ground in eighteen months. They’re looking for a full report on their lead competitors, the Decadence Hotel.”
Bella chimed in. “In every city there’s a Decadence, there’s also a Bliss. Over the years, we’ve been neck and neck for AAA Five Diamond Hotel ratings. With this new hotel, I want to blow them out of the water. So while you’re at Decadence, you’ll be posing as wealthy VIPs. We’ll provide you with everything that a VIP package entails. When we purchased the package, we left room for play but made use of their concierge services to book tickets and dinners and clubbing experiences. You’ll get to experience all that Decadence has to offer the elite crowd and you’ll report back. What we’re aiming for is information on their VIP experience that the average guest wouldn’t even know to ask for.”
Syn turned her attention to Bella, “I assume you still want the basics, the official room rates, the concierge, the facilities, the bottom line, their return on investment?”
She nodded. “Yes, of course. The bottom line is what it boils down to in the end. You’ll be provided with the preliminary report we have on Decadence.”
Tristan piped in, “While the bottom line is important, let’s not forget the customer experience. Those who like to work hard like to play even harder. So I’ll put that aspect into the report I compile.”
Bella beamed. “I’m sure you will.”
Syn chewed her lip. She’d worked on a Bliss Hotel campaign when she first started at the company. She wanted a real chance to prove herself now.
“Okay. If we get a team out there ASAP, we should be able to do some recon on the hotel and—”
Bryan held up a hand. “No team.”
She frowned. “What do you mean no team? We need to get to work as soon as possible. In an ideal world we would have done this months ago.”
Bryan smiled. “As usual, I appreciate your enthusiasm, Synthia, but you’re the team. We’re keeping it small this time.”
She frowned. What? She was expected to work with Tristan? The management at Stellar Reach fostered an environment of competition. They believed that it brought the best out in their people. It forced teams to strive for great results for their clients, as well as work hard to keep them happy lest they lose the account to someone else. And it did force everyone to bring their A-game.
Tristan finally spoke and Synthia steeled herself against the raspy, hypnotic tone in his voice. “So, what do you need Syn and me for? Our approaches are completely different.”
Bryan smiled. “I’m so glad you pointed that out, Tristan. Because the two of you complement each other.”
Synthia’s stomach rolled as she licked her lips. “I want to make sure I understand this right. You’re sending the two of us to Las Vegas...together.”
Her boss nodded. His ruddy cheeks going redder. “Yes. I believe the two of you bring some unique perspectives. You’ll head out for the three-day weekend and then present your findings to Bella at the end of the month.”
No. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t work with Tristan. He was disorganized. Hot. Brash. Sexy. A playboy. It was clear he knew his way around a woman’s body. The bane of her existence. The object of every fantasy she’d ever had over the past two years since he’d come to work at Stellar Reach.
Synthia cleared her throat. “All due respect, Bryan, but Tristan and I have different methods. Perhaps in the interest of time, it would be best for Bliss to send just one of us. I have more experience with the account, but the choice, of course, is up to Bella.” There was no way she was going to survive a weekend in Vegas with him. She would spontaneously combust before they even got off the plane. Either that or kill him.
Bryan shook his head. “Normally, Synthia, you’d be right. Your styles are very different. But given our timeline and given that we need to see how the competition is doing, we need you both. Your skill sets will be a good match on this. Synthia, you’ll focus on the bottom line. Check out pricing on rooms, activities and the like. You know the drill. See if you can find out their base costs. Tristan, I want you to focus on the services they provide. They are elegant but provide a fantasy element. And a very elite experience like what Bliss is trying to do. Both of you bring back your findings. From there, Bella will determine who will run the marketing and branding team.”
Heading the marketing and branding team for a hotel like Bliss? That would be a huge career coup.
A client like that would be a shining star on her résumé. And if she did well, she could leverage it for a promotion in her next review. Plus, with the bonus, she could cover the entire last year of her sister’s college tuition. As it stood, the payment for this semester was looming in a month, and thanks to footing the bill for last year’s semester abroad, she was low. All she had to do was suffer Tristan Dawson for a weekend? Done.
She would just stay away from him. Wouldn’t be difficult. Staying late and grinding wasn’t his methodology. He said he worked better in the morning. They would just work separate schedules. It never ceased to amaze her how he’d risen though the ranks so quickly. He was haphazard and never took anything too seriously. His office looked like a war zone and he lacked finesse. But somehow the clients adored him. But he wasn’t her problem. She knew what it took to succeed. And she had the drive to get there. All Tristan had to do was stay out of her way. She squared her shoulders. “When do we leave?”
Chapter 2
Three days with the ice princess. Tristan Dawson wondered who he’d pissed off to get that sentence. Fun wasn’t in her repertoire. It would be like carrying an anchor around Vegas. Talk about a buzzkill. A beautiful buzzkill. But a downer nonetheless. It was a real shame too, because she might actually be fun if she ever loosened up a little.
From his first day at Stellar Reach, she’d fascinated him. Her reputation preceded her. She was tough and smart and got the best clients. Simply put, she’d been the one to beat. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t take his eyes off her. If he wanted to be considered on his merits and not his name, he had to give her a run for her money.
In the early days it had been difficult. She was always overprepared and came to win every time. It also didn’t help that he’d spent the first two months struck stupid by her beauty. Her skin resembled melting chocolate and looked so soft he itched to touch her. Her dark, almond-shaped eyes dominated her face, complemented by high cheekbones and a beguiling smile. Granted, she’d never turned that soul-stunning smile in his direction, but he’d seen it before.
It hadn’t taken long to learn that her nickname was synonymous with aloof and cold. Which was a real shame because her real name suggested otherwise.
Tristan closed his laptop. “If Synthia doesn’t have a problem working with me, then I don’t have one either.” Except he’d be pretty much attached at the hip with her through the whole trip. Normally being partnered with a woman all weekend wasn’t a hardship. He loved women. All women. But this one made him insane. Made him feel certifiable. He’d never met anyone more uptight. From day one, all he’d ever wanted to do was muss her up. Just once, he’d love to see her hair out of that bun and wild. The instant heat pooling in his gut made his skin flush. Easy does it. Thinking about how to get her hair wild and messy wouldn’t do him any good. She already starred in too many of his dirty fantasies than were good for him. Not to mention that she’d flay him if she ever found out.
Their boss beamed at the both of them. “I’m glad the two of you are on board. Now, Synthia is more senior, so if any questions arise, just defer to her opinion. But I think you both can be our secret weapon on this contract, looking at both sides of the equation.”
Once they were dismissed, Tristan followed Synthia out of the office. The moment they were out of earshot, he whispered, “I won’t hold it against you that you just tried to toss me from the project.”
She halted and turned her glacial, indifferent smile on him. “I’m sorry you see it that way. I was merely trying to save you from having to do any heavy lifting. I know how averse you are to that.”
A spike of adrenaline hit him. There was no one he’d rather argue with. “Now, don’t be mad just because I get to have some actual fun and you’re stuck looking at the numbers.”
She veered toward her office and despite his better judgment he followed. “Well, my idea of fun isn’t to troll the Vegas strip clubs.”
He let his mouth drop open and clutched his chest when they reached her office. “I’m wounded, Synthia. You think that I would stoop so low? I’m a classy guy. And I want only the best. I’d hire a private service to bring the girls to me.” He winked at her.
“You’re disgusting.”
He grinned. He liked naked women as much as the next guy, but the whole strip club thing didn’t do anything for him. If he was going to see a naked woman, there had better be touching involved. He mostly just liked to ruffle Syn’s too neat, too perfect feathers. “You know, one of these days, you’re going to have to tell me why you don’t like me.”
She directed her dark gaze on him. “It’s not that I don’t like you. It’s that I’m indifferent. I do my best not to think about you ever.”
God, she was impossible. “If you say so, sweetheart. You just keep telling yourself that. In the meantime, this trip to Vegas will be really fun.”
She shrugged as if she couldn’t give a damn. “As long as you stay out of my way, we’ll be fine.”
His hackles rose. “Honey, I have no intention of seeing you the whole time we’re there.” Liar. What he wanted to do was see sexy, mussed-up Synthia in Vegas.
She crossed delicate arms over her chest and drew in a deep breath. He almost high-fived himself for managing not to sneak a peek at her gentle curves. He didn’t need that kind of torture through the rest of the day. “That will work fine with me.” Her tight, brittle scowl morphed into that brilliant smile of hers and Tristan’s brain shorted. Then she added. “Now, don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Junior Warbucks.”
She turned and walked to her desk as if she didn’t give a damn whether or not he still stood there. Grinding his teeth, he left her office and didn’t bother giving her the satisfaction of slamming it.
Back in his office, Drake Murphy, the head of Stellar Reach’s legal team, was waiting for him with his feet kicked up on the coffee table.
“Make yourself at home why don’t you, Drake?” Tristan mumbled.
His friend grinned. “Thank you, don’t mind if I do.” He inclined his head toward Synthia’s office. “You and your girlfriend at it again? I could hear you from here.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.” Tristan deposited his laptop onto his desk and sank into his chair.
Drake tossed a Nerf basketball at his head and laughed. “Oh, but you want her to be. It’s like you’re pulling her pigtails, man.”
Tristan cracked his neck and tossed the basketball smoothly into the hoop mounted on the wall. “I don’t want her.” He impressed himself with how smoothly the lie flowed off his tongue. He was ready to claw his skin off, he wanted her so bad.
Drake laughed. “I swear, the two of you bicker like crazy people. I honestly wish you two would just hit the sack and get it over with already. It’s hard to watch.”
“Never going to happen.” Tristan narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me, aren’t you legal? Should we even be discussing this?”
“I left my legal hat at the door. Do I need it?” Drake studied his friend.
“Not that I know, but she might glare me to death. No matter what I do, she’s not warming up to me.”
Drake nodded. “Well, that’s because you’re an idiot.”
Tristan laughed. “Only sometimes.”
“You ever planning on doing anything about that?”
“Like what?” Kissing her until she melts in my arms?
Drake tossed another Nerf ball at his head and Tristan caught it one-handed. “You know, asking her out like a grown-up. Since that’s what you really want to do. This whole acting-like-a-jerk thing isn’t going to get you anywhere.”
“It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose. She’s immune to my charm. The woman hates me.”
Drake shrugged. “Well, maybe if you stopped poaching her clients she might like you better. I don’t know about you rich boys, but for us common men, when we hit puberty we got the lesson that girls like it when you’re nice to them.”