The Love Islands Collection
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About the Authors
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author JANE PORTER has written forty romances and eleven women’s fiction novels since her first sale to Mills & Boon Modern Romance in 2000. A five-time RITA® Award finalist, Jane is known for her passionate, emotional and sensual novels, and she loves nothing more than alpha heroes, exotic locations and happy-ever-afters. Today Jane lives in sunny San Clemente, California, with her surfer husband and three sons. Visit www.janeporter.com.
SCARLET WILSON wrote her first story aged eight and has never stopped. Her family have fond memories of Shirley and the Magic Purse, with its army of mice all with names beginning with the letter ‘M’. An avid reader, Scarlet started with every Enid Blyton book, moved on to the Chalet School series and many years later found Mills & Boon®.
She trained and worked as a nurse and health visitor, and currently works in public health. For her, finding Mills & Boon® Medical Romance™ was a match made in heaven. She is delighted to find herself among the authors she has read for many years.
Scarlet lives on the West Coast of Scotland with her fiancé and their two sons.
MEREDITH WEBBER lives on the sunny Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, but takes regular trips west into the Outback, fossicking for gold or opal. These breaks in the beautiful and sometimes cruel red earth country provide her with an escape from the writing desk and a chance for her mind to roam free—not to mention getting some much needed exercise. They also supply the kernels of so many stories it’s hard for her to stop writing!
Four-time RITA® Award nominee JOANNE ROCK has penned over seventy stories for Mills & Boon. An optimist by nature and a perpetual seeker of silver linings, Joanne finds romance fits her life outlook perfectly—love is worth fighting for. A former Golden Heart® Award recipient, she has won numerous awards for her stories. Learn more about Joanne’s imaginative Muse by visiting her website, www.joannerock.com, or following @joannerock6 on Twitter.
LOUISE FULLER was a tomboy who hated pink and always wanted to be the prince—not the princess! Now she enjoys creating heroines who aren’t pretty pushovers but are strong, believable women. Before writing for Mills & Boon she studied literature and philosophy at university and then worked as a reporter on her local newspaper. She lives in Tunbridge Wells with her impossibly handsome husband, Patrick, and their six children.
SERENA BELL writes stories about how sex messes with your head, why smart people do stupid things sometimes and how love can make it all better. She wrote her first steamy romance before she was old enough to understand what all the words meant and has been perfecting the art of hiding pages and screens from curious eyes ever since—a skill that’s particularly useful now that she’s a mother of two avid readers. When she’s not scribbling stories or getting her butt kicked at Scrabble by her kids, she’s practicing modern dance improv in the kitchen, swimming laps, needlepointing, hiking or reading on one of her large collection of electronic devices. Serena blogs regularly about writing and reading romance at www.serenabell.com and www.wonkomance.com. She also tweets like a madwoman as @serenabellbooks. You can reach her at serena@serenabell.com.
Books by Jane Porter
Mills & Boon Modern Romance
The Disgraced Copelands
His Defiant Desert Queen
The Fallen Greek Bride
A Royal Scandal
His Majesty’s Mistake
Not Fit for a King?
The Desert Kings
King of the Desert, Captive Bride
The Sheikh’s Chosen Queen
Greek Tycoons
At the Greek Boss’s Bidding
Ruthless
Hollywood Husband, Contract Wife
Desert Brides
The Sheikh’s Disobedient Bride
A Dark Sicilian Secret
Duty, Desire and the Desert King
Books by Meredith Webber
Mills & Boon Medical Romance
The Halliday Family
A Forever Family for the Army Doc
Engaged to the Doctor Sheikh
Wildfire Island Docs
The Man She Could Never Forget
A Sheikh to Capture Her Heart
The Accidental Daddy
The Sheikh Doctor’s Bride
The One Man to Heal Her
Visit the Author Profile page at at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.
The Love Islands Collection
Bought to Carry His Heir
Jane Porter
The Doctor She Left Behind
Scarlet Wilson
A Miracle for the Baby Doctor
Meredith Webber
His Accidental Heir
Joanne Rock
Claiming His Wedding Night
Louise Fuller
Still So Hot!
Serena Bell
www.millsandboon.co.uk
ISBN: 978-1-474-08576-2
THE LOVE ISLANDS COLLECTION
Bought to Carry His Heir © 2016 Jane Porter The Doctor She Left Behind © 2015 Scarlet Wilson A Miracle for the Baby Doctor © 2017 Meredith Webber His Accidental Heir © 2017 Joanne Rock Claiming His Wedding Night © 2016 Louise Fuller Still So Hot! © 2014 Serena Bell
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk
Version: 2018-05-01
Table of Contents
Cover
About the Author
Booklist
Title Page
Copyright
Bought to Carry His Heir
Back Cover Text
Introduction
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
EPILOGUE
The Doctor She Left Behind
Praise
Dear Reader
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
EPILOGUE
A Miracle for the Baby Doctor
Back Cover Text
Dear Reader
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
EPILOGUE
His Accidental Heir
Back Cover Text
Introduction
Dedication
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Claiming His Wedding Night
Introduction
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
Still So Hot!
Back Cover Text
Introduction
Dedication
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
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
About the Publisher
Bought to Carry His Heir
Jane Porter
Held captive...
When Georgia Nielson is asked to be the surrogate for an enigmatic tycoon, she can’t afford to say no. Before she realizes that she’s struck a deal with the devil, she’s trapped on his isolated Greek island, with no escape from the brooding master who stalks its shores!
Carrying his child!
Scarred by the loss of his wife, Nikos Panos’s future rests on leaving behind a legacy. But Georgia’s constant presence threatens to unleash the powerful hunger he’s kept caged for so long. If he wants defiant Georgia to submit, he must confront the demons that haunt him...
The moment Nikos’s mouth touched hers, Georgia jolted, as if she’d stumbled into a live wire. Sensation rushed through her in electric waves, making her shudder.
Nikos deepened the kiss, his lips parting hers, and she shuddered again at the pleasure of his tongue stroking the inside of her sensitive lower lip and then finding her upper lip.
It had been ages since she’d kissed anyone. She couldn’t even remember her last kiss.
Nikos was in total control, drawing her close, his hard body pressed to the length of her as lips and tongue made her melt. She felt hot and explosive, her blood humming in her veins. She shuddered as his hand moved beneath her long hair to cup her nape and then moved down her neck, stirring every nerve-ending in her skin.
This was unlike any kiss she’d ever known.
This was shockingly electric.
Chemistry.
She fled. It was that or collapse in a puddle on the kitchen floor.
In her room, she locked the door and leaned against it, legs still shaking.
What had just happened?
She’d never felt anything so consuming...pleasure and hunger and something else... something so intense that it continued to ripple through her in hot, dizzying waves.
Desire. Lust. Need.
Georgia exhaled slowly, trying to get control, needing to clear her head, and yet all she could feel was the pressure of Nikos’s body against hers and the feel of his mouth...as well as his taste.
He’d tasted like heat and honey and liquorice. She’d never tasted anything like it. And, God help her, she wanted more.
For Megan, Maisey and Carol—
three gorgeous girls I adore.
Thank you for the love and encouragement when I needed it!
CHAPTER ONE
IT WAS A cold February afternoon in Atlanta, but the law office of Lyles, Laurent & Abraham at One Atlantic Center on West Peachtree Street was even more frigid.
The prominent Atlanta attorney James Laurent fiddled with his glasses, his expression withering. “You signed the contracts, Miss Nielsen. They are absolutely binding in every country—”
“I have no problem with the contract,” Georgia interrupted, more annoyed than cowed by the attorney’s icy contempt, because she was absolutely committed to carrying the baby only to relinquish him. That was the job of a surrogate, and she took the job seriously. “The baby is his. But there is nothing in the contract that stipulates where I am to give birth, nor was anything ever communicated to me in advance about giving birth overseas. I wouldn’t have agreed to serve as Mr. Panos’s surrogate if that had been the case.”
“Miss Nielsen, Greece is not a third world country. You will receive excellent medical care in Athens before, during and after delivery.”
She gave him a long look, hands relaxed on the arms of the leather chair, fighting to keep her temper in check. “I’m a med student at Emory. I’m not worried about my medical care. But I am disturbed by your condescension. If a mistake was made, it was your client’s...or yours. You were, after all, the one who drew up the papers for the surrogacy. You know what the agreement covered. And it didn’t cover me getting on a plane and flying five thousand six hundred and sixty-six miles to give birth.”
“It’s a citizenship issue, Miss Nielsen. The baby must be born in Greece.”
Georgia Nielsen glanced past the attorney to the huge map that had been framed and hung on the wall of Mr. Laurent’s office. It was an old map, a collector’s item, and from the boundaries and labels, she’d guess it was from the late nineteenth century, the 1880s or maybe 1890s, with Africa divided by European colonial claims. But even old and yellowed, Greece was identifiable...right where it had been for thousands of years, giving birth to Western civilization.
And right where she was expected to give birth.
If Georgia were in a better mood, she might find it ironic. She might even be amused. But she wasn’t in a good mood. She was furious and frustrated. From the start, she’d taken care of herself, paid close attention to proper health and the well-being of the baby. Her job as a surrogate was to bear a healthy baby, and she was doing her part. Eating right, sleeping as much as possible, getting lots of exercise and keeping stress to a minimum—not always easy when in medical school, but she had her priorities right. But going to Greece? And going soon? That was not on her agenda.
“The travel arrangements are being finalized as we speak,” Mr. Laurent added. “Mr. Panos will send his personal jet for you. As you can imagine, the jet is state-of-the-art and quite luxurious. You’ll have staff and a good rest, and before you know it, you’ll be there—”
“I haven’t even reached the third trimester. Seems to me that making travel plans now is incredibly premature.”
“Mr. Panos would prefer not to place undue stress on you or the baby. Specialists do not recommend international travel in the third trimester.”
“Yes, for high-risk pregnancies, but this isn’t one.”
“It is IVF.”
“There have been no complications.”
“And my client prefers to keep it that way.”
Georgia bit her tongue to keep from saying something she might regret. She understood that Nikos Panos’s concern was for the baby, his son. She understood, too, that her wants and needs did not factor in. She was a vessel...a womb...nothing more. As it should be until the very end, when she delivered a healthy baby and saw him placed in the arms of his protective father. That was when her job would be done. Then, and only then.
But that didn’t mean she wanted to leave Atlanta or the world she knew. Going halfway around the world would be stressful. Leaving her support systems would be challenging, especially as she neared the end of the pregnancy. This was a job, a way to provide for her sister, but she wasn’t totally naive. It was hard not to have any feelings for the life inside her, and those emotions were becoming stronger. Hormones were already shifting. She could only imagine how ambivalent she’d feel in another three and a half months.
But motherhood wasn’t her future. Her future was medicine, and her course was set.
For a long moment there was just silence in the office.
Mr. Laurent pressed his fingers together, creating a tense steeple. “What will it take to get you on that plane this Friday?”
Ridiculous. There was no way she could go so soon. “I have school. I have studies.”
“You have just finished the preclinical block. You are studying for the medical licensing exam, and you can study just as well in Greece as in Georgia.”
“I’m not going to leave my sister for three and a half months.”
“She’s twenty-one and lives in North Carolina.”
“Yes, she’s a senior at Duke University, but she’s financially and emotionally dependent on me. I am her only living relative.” Georgia met his gaze and held it. “I am all she has left.”
“And the child you carry?”
“Isn’t mine.” Her lips firmed. “Your client paid for the egg and the surrogacy, so if Mr. Panos wants to be present for the birth of his son, he can come to Atlanta. Otherwise, the baby’s nurse will take the infant to him. As agreed.”
“Mr. Panos is not able to fly.”
Georgia lifted her chin, air bottled inside her lungs. She was not going to engage. She refused to be drawn into this. A contract was a contract. “That is not my concern. Your client is not my concern. Once I give birth, the infant is not my concern. I have been paid not to care, and, Mr. Laurent, I intend to keep my end of the bargain.”
The attorney closed his eyes and rubbed at an invisible spot between his bushy gray eyebrows, bumping his glasses from his nose. For a moment the only sound in the room was the antique grandfather clock tick-ticking against the wall.
Mr. Laurent opened his eyes, fixed his gaze on her. “How much will it cost to get you on the plane on Friday? And before you say I’m not listening, I know everyone has a price. You do, too. It’s why you agreed to donate the egg and carry the fertilized embryo. You were satisfied with the compensation. So, let’s not bicker over the terms. Tell me what you need to get on that plane, and I will see that the money is wired into your account first thing in the morning.”
Georgia stared at the older man, her serene expression hiding her anxiety, as well as her frustration. Yes, money was tight, but she didn’t want more money. She just wanted to finish what she’d started. It had been a mistake to do this. She thought she’d manage as a surrogate, but lately she was finding it increasingly difficult to keep her emotions in check. But it was too late to back out now. There was no changing her mind, either. The contracts were binding. The child wasn’t hers. And, yes, she carried him, and each little flutter kick made her heart ache, but the baby was Nikos Panos’s, and she couldn’t forget it.
Which meant she had to move forward. It was her only option. And the moment she delivered, the moment the baby was whisked away, she’d black this year from her memory. Georgia never wanted to think about any of this again. It was the only way to survive something so challenging. Fortunately, she had practice in surviving challenging situations. Grief was a good teacher.
“Name it,” Mr. Laurent said quietly.
“It’s not about the money—”
“But it will pay bills, so pay your bills. Provide for your sister. I understand she, too, wants to attend medical school. Take advantage of the offer so you never have to do something like this again.”
That last bit hit home. Her gaze locked with his, and her short, filed nails curled into her palms.
Mr. Laurent was right. She could never do something like this again. It was breaking her heart. But she’d survived worse. And it wasn’t as if she was abandoning a child to a monster. Nikos Panos wanted this baby desperately.
Drawing a short, sharp breath, Georgia named an outrageous figure, a sum that would cover Savannah’s medical school and living expenses, plus some. Georgia made the sum deliberately high, intending to shock the old lawyer.
But Mr. Laurent didn’t blink. Instead he scribbled something down on a printed sheet of paper. “The addendum,” he said, pushing the paper across the desk toward her. “Sign here, and date there.”
She swallowed, shocked he’d so readily agreed to her “outrageous” demand. He must have been prepared for her to ask for even more. She probably could have asked for millions and he would have said yes. Stupid pride. Why couldn’t she be a proper mercenary?
“You’re agreeing to leave Friday,” Mr. Laurent said as she reached for the page. “You will spend the last trimester of your pregnancy in Greece, at Nikos Panos’s villa on Kamari, which is a short flight from Athens. After delivery, once you have been cleared to travel, my client will send you back to Atlanta, either on his private jet or first class on the airline of your choice. Any questions?”