The Forbidden Bride-To-Be

Alex obviously wanted her. Letter to Reader Title Page About the Author Dedication Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Teaser chapter Copyright

Alex obviously wanted her.

He hadn’t gone out of his way to hide his desire for her. Or his distrust. A distrust he had every reason to feel. She silently cursed Damon for putting her in this position, but she was as much to blame for perpetuating the lie.

She gazed into his eyes. She was free to tell him the truth and then they could move on with their relationship. Why did she hold back?

She would only be here until the end of the week. Did she really want to get in any deeper? Could she stop herself? If her feelings for him were purely physical, she could deal with an affair. But her emotions were becoming involved. Alex touched her in a place no one else had been able to reach before.

Her heart.

And it frightened her more than she cared to admit.

Dear Reader,

Hectic life? Too much to do, too little time? Well, Silhouette Desire provides you with the perfect emotional getaway with this month’s moving stories of men and women finding love and passion. So relax, pick up a Desire novel and let yourself escape, with six wonderful, involving, totally absorbing romances.

Ultratalented author Mary Lynn Baxter kicks off November with her sultry Western style in Slow Talkin’Texan, the story of a MAN OF THE MONTH whose strong desires collide with an independent lady—she’s silk to his denim, lace to his leather... and doing all she can to resist this irresistible tycoon. A smalltown lawman who rescues a “lost” beauty might just find his own Christmas bride in Jennifer Greene’s heartwarming Her Holiday Secret. Ladies, watch closely as a Thirty-Day Fiancé is transformed into a forever husband in Leanne Banks’s third book in THE RULEBREAKERS miniseries.

Don’t dare miss the intensity of an innocent wife trying to seduce her honor-bound husband in The Oldest Living Married Virgin, the latest in Maureen Child’s spectacular miniseries THE BACHELOR BATTALION. And when a gorgeous exmarine shows up at his old flame’s ranch to round up the “wife who got away,” he discovers a daughter he never knew in The Re-Enlisted Groom by Amy J. Fetzer. The Forbidden Bride-to-Be may be off-limits...but isn’t that what makes the beautiful heroine in Kathryn Taylor’s scandal-filled novel all the more tempting?

This November, Silhouette Desire is the place to live, love and lose yourself...to sensual romance. Enjoy!

Warm regards,

Joan Marlow Golan

Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

The Forbidden Bride-To-Be

Kathryn Taylor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

KATHRYN TAYLOR

has a passion for romance novels that began in her late teens and left her with an itch to discover the world. After living in places as culturally diverse as Athens, Greece, and Cairo, Egypt (where she met and married her own romantic hero), she returned to the States, and she and her husband settled in the quiet village of Warwick, New York. Kathryn says, “Although my writing allows my mind to soar in the clouds, I have an energetic eleven-year-old who keeps my feet planted on the ground.”

For my critique partner, Karen,

to whom I owe an enormous debt of gratitude

Prologue

A light wind rustled the black lace curtains at the door, causing the candles to flicker. Sophie Anders adjusted the shawl on her shoulders. Golden threads shimmered in the candlelight. The heavy scent of sandalwood incense tickled her nostrils and she had to stifle a sneeze.

The carousel’s Wurlitzer organ piped out a hauntingly familiar song on the midway. She raked a handful of curls back from her face and smiled at the handsome man sitting in the folding chair across from her. “Why do you want to introduce me to your family as your fiancée? We’re not even dating.”

Damon Winston grinned sheepishly. “The family is nagging me about getting married, so I sort of told them I had a fiancée.”

She glanced down at her white peasant blouse and red swirling skirt. “And I’m the best you could come up with? They’ll never buy it.”

“Actually, you’re the worst I could come up with, and I don’t want them to buy it. I want them to oppose it.”

“Why, thank you.” She punched his shoulder in mock exasperation.

“You know I didn’t mean that as an insult. To my family, a nonconformist is someone who wears white after Labor Day. You would be an alien being.”

Sophie knew better than to be insulted. She had worked for Damon while in college, and their friendship had begun in part due to their mutual enjoyment of taunting each other. She credited their enduring relationship to the fact that she had never gotten romantically involved with him.

“Why don’t you just tell them you don’t want to get married? I, for one, would vouch for your poor character—fidelity not being one of your strongest suits.”

“Come on, Sophie. I’ve never asked you for anything.”

“What about all those double shifts you had me pull at the restaurant?”

Damon gave her one of those charming smiles that usually had the ladies falling at his feet. “Besides that.”

“How about the time you set me up on a blind date with your college pal, Octopus Man?”

“After one date with you, he decided to be a priest.”

“Or the time you asked me to pick you up at the airport and left me waiting two hours because you had made a short detour with one of the stewardesses.”

“Okay. I get the point. But this is absolutely the last favor I will ever ask of you. No one will get hurt.”

Sophie lowered her head. Some Gypsies would think her crazy for hesitating. Running scams might be part of Romany heritage, but not a part her family had cultivated. “I don’t know, Damon. I’d planned to work the carnival over my vacation. The youth center needs money for art supplies....”

He groaned in frustration. “How many times have I told you, you won’t get rich by working for free?”

“I didn’t get rich working for you, either,” she jokingly shot back. “That’s why I’m selfemployed.”

Damon had never understood why she volunteered her time teaching art classes at the youth center. She received so much more than she gave those kids. Wealth had different meanings for different people. To him, the measure would always be monetary.

He lifted the tarot card and turned it facedown on the table. “Are the paying customers really fooled by this Gypsy act you put on.”

“The carnival is for charity. And it’s not an act. I’ll admit that I don’t have the talent my mother does, but I get really strong impressions about people.”

“I’ll make a deal with you. Do this for me and I’ll donate two thousand dollars to the center.”

Her eyes widened. “Two thousand dollars?” Although her first instinct was to decline the offer, she thought about all the things the center could do with the money and she found her resolve wavering. What harm could there be in playing the part of an unsuitable fiancée for a few days?

“And you’d get an exciting, fun-filled vacation, all expenses paid to beautiful Fairfield, Connecticut.”

The evening sky crackled with heat lightning. Was it a sign she should go, or a warning to stay away? Get a grip, Sophie. It was a quirk of nature. “There is no such thing as a free ride, Damon.”

He twisted his fingers together until his knuckles cracked. “Jeez. You sound like Alex.”

“Who’s Alex?”

“My stepbrother.”

That Damon had never mentioned a stepbrother in the four years she had known him should have been enough to send up the alarm bells. “I don’t know....”

He arched his eyebrow. “You’ll be doing it for charity.”

“All right,” she found herself saying despite her misgivings. Gooseflesh covered her skin. She glanced down at the intersecting lines on her palm. Was this the crossroad her mother had predicted in her future?

One

Sophie gaped at the walled fortress. The stone watchtower at the entrance added to her growing apprehension. A brass plate near the wrought-iron gate read The Sanctuary, and beyond the iron bars the massive house loomed in the distance. What had she gotten herself into?

Droplets of rain blurred the windshield. How fitting, she thought. The gray fog, nearly obscuring the gables, lent a haunting ambience to the entire scene before her.

She turned toward Damon. His lips curved upward in what she could only describe as a sneer. He locked his fingers in a death grip over the steering wheel of the Porsche. She barely recognized him as the same unflappable man who breezed though life on his charming smile.

“It ain’t much, but it’s home,” he muttered sarcastically. Obviously The Sanctuary wasn’t a haven to him.

As she returned her gaze to the sprawling estate, she realized just how little she knew about Damon. Not enough to decipher his true motives for this charade. His anxiety didn’t jive with a man who only wanted his well-meaning, if interfering, family off his case about marriage.

“Tell me a little about your family.”

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why?”

“We’re supposed to be engaged. Shouldn’t I know a little about your life?” He’d never mentioned growing up on an estate the size of a convention center. What else had he left out?

He paused in thought, then shrugged. “You’re right, of course. My mother is a typical mother. She wants me married off to a nice girl so I can give her a pack of grandchildren.”

“And your brother?”

“Stepbrother,” he corrected with a slight edge to his voice. He inhaled deeply and relaxed in the bucket seat. “Alex is...intense. He was kidnapped when he was young, and his father paid a fortune to get him back. But don’t mention it. He never talks about the incident.”

Although stories of kidnapping were romanticized among the Gypsies, she could only imagine the scars an incident like that left behind. Again, she wondered why Damon had never mentioned his stepbrother.

“Are the two of you close?”

“Not exactly.” He jammed the car into gear and drove up the long driveway. Clearly anything else she wanted to ask would have to wait.

They were met at the foot of the flagstone steps by a butler. He opened her door, then strode around the car to open Damon’s door.

“Welcome home, Master Damon. I hope you had a good trip.” The man’s formality forced Sophie to swallow a laugh.

“Thank you, William.” Damon took her arm and led her through the misty rain into the house.

Her heels clicked against the marble floor of the large foyer. A crystal chandelier that suspended from the cathedral ceiling shimmered brightly. Feeling hopelessly out of place, she smoothed her ruffled skirt. Now she understood how her ancestors felt when they’d been summoned to the castles of Europe to provide entertainment for the nobility.

“Why didn’t you warn me?” she muttered angrily.

“I didn’t want you to come rehearsed, ready to play a part.”

“Isn’t that what I’m doing?”

“Yes. But I wanted the estate to take you by surprise. No preconceived notions.”

Apparently there was more to Damon’s scheme than he’d led her to believe. He was playing with her, too, and she wasn’t up to his kind of games. She had agreed to act as his fiancée as long as the small deception hurt no one.

William joined them, preventing her from further questioning. “I’ll have the bags taken to your rooms. Your mother is at the club. She’ll be back for dinner.”

“And Alex?” Damon asked.

“At the stables, I believe.”

“I better go tell him I’m here. Make yourself at home.” Damon placed an obligatory kiss on her cheek. “The living room is down the hall to the right and the library to the left. If you get lost, don’t worry. It will only take a search party a few hours to find you in this place.”

She plastered on a smile and pretended to be amused. “Hurry back, dear.”

Left on her own, Sophie made a slow pirouette to survey the foyer again. So opulent, so elegant, so sterile. The sheer size of the place might give the illusion of space, but she felt as restricted as if she had been locked in a closet. Would she be able to survive an entire week?

Alexander Sinclair kicked the dirt from his boot and stepped into the kitchen. He glanced at his watch. Lunch would have to wait if he wanted to shower and change before his brother arrived. He grabbed an apple from the counter and bit into the crunchy fruit.

If nothing else, his vacation would be interesting this year. Damon was planning to get married? That remained to be seen. His brother enjoyed his freedom too much to settle down without major incentive. Was his intended a wealthy socialite? Or was something else behind his decision to marry a woman he’d never mentioned before last week? Alex had been curious enough to come home and find out.

As he started down the hall, he saw a familiarlooking woman enter the library. He withdrew into the shadows. A knot formed in his stomach. He could have sworn he’d stepped into the past. What was going on?

Convinced that the lighting had played tricks on him, he continued down the hall. The faint sound of music floated on the air. Three suitcases at the foot of the stairs let him know Damon and his guest had arrived.

The soft strains of Bizet’s Carmen became louder as he reached the archway that led to the library. A pair of red leather pumps had been discarded just inside the room. Beneath the bay window a woman swayed enticingly to the violin music. A small cassette player was hooked to a wide black belt that emphasized her narrow waist, and a kelly green skirt swirled around long shapely legs. Her mane of dark curls lifted as she swung her head in a circular motion. This time the tightening in his body occurred several inches lower than his stomach.

Her seductive dance picked up with the tempo. She spun across the highly polished floors as if aware of every piece of furniture even though her eyes were closed. He was drawn to her face. Again he noticed distinct similarities. Only this woman lacked any inhibition, unlike Marie.

Marie. He hadn’t thought of her in years. What cruel plan did Damon have in mind this time? Alex refused to believe that this woman’s resemblance to his ex-fiancée was mere coincidence.

He heard a gasp. A pair of startled green eyes locked on him a split second before she slammed full force into him. Instinctively he grabbed her waist as he stumbled backward into the wall.

For a stunned moment he could neither think nor feel. Slowly his senses returned. Short, panting breaths caressed his neck, wreaking havoc with his hormones. The scent of strawberry engulfed him. Her full round breasts brushed over his chest as she fumbled with the off button of her cassette player. He was sure she felt him grow hard.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered.

“No harm.” In fact, he enjoyed the feeling of her snuggled against him a little too much.

“How long have you been here?”

He laughed. “Long enough to catch the show.”

Her embarrassed moan reverberated against his chest. As she shook her head, her silky hair brushed over his cheek. “Leather.”

“Excuse me?”

“You smell like leather.”

“Sorry.” He dropped his hands from her waist

She took a step back and smiled. “Don’t apologize. It’s a nice scent.” She smoothed her clothes, then extended her hand. “You must be Alex. Damon has told me so much about you.”

Was it his imagination, or had she winced at her words? “He mentioned nothing about you,” he said as he enclosed her delicate hand in his. He felt her tremble slightly.

“Oh, well, I’m Sophie.” A healthy blush covered her cheeks. She smoothed the mass of ringlets that surrounded her face like a halo. “Damon went to the stables to look for you.”

“He missed me.”

“Apparently.”

During the long pause that followed, he stared at her, but she remained steady under his gaze. Damn, she was beautiful.

“Nice place you have here.”

“You think so?”

“Not really.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “Oh, jeez, I did it again.”

Alex grinned at her honesty. “The Sanctuary takes some getting used to.”

He had alternately loved and hated the place at different times in his life. But if Damon planned to install her at the house, Alex would limit the amount of time he spent at the estate. His physical awareness of his brother’s fiancée was inappropriate.

“Why would I have to get used to it?”

“Forgive me. I was under the impression that you’re engaged to my brother.”

Confusion flashed in her eyes. “But this is your house, not Damon’s.”

She didn’t know much about the man she was supposedly marrying. “It’s his house, too.” At least until Alex agreed to sell, something he’d been reluctant to do to the dismay of his family.

The front door crashed open.

Sophie jumped back. She slipped her feet into her shoes and tried to restore order to her clothes. Did she look as guilty as she felt? she wondered. Despite any outward appearance of calm, her insides churned with a multitude of confusing emotions.

Never before had she experienced such an intense reaction to a man. The scent of saddle soap, so utterly masculine and earthy, still lingered. Not only had she literally thrown herself into his arms, she hadn’t wanted him to let go. Nice behavior from a supposedly engaged woman!

Damon strode into the library. He came up behind her and slid his hands over her waist. She should have expected him to show a display of affection in his brother’s presence, but she couldn’t stop herself from twisting away.

“She’s a bit shy,” Damon explained as he tugged her back to his side.

“Funny,” Alex said. “I didn’t get that impression.”

Sophie felt the blood rush to her cheeks again. As first impressions went, she had certainly given Alex something to think about. She didn’t usually dance for an audience.

“Then I guess the two of you had enough time to get acquainted in my absence,” Damon said.

“Oh, yes.” Alex’s half smile sent a surge of heat through her.

She’d certainly had enough time to become acquainted with the hard lines and solid planes of his body. A bit of information she would be wise to forget as soon as possible. She would have to talk to Damon about shortening the length of their stay to a few days. Undoubtedly, she would have made a bad enough impression on his upper-class family by then to achieve his goal.

She should have heeded the warning she’d read in the tarot cards last week. Even her mother had voiced concern via a rare long-distance phone call yesterday. There was no such thing as a little white lie. And now, she was in too far to back out.

“So, what do you think?” Damon asked Alex. “Isn’t she gorgeous?”

She twisted her fingers together. “He needs glasses.”

“There’s nothing wrong with his eyesight,” Alex said, his gaze never leaving her face.

Damon stroked his finger along her jaw. “Would you like to see your room, babe?”

“Yes, please.” Sophie needed to put some distance between herself and Damon’s all-too-curious brother. She understood the need for Damon’s possessive gestures. After all, he wanted to convince the family they planned to wed. But under Alex’s scrutiny, she couldn’t repress the sense of guilt that made her want to blurt out the truth.

Did Alex notice her lack of response to her fiancée?

“Which room did Mother have prepared?” Damon asked.

“The guest room in the east wing.” Alex arched an eyebrow in amusement. “Unless you want her in your room.”

“No!” she said too sharply. She glanced at Damon for help, but he offered none. “I wouldn’t insult your mother by sharing a room before we’re married.”

“Let me get you settled.” As Damon took her arm and led her away, she heard Alex’s hearty chuckle mocking her.

On the walk to the room she expected Damon to explode with anger at her stiff and unemotional responses. He never did. Instead, he strode up the stairs and down the hall looking very pleased with himself. Only when they entered the bedroom did he say anything at all.

“So, what do you think?”

“The room is beautiful.” The polished antique furniture left the faint scent of lemon in the air. The bedspread and drapes, in shades of teal and peacock blue, were the most elegant she had ever seen. She sat on the tapestry-covered window seat and glanced outside. From the second-floor vantage point the woods beyond the stone wall were visible.

“Not the room. What did you think of Alex?”

She turned to face him. “I think he suspects there is something odd about our relationship.”

“Besides that?”

“He was polite.” Considering she had sent him flying into a wall, he had been downright gracious.

Damon sat on the sleigh bed and tucked a pillow behind his head. “That’s all?”

She also happened to think Alex was incredibly sexy in his flannel shirt and jeans, not at all the three-piece-suit type she had been expecting. He had a body to die for, thick eyelashes she would kill for, and warm brown eyes that sent her pulse racing.

And her entire purpose for being here was to make a lousy impression on this man.

Damon waved his hand. “Sophie?”

She blinked and met his amused gaze. “What else do you want? I’m only supposed to have eyes for you, honey.”

“He couldn’t stop staring at you.”

“I was standing right in front of him.”

“You were blushing.”

She sprung to her feet. “What’s going on? Are you trying to set me up with your brother?”

“Of course not,” he protested.

“Good. Then we probably won’t need to stay the entire week.”

“Anxious to leave already?”

“You know us Gypsies. We need to wander.”

“We have to stay the week. Really make them worry about our marriage. They’ll be so relieved when I dump you that they’ll stop interfering in my business.”

“How come you get to dump me? Maybe I don’t want you.”

He grinned and rose to his feet. “You can tell our friends anything you want to save face.”

“Get lost.”

He reached for the door handle. “By the way...if you should get a case of wanderlust during the night, be careful. Alex has the room next to yours and you share a bathroom.”

“What?”

“This wing of the house was originally designed for the master and mistress of the estate.” He blew her a kiss and sprinted away.

She dropped down on the bed and sighed. Was Damon trying to play matchmaker? If so, why had he told his family they were engaged? Certainly no brother would intentionally make a play for the other’s fiancée. No, Damon must have something else in mind, but she wasn’t going to discover what until he was good and ready to tell her.

Alex clicked on the computer and dialed into the office. Although he trusted his manager with the daily running of the company, he wanted to check over the orders for the day—

Nice try, but he wasn’t buying his own excuses. He wanted something to take his mind off the sultry beauty who had invaded his home and his thoughts.

He would bet the family business that there was no intimate relationship between Sophie and Damon. She couldn’t even pretend to like his touch. What were they up to, and was his stepmother, Elaine, also in on the plan? With six empty bedrooms in the house, why had she chosen to put Sophie in the one next to his, while Elaine and Damon took residence in the opposite wing?