Kate Hardy - Surrender to the Playboy Sheikh

Definitely an upper-class playboy.

Though his olive skin and amber-coloured eyes were just a touch too exotic for him to be English.

‘I really shouldn’t b—’ Lily began as he opened the French doors, guided her onto the balcony and closed the doors behind them.

‘Shh.’ He placed his forefinger against her lips, his touch gentle yet firm enough to tell her he meant it. No more protesting.

And then he held her gaze and traced the tip of his forefinger across her lower lip. The lightest, sheerest contact—and yet Lily couldn’t move. Didn’t want to move. There was something compelling about him, something that drew her to him. From the look in his eyes, she had a feeling it was exactly the same for him.

Instant attraction.

Spark to a flame.

A single touch would be enough to ignite it.

She should leave now.

But for the life of her she couldn’t walk away.

TO TAME A PLAYBOY Hot, sexy, and double the pleasure! Modern Heat™ introduces Kate Hardy’s new playboy duet Look out for PLAYBOY BOSS, PREGNANCY OF PASSION Coming in May 2009 from Mills & Boon ® Modern Heat ™

Praise for rising star author Kate Hardy:

About BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNI’S, winner of the Romance Novelists’ Association Romance prize 2008

‘BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNI’S is simply terrific! Sexy, funny, tender, passionate and romantic, this engrossing tale features a loveable heroine and a gorgeous Italian hero who will make you swoon! Kate Hardy is a writer readers can count on in order to deliver an entertaining page-turner which they will devour in a single sitting, and BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNI’S is certainly no exception!’

—www.cataromance.com

About ONE NIGHT, ONE BABY

‘Hardy’s ONE NIGHT, ONE BABY is a terrificattraction-at-first-sight story. He’s hot, sexy and vulnerable, and she’s patient because in the end she knows he’ll be worth it.’

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

‘Romantic fiction does not get any better than this! Fresh, funny, heartwarming and absolutely unputdownable, ONE NIGHT, ONE BABY is vintage Kate Hardy! Featuring a lovely heroine, a gorgeous hero, sizzling sexual tension, an adorable cast of secondary characters and steamy romance, ONE NIGHT, ONE BABY is the perfect book to curl up with on a cold winter night!’

— www.cataromance.com

Kate Hardylives on the outskirts of Norwich with her husband, two small children, a dog—and too many books to count! She wrote her first book at age six, when her parents gave her a typewriter for her birthday. She had the first of a series of sexy romances published at twenty-five, and swapped a job in marketing communications for freelance health journalism when her son was born, so she could spend more time with him. She’s wanted to write for Harlequin Mills & Boon since she was twelve—and when she was pregnant with her daughter, her husband pointed out that writing Medical™ Romances would be the perfect way to combine her interest in health issues with her love of good stories. Now Kate has also ventured into Modern Heat™ Romance too, and SURRENDER TO THE PLAYBOY SHEIKH is her ninth novel for this series. Kate is always delighted to hear from readers—do drop in to her website at www.katehardy.com

Kate Hardy’s latest Medical™ Romance title, THE CHILDREN’S DOCTOR’S SPECIAL PROPOSAL, is also available this month from Mills & Boon ®

Also by this author:

HOTLY BEDDED, CONVENIENTLY WEDDED

SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER

ONE NIGHT, ONE BABY

BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNI’S

Kate Hardy’s Medical™ Romance duet— The London Victoria :

THE CHILDREN’S DOCTOR’S SPECIAL PROPOSAL

THE GREEK DOCTOR’S NEW-YEAR BABY

Dear Reader

There’s something about a playboy. It’s the charming smile, the sexy glint in their eyes, the fact that they know how to have fun… And I had enormous fun writing the To Tame a Playboy duo.

Starting with my very first sheikh, in SURRENDER TO THE PLAYBOY SHEIKH. I’d had a yen to write a sheikh book for ages. So I pitched it to my ed. The deal was: no sand and no robes. So Karim’s a very modern sheikh. One who’s spent half his life in England. He’s tall, dark and handsome—and, being a Kate Hardy hero, he’s also clever and has a big heart. (Actually, that could also describe Luke, the hero in the second of the duo—Luke is Karim’s best friend, and has a completely different background, but he’s just as much of a playboy.)

Both Karim and Luke are strong. They’re in command (of a country and a company respectively); they’re movers and shakers in their world, respected by everyone who works with them; they work just as hard as they play. Both of them enjoy a challenge, and both of them have a personal set of rules—rules which their heroines recognise are holding them back from their full potential, because they’re rules which stop Karim and Luke from giving their heart to anyone.

And so we have Lily and Sara, who proceed to break those rules and show Karim and Luke that they can indeed have it all—with the love of their life right by their side.

I hope you enjoy reading their stories as much as I enjoyed writing them!

With love

Kate Hardy

For Liz Fielding— whose friendship I appreciate as much as her books (and her gorgeous sheikhs!)—with love

by

KATE HARDY

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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CHAPTER ONE

‘THANK you so much for your time, Your Highness.’ The journalist was practically curtseying to him. Something Karim really, really hated.

But he managed to stay polite. ‘No problem. Nice to meet you.’ He was aware that he was wearing just as false a mask as the journalist was.

No doubt she thought she had some great quotes to use in a diary piece. This was the kind of party that always made the gossip columns—high-level people from the business world, politicians and hotshot brokers and a sprinkling of actors and pop stars.

And he knew exactly what the spin was going to be where he was concerned. That His Royal Highness Karim al-Hassan had been partying hard, with a champagne reception every day for the last week and languorous lunch engagements that started before midday and never finished before three.

Five years ago, they might’ve been right. He’d partied with the best of them. Burned the candle at both ends.

But now…it was old news. Though in some respects it suited him—people were nowhere near as guarded with him when they thought he was just out for fun, a charming and sophisticated dilettante.

What the newspapers all missed was that Karim’s glass usually held sparkling mineral water rather than gin and tonic. That he had a retentive memory and didn’t need to make notes—he could recall every detail of a meeting and follow it up with letters or reports as necessary. And none of them had any idea that when he left a lunch meeting or a party, he’d be working on complicated figures or reading reports from focus groups until the early hours.