Lucy King - One More Sleepless Night

She’s going to take her life back…one sizzling night at a time!

It used to be Nicky Sinclair’s nightmares that kept her up all night; those 3:00 a.m. silences were her worst enemy. So now she’s following doctor’s orders—rest, relaxation and plenty of therapeutic Spanish sunshine.

Only she hasn’t counted on sharing her tranquil retreat with her best friend’s brother, Rafael, whose presence is anything but peaceful! With his beguiling eyes and smoldering smile, he quickly becomes a very welcome distraction. After all, if she’s struggling to sleep, why not find something else to do with her time…?

“So what plans do you have next?”

He asked the question ignoring the little voice inside his head demanding to know where he thought he was going with this, because she might not really be over it and she might need looking after, but he definitely wasn’t the sort of person who should be getting involved.

She lifted her eyebrows. “You mean beyond some more of that lovely, restorative sex?”

“Beyond that.”

She blinked and shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not very good at living beyond the present.”

“Well, I’m at a loose end… You’re at a loose end… What would you say to tying our loose ends together for a while?”

She lifted her eyebrows then grinned. “I’d say does that line really work?”

Rafael frowned because oddly enough it hadn’t been a line. “I have no idea. You tell me.”

Dear Reader,

Ah, southern Spain… What is it about that part of the country that’s so enthralling? Is it the sultry strains of the Spanish guitar drifting through the breeze of a warm summer’s night? The gunfire tap of a flamenco dancer’s heels on the dusty floorboards of a dark, crowded bar? The desert-dry sherry and the mouthwatering tapas? Or is it the tall, dark, handsome men?

I’ve been living and working in the southwest corner of Andalusia since 2005 and I’ve come to think it’s all of that (and much, much more).

As, eventually, does Nicky Sinclair, the heroine of One More Sleepless Night. Okay, so in the beginning she’s in too much of a mess to appreciate all the charms of Andalusia, but as she begins to sort herself out she finds herself succumbing. And she might be in too much of a mess initially to appreciate the considerable charms of Rafael Montero (one of the aforementioned tall, dark and handsome Spaniards), but in the end she finds herself succumbing to those, as well!

I loved being able to draw on such local inspiration for the setting of this story and letting my imagination work with the wonderful smells, sights and sounds of the place I call home.

What’s even more exciting is that this is my first book for Harlequin KISS, a line so contemporary, fun and sassy I can’t wait to write more! I do hope you enjoy reading it.

x Lucy

One More

Sleepless Night

Lucy King

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT LUCY KING

Lucy King spent her formative years lost in the world of romance novels when she really ought to have been paying attention to her teachers. Up against sparkling heroines, gorgeous heroes and the magic of falling in love, trigonometry and ablative absolutes didn’t stand a chance.

But as she couldn’t live in a dream world forever, she eventually acquired a degree in languages and an eclectic collection of jobs. A stroll to the River Thames one Saturday morning led her to her very own hero. The minute she laid eyes on the hunky rower getting out of a boat, clad only in Lycra and carrying a three-meter oar as if it was a toothpick, she knew she’d met the man she was going to marry. Luckily the rower thought the same.

She will always be grateful to whatever it was that made her stop dithering and actually sit down to type Chapter One, because dreaming up her own sparkling heroines and gorgeous heroes is pretty much her idea of the perfect job.

Originally a Londoner, Lucy now lives in Spain, where she spends much of the time reading, failing to finish cryptic crosswords and trying to convince herself that lying on the beach really is the best way to work. Visit her at www.lucykingbooks.com.

This and other titles by Lucy King are available in ebook format—check out www.millsandboon.co.uk

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

For Emma

Contents

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

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Excerpt

ONE

There was someone in the house.

With the slam of the front door ringing in her ears, Nicky sat bolt upright in bed, her heart hammering like a pneumatic drill, alarm racing along her veins and her fingers gripping the edges of her book so tightly her knuckles were white.

A couple of seconds ago she’d been lying back against the pillows, happily lost in the romantic world of Don Quijote. She’d been trotting across the dry deserted plains of La Mancha in search of knight errantry and adventure, and vaguely contemplating the intoxicating notion that for the first time in weeks she might actually be beginning to relax.

Then the door had slammed and she’d hurtled back to reality. All thoughts of fighting off imaginary giants had shattered. Any hope of tilting at windmills had evaporated. The sense of relaxation had vanished, and now every instinct she had was alert and quivering and one hundred per cent focused on the fact that there was someone in the house.

And not someone she knew, she thought, her brain galloping through the facts as her blood chilled and a cold sweat broke out all over her skin.

Because as much as she’d like to believe otherwise, there was no way the heavy footsteps stamping over the rough flagstones of the hall and echoing off the walls could possibly belong to Ana, the pint-sized housekeeper. Or Maria, the laid-back cook. Or any of the other staff employed on the estate for that matter. Some of them might be big and burly enough to possess a tread like the one now heading up the stairs, but none of them would be in this part of the house at this time of night.

No one was, apart from her.

And, of course, whoever it was who’d reached the landing, dropped something that hit the floor with a thud and was now striding down the long wide corridor towards her room.

Nicky’s heart hammered even more fiercely and her blood roared in her ears as it struck her that the footsteps were getting louder. Closer. That any minute now they’d stop, he’d be at her door, the handle would turn and—

Images of what might happen then slammed into her head, vivid and terrifying, and as the alarm rushing around her turned to full-blown panic she started to shake. Her vision blurred, her breath stuck in her throat and she went dizzy, and her heart was now beating so hard and fast it felt as if it were about to burst from her chest.

She was a split second from passing out, she realised foggily, and then the panic exploded inside her because if she did pass out then she’d be toast.

And she really didn’t want to be toast. She didn’t want not to be able to find out whether she might actually be able to sort out the mess her life had become. She’d waited too long. Suffered too much. Tried too hard...