Marguerite Kaye - The Chatsfield Short Romances 1-5

* * *

When Salim woke again he knew the spell was broken. It was bright outside and he could hear the low constant hum of traffic. The bed beside him was empty. She was gone . Had she ever even existed or had he conjured her up out of a pathetic fantasy he’d never even realised he had? The desolation that ripped through him made him suck in a breath.

Salim sat on the edge of the bed and was about to walk to the shower when he spotted the small card on the bedside table.

He sat down again, heavily. Her card . She was real. Natalja Jordan. Dark blonde hair, huge golden eyes. A mouth made for sin and kissing and…when he thought of how she’d pressed kisses all over his body just a short time before…a mouth made for healing.

There was nothing written on it except her name and that she was a photographer and her website details. He turned it over and saw a mobile number written in pen on the back. His heart beat unsteadily. He imagined her then, getting on a plane, flying back to New York, getting submerged in her own world, forgetting about this night. About him.

Galvanised by something almost primal, Salim picked up the hotel phone and punched in the numbers. Almost angry now at the thought that she’d just left. After a second to connect, he heard a ring tone, and then he heard the distinct sound of a mobile phone ringing in the suite.

He put the phone down. The ringing stopped. Feeling dazed, and with his chest getting tight, Salim stood up and haphazardly pulled on his trousers, leaving them open.

He walked to the door of the bedroom and everything seemed to stop. Nat was standing there, hair tousled, in her gold dress. Bare feet. Holding her phone.

* * *

Nat took in Salim standing in the doorway. He looked shell-shocked. Her heart stuttered, shell-shocked because she was still here and he didn’t want her to be?

She found her voice. ‘I meant to leave. I was leaving…my flight…but then I got to the door, and I just…couldn’t.’

She shrugged her shoulder minutely feeling self-conscious. ‘I’ve missed my flight now. And I thought…I wondered if maybe you had some free time today, if you’d like to spend it with me?’

For a long moment Salim stood frozen like a statue and just when Nat was about to collapse under a wall of humiliation at her naivety, thinking a one-night stand was something more profound when she should know better, Salim broke out of his trance and came over to her.

His face was stark, eyes black. He put his hands on her shoulders and said faintly, ‘You’re still here.’

A very fragile unfurling of hope and joy made Nat’s voice shaky. ‘Yes, I’m still here.’

‘Last night wasn’t a dream.’

She shook her head. That treacherous joy taking root, spreading outwards. ‘No,’ she whispered. She put her hands on Salim’s waist. ‘It was real. As real as we are now.’

Something seemed to relax in Salim’s body as his hands moved to cup her face, fingers tangling in her hair, lifting her jaw up, angling her towards him.

He smiled and Nat’s heart split open.

‘I would like nothing more than to spend the whole day with you, Nat Jordan.’

Nat tried to hang onto some sense of reality. ‘But your meeting with your friend…Antonio.’

‘Not important. Not today.’

He pressed a kiss to her mouth and Nat drowned. When he pulled back she felt tears prick her eyes and furiously tried to blink them away. Her voice hoarse with repressed emotions she said, ‘But I live in New York…’ She huffed out a shaky laugh, ‘I don’t even know where you live?’

Salim looked serious as his thumbs rubbed back and forth across her cheeks. ‘Paris. But that’s just geography. Let’s start with today, because all I know is that right now I live here, with you, and I don’t want to be anywhere else.’

Nat wound her arms around his neck and pressed close again. She smiled up into those dark eyes which she could see now were flecked with tiny pieces of grey. Not totally black then.

‘Take me home, Salim.’

And he did.

* * * * *

Proposal in Room 309

Joss Wood

The Proposal in Room 309—Joss Wood

In this sparky novella by Modern Tempted™ author Joss Wood, sinfully sexy Ben gets down on one knee for an unexpected proposal to reluctant bride Joely. Will they learn the secret to a happy marriage at The Chatsfield?

Step behind the hotel room doors of The Chatsfield, London…

When Ben treats girlfriend Joely to a luxurious birthday night at The Chatsfield, he has more than celebration in mind. Joely may be antimarriage, but Ben is determined to show her they are destined for happy-ever-after! With every proposal attempt ending in disaster, Ben’s last hope is the stunning sapphire engagement ring burning a hole in his pocket.… But who would have thought that being walked in on by a stranger—while naked!—would be so good for a relationship?

Praise for Joss Wood:

‘Morgan’s struggles with a learning disorder and her fears that she “isn’t good enough,” along with Noah’s fear of allowing his emotions to take control of his life, add depth to this steamy, fast-paced story. Well-developed secondary characters are a bonus.’

—RT Book Reviews on FLIRTING WITH THE FORBIDDEN

‘Loved the chemistry between Rowan and Seb—Seb is adorable, and his angst runs deep.’

—Harlequinjunkie.com on THE LAST GUY SHE SHOULD CALL

‘I LOVED this book. The hero and heroine had an attraction I could absolutely feel. The secondary characters were just crackling with life. I believed everything that happened in this story would be real if the people existed, and that’s an amazing thing. When a book draws me in like this one, I hesitate to remove it from my tablet—just to remind myself to read it again later.’

—Harlequinjunkie.com on TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING?

‘Jack’s backstory is literally heart-wrenching. Watching Ellie and Jack dance around each other while trying to keep their lives the same was incredibly riveting. And seeing their growth really drew the whole story together. Amazing book. If you can keep it together in the last two chapters, I bow to you. Go read it… go on… go!’

—Harlequinjunkie.com on IF YOU CAN’T STAND THE HEAT

‘Wood’s tortured hero is believable and compelling, and the story takes readers on a passionate, emotional roller-coaster ride.’

—RT Book Reviews on IT WAS ONLY A KISS

‘Joss Wood has a writing style that is easy to read and will keep you glued to the pages… if you like reading sweet and sexy romance without going too much into all the naughty details, you’ll love this story.’

—Harlequinjunkie.com on IT WAS ONLY A KISS

Chapter One

‘Marriages are made in heaven’ had been the Master of Ceremonies’ opening remark at a mutual friend’s wedding eighteen months ago.

‘So are tornados, hurricanes and tropical storms.’

He’d turned at the sarcastic mutter behind him and looked into a pair of deep-as-midnight blue eyes and felt his heart bounce off his ribcage. Ka-doof!

‘Not a believer in the institution?’ he asked sotto voice as he stood with his back to the MC.

‘Hell, no,’ she’d scoffed. ‘You don’t need a certificate to be committed; you just need to be committed.’

He took a step back to stand next to the gorgeous sable-haired cynic.

‘Are you telling me that you can’t think of one reason to get married? Love?’

He kept his eyes on her face and watched her eyes narrow at his bland tone.

‘What’s love got to do with it? What can you do married that you can’t do living together? And then, to add insult to injury, when you marry you shove all your financial eggs into one basket and when you decide that you no longer want to be together, you have this turgid mess you have to pick through.’ Joely shook her head so hard that he thought she’d shake loose her sexy, messy pile of curls. ‘Madness. What’s that old saying…marriage is an institution and who wants to be in an institution?’