Anita Bunkley - Suite Temptation

Without answering, Andre grazed his teeth along her neck, fastened them onto the neckline of her T-shirt and tugged at the fabric until he had eased it off one shoulder. He made a small circle with his tongue on her bronze skin. The taste of her flesh quickened his pulse and ramped his craving up another notch, as he slid his hands low and then cupped them beneath her hips. “You’re the only action item on my agenda, if that’s okay with you.”

“I’m down with being acted on,” she teased right back. “How long do you think this meeting is going to last?”

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is the author of eleven successful mainstream novels and three novellas. A member of the Texas Institute of Letters and an NAACP Image Award nominee, she lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Crawford.

An avid reader all of her life, she began her writing career while researching the lives of interesting African-American women whose stories had not been told. A strong romantic theme has always been at the center of her novels and now she is enjoying writing true romance for her many fans.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To my husband, Crawford, with love.

Dear Reader,

Come along on a journey with my heroine, Riana Cole, as she tangles with handsome Andre Preaux in a corporate tug-of-war. A woman on a mission, she goes after the big bonus from a major client while pursuing a man she vowed never to deal with again.

Romance in the workplace drives these two into a dangerous game; a game that is hard to resist as they travel a rocky road to lofty corporate heights, determined not to surrender to the ultimate temptation.

I enjoy hearing from readers, so please e-mail me at arbun@sbcglobal.net or send a note to P.O. Box 821248, Houston, TX 77282-1248.

Read with love!

Anita Bunkley

Prologue

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

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

June 2002, Houston, Texas

Aperfect score, Riana thought, her eyes traveling over the papers that Professor Lowell had handed to her. While other students gathered their books and bags and hurried out of the lecture hall, she flipped through the multipage document, both relieved and more than a little proud of herself for having aced the Commercial Banking in Real Estate examination that she’d been preparing for over the past twelve weeks.

Participating in the Small Business Administration course at the University of Houston had been a challenging experience, and, at first, Riana had worried that at thirty-five, it might be difficult for her to recapture the discipline and mind-set of a college student in order to make the grade. But that had not been the case at all: after the first day of class, she had slipped right back into the trusty study habits that had served her well through undergraduate and graduate school, and had found the intellectual environment a stimulating change from her work as a loan officer at a San Antonio financial firm.

The number of students taking the course had been much larger than she had anticipated, and she had been pleased to find that the majority of them were mature professionals like herself who were enhancing their careers or completing requirements for their undergraduate degrees. During the twelve-week session, Riana lived with her cousin, Felicia Woods and enjoyed the girl time they were able to spend together. However, she had also made several new friends in Houston, including Andre Preaux, the fine brother who was sitting next to her, assessing the results of his own examination.

“How’d you do?” Riana asked Andre, poking him with her elbow. Tall, trim and as delicious-looking as a piece of Godiva chocolate, he had an air of masculine vitality that made him very attractive. On the first day of class, Riana had accepted Andre’s invitation to join his study group, and it hadn’t taken long for them to break away from the nine-member group and move their study dates to a coffee shop, then to the student lounge, and eventually to Andre’s apartment, which was a short drive from the campus. In spite of her attempts to resist Andre’s lingering glances, gentle touches and his focused attention on her, his charm had worked its magic, and within a week, their late-night study dates had slipped into overnight stays at his studio apartment, where Riana began spending much more time than at her cousin Felicia’s house, where she was officially living during her time in Houston.

Riana’s attraction to Andre had been immediate and intense, though a bit disconcerting. She had not been looking for a romantic entanglement, and certainly not with a thirty-three-year-old who was pursuing his undergraduate degree. However, at six foot two with a slim, toned physique, a voice that melted her heart and a smile that made her stomach do flips, Andre had stirred up a passion in Riana that she had not been able to contain. He was exciting, energetic, sexy and gentle—a combination that had been impossible to resist.

“What’d you get?” she asked again, praying that he had at least passed the exam: they had pulled so many all-nighters while preparing for it, even though they had taken a few breaks from the books to do other things.

Andre didn’t answer. Slumped down in his seat, his long legs extended, his booted feet crossed at the ankles, he stared dully at the test papers crumpled in his fist. His full bottom lip was tucked under his front teeth, and the stunned expression on his handsome features was alarming. If it was any reflection of the grade he had received, Riana knew he must be crushed.

Andre was a construction worker, sporadically employed, who took classes between jobs and had only one semester left before finishing his bachelor’s degree, with plans to become a civil engineer. On the surface, he appeared to be an easygoing guy who took things in stride, but beneath that calm facade Riana knew there was an intensely driven man, preoccupied with succeeding.

Without looking over at Riana, Andre handed her his test paper, a blank expression darkening his caramel-brown face. “See for yourself,” he mumbled in a dispirited tone.

Riana eased the document out of Andre’s hand, unfolded it, and then let out a gasp. “Andre!” She pummeled him with a fist. “Ninety-four! And I was worried you’d failed!”

Grinning in a boyishly mischievous way, Andre leaned over and touched his lips briefly to Riana’s, breaking out of his fake sullen mood. “Me, fail? I don’t think so. If you knew me better, you’d know that when I focus on something, or someone, I don’t give up until I get what I want.”