Donna Hill - When I'm With You

The bad-boy heir to the Lawson dynasty has found love!

Until his past threatens the future...

Longtime New Orleans bachelor Rafe Lawson is finally ready to tie the knot. His heart has been captured by gorgeous senator’s daughter Avery Richards. Then the media descends, jeopardizing her Secret Service career—and their imminent wedding. But it’s the unexpected return of Rafe’s first love that could cost the tycoon everything.

DONNA HILL began writing novels in 1990. Since that time she has had more than forty titles published, which include full-length novels and novellas. Two of her novels and one novella were adapted for television. She has won numerous awards for her body of work. She is also the editor of five novels, two of which have been nominated for awards. She easily moves from romance to erotica, horror, comedy and women’s fiction. She was the first recipient of the RT Book Reviews Trailblazer Award and won the RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award. Donna lives in Brooklyn with her family. Visit her website at www.donnahill.com.

Also By Donna Hill

Seduction and Lies

Temptation and Lies

Longing and Lies

Private Lessons

Spend My Life with You

Secret Attraction

Sultry Nights

Everything Is You

Mistletoe, Baby

The Way You Love Me

My Love at Last

For the Love of You

Surrender to Me

When I’m with You

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

When I’m With You

Donna Hill

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08481-9

WHEN I’M WITH YOU

© 2018 Donna Hill

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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“You sure you’ll be okay until I get back from Nawlins?” He wiped off the countertop with a damp cloth.

She shimmied onto the bar stool at the island counter and extended her hands to Rafe. He took two long steps and was in front of her. He raised her hands to his lips and kissed her palms.

“I’ll be fine, and right here when you get back.” She leaned in to kiss him.

“Hmm, I can change my plans,” he said against her lips, “and stay here, which is what I’d rather do.” He caressed her hips.

Avery giggled. “Me, too, but you’ve been gone long enough. Take care of your business.”

He stepped close between her legs. “Business can wait.” He threaded his fingers through the hair at the nape of her neck, dipped his head and kissed her collarbone.

Avery sucked in a breath of desire and instinctively tightened her legs around him. “You’re going to be late,” she whispered.

He brushed his lips along her neck, nibbled the lobe of her ear. “Privilege is the perk of owning your own plane. Can’t leave without me.”

Dear Reader,

Thank you for joining me on another peek behind the scenes of the Lawson family. In Surrender to Me, Rafe Lawson, bad-boy heir to the Lawson fortune, was finally snared by a woman who was his equal, Secret Service agent Avery Richards. Of course, their road to happiness had its obstacles, but together they fought their way through. Now, in the only sequel to The Lawsons of Louisiana series, Rafe is back and ready to walk down the aisle—but not without his past coming back to change everything.

Rafe Lawson is definitely one of my favorite male characters. I so enjoyed giving him that “edge,” that inaccessibility, but at the same time having him be a complex character who is much deeper than what he appears on the surface.

When I decided to write When I’m with You, part two of his life, I knew that there had to be some bombshells that needed to be dropped, and drop they do. Rafe will be tested in a way that he has never been tested before, and Avery must decide if the Rafe Lawson that she fell in love with is the man she can anchor her future to, even as she struggles with her own secrets.

When I’m with You is a testament to what it means when a man loves a woman and a woman loves him back. Savor each page. Root for true love. Enjoy!

Until next time,

Donna

Acknowledgments

Big thanks to all of my readers new and old that have made The Lawsons of Louisiana series such a success. I couldn’t do it without you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Acknowledgments

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

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

“Your sisters are planning our wedding,” Avery said as she loaded the dishwasher.

Rafe handed her the glasses from the table. “Yeah, they can be a bit enthusiastic,” he said chuckling. He came up behind her, bent over her body and grabbed her waist. “The main thing is we’re going to be legal, official, permanent.”