Annie Claydon - Forbidden Night With The Duke

One stolen kiss...

Nurse Megan Wheeler won’t let that passionate kiss, or the way she feels about Jaye Perera, ruin her dream job. Yes, he may be a duke, a doctor and devastatingly handsome but he’s also her future boss, and that’s a boundary she won’t—can’t—cross!

But working side by side under the Sri Lankan sun is a delicious torture. One that reveals to Megan a different side of guarded Jaye... After the hurts they’ve both experienced, can they learn to trust in love again?

Dear Reader,

I’m one of those people who sometimes finds it hard to keep a secret. The days before birthdays and Christmas are full of agonising anticipation for me—will my family and friends like the surprises I’ve carefully planned and have in store for them?

But of course there are so many kinds of secrets. And knowing exactly when to keep a secret is an art. No one expects that a confidence shared with someone we trust will be betrayed. And there are some things that don’t need to be said and will only cause others unnecessary pain. But there are some secrets that will eat away at us and poison our world.

Megan Wheeler and Jaye Perera both have their secrets. But the challenges they face bring them to the realisation that the things they don’t say have much more of an effect on their lives than the things they do.

Jaye and Megan took me with them on a fascinating journey from the splendours of an English country house to the magic of Sri Lanka. I hope you enjoy reading their story as much as I did writing it.

I’m always thrilled to hear from readers, and you can contact me via my website, at annieclaydon.com.

Annie x

Cursed with a poor sense of direction and a propensity to read, ANNIE CLAYDON spent much of her childhood lost in books. A degree in English Literature followed by a career in computing didn’t lead directly to her perfect job—writing romance for Mills & Boon—but she has no regrets in taking the scenic route. She lives in London: a city where getting lost can be a joy.

Born and raised on the Wirral Peninsula, in England, Charlotte Hawkes is mum to two intrepid boys who love her to play building block games with them and who object loudly to the amount of time she spends on the computer. When she isn’t writing—or building with blocks—she is company director for a small Anglo/French construction company. Charlotte loves to hear from readers, and you can contact her at her website: charlottehawkes.com.

Forbidden Night with the Duke

Annie Claydon

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Books by Annie Claydon

Mills & Boon Medical Romance

Stranded in His Arms

Rescued by Dr. Rafe

Saved by the Single Dad

The Doctor She’d Never Forget

Discovering Dr. Riley

The Doctor’s Diamond Proposal

English Rose for the Sicilian Doc

Saving Baby Amy

Visit the Author Profile page

at millsandboon.co.ukfor more titles.

To all those who run to help.

Praise for Annie Claydon

‘This is such a beautiful story filled with lots of emotion as two people get a second chance at love, and one that is so well deserved.’

—Goodreads on

Rescued by Dr Rafe

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Dear Reader

About the Author

Title Page

Booklist

Dedication

Praise

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

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

IN THE SCHEME of things it wasn’t so much of a catastrophe. The building was still in one piece, no one had died, and the sun was still shining outside. But as everyday disasters went, this one was about the worst that Megan Wheeler could imagine. She’d really wanted this job, and now it seemed an impossibility.

It had all been going so well. The interviews had been tough but constructive, and her confidence had been vindicated when a job offer had arrived in the post. There would be a four-day induction workshop in Gloucestershire, hosted by the charity she would be working for, which would be attended by delegates from a number of different charities.

She’d packed her suitcase carefully, allowing for an outfit to meet every eventuality, and an early start meant that she’d been able to make the drive to Holte Hall in good time, stopping off for a cup of tea to make sure that she didn’t arrive embarrassingly early, or mortifyingly late.

Excitement thrilled through her as she followed the signs which led from the elaborate gates up to the hall. The massive house rose on the horizon, all ornate stonework and grand windows, and as she drove towards the group of cars in the curving driveway, two teenaged boys waved her into a parking space and then directed her towards the impressive, canopied entrance.

John Ferris, the chief executive of the charity she was to work for, was standing in the cavernous hallway, ready to greet everyone. He expressed his pleasure at seeing her again, and passed her over to another teenager, who showed her to her room.

There was scarcely time to appreciate the elegant bedroom, with its modern, gleaming en suite bathroom, before she was summoned back downstairs again. Twenty or so people were chatting over coffee and pastries, and by the time the group was ushered towards the chairs that were set out at the far end of the room, Megan had exchanged nervous smiles with a number of her fellow delegates.

John Ferris had stood up to say a few words. All of the four different charities represented here would be holding sessions designed to equip the new recruits for the jobs that awaited them. He’d leave it to their host, the owner of Holte Hall, and chairman of the board of trustees of his own charity, to give them an idea of what the next four days had in store.

He gave a grinning shrug, running his hand across the bald patch on the top of his head. ‘When we can find him, that is...’

It was clearly not unusual for their opening speaker to go missing. Someone opened the door a couple of inches and called along the hallway, and a thrill of nervous laughter ran around the room. Then the bottom of Megan’s world suddenly dropped out, leaving her suspended in a mixture of horror and disbelief.

Jaye Perera.

Jaye had always known how to make an entrance, and this time it was no different. Fairy-tale handsome, with long-lashed brown eyes, which gave a touch of softness to an otherwise wholly masculine face. Dark hair that curled around the collar of his open-necked shirt. It was as if he’d been designed with the express purpose of making the female heart beat a little faster.

His dress and demeanour implied approachability, but his immaculate grooming indicated that he could be as smart as the next man if he put his mind to it. Megan heard the young woman sitting next to her catch her breath.