Amanda Stevens - Secret Admirer

If he only knew what she was thinking…

Eve felt her face grow warm, and she tried to turn away. But Tony caught her hand, pulling her gently toward him.

She found herself standing between his legs, could feel the warmth of his bare skin. His muscles rippled, and something primitive rose inside Eve. Something even more basic than love.

He lifted his hand and brushed back the hair from her forehead. His touch was gentle and warm but his fingers trembled slightly, revealing a deeper, darker desire. His blue gaze was knowing, and bittersweet.

“What are we going to do about this?” he asked.

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t know, either, but if you keep looking at me like that, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

“I’m not…I didn’t mean to…”

“No, you wouldn’t,” he agreed. “That’s what I admire most about you. You don’t play games. You’re open and honest, about your feelings and everything else.”

No, she wanted to tell him. I’m not honest. Especially about my feelings. What if I told you I’d been in love with you for years?

Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,

Chills run down your spine, your pulse pounds…and you can’t wait to turn the page! It’s just another month of outstanding romantic suspense from Harlequin Intrigue.

Last month, Amanda Stevens introduced you to a new brand of justice—GALLAGHER JUSTICE—in The Littlest Witness (#549). This month, Detective Tony Gallagher gets his very own Secret Admirer (#553) for Valentine’s Day. Cupid is also hard at work in B.J. Daniels’s Love at First Sight (#555), in which a sexy police officer has to pose as the husband of the only witness to a murder in order to protect her. Except he keeps forgetting their marriage is supposed to be a façade.

Caroline Burnes takes a break from her FEAR FAMILIAR series to bring you Texas Midnight (#554). Simmering passion and a remote location make for an explosive read from this bestselling author. But Familiar, the crime-solving black cat, will be back at Harlequin Intrigue soon in his thirteenth novel! Watch for Familiar Obsession (#570) in stores this June.

Finally, Rita Herron contributes to the ongoing Harlequin Intrigue amnesia promotion A MEMORY AWAY…with Forgotten Lullaby (#556). In this highly emotional story, not only do a man and woman commit their love to one another once, but they also overcome the odds to fall in love all over again.

Intense drama and powerful romance make for an extraspecial selection of titles this February. Enjoy!

Sincerely,

Denise O’Sullivan

Associate Senior Editor

Harlequin Intrigue

Secret Admirer

Amanda Stevens

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Amanda Stevens has written over twenty novels of romantic suspense. Her books have appeared on several bestseller lists, and she has won Reviewer’s Choice and Career Achievement in Romantic/ Mystery awards from Romantic Times Magazine. She resides in Cypress, Texas, with her husband, her son and daughter, and their two cats.

Books by Amanda Stevens

HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE

373—STRANGER IN PARADISE

388—A BABY’S CRY

397—A MAN OF SECRETS

430—THE SECOND MRS. MALONE

453—THE HERO’S SON *

458—THE BROTHER’S WIFE *

462—THE LONG-LOST HEIR *

489—SOMEBODY’S BABY

511—LOVER, STRANGER

549—THE LITTLEST WITNESS **

553—SECRET ADMIRER **

HARLEQUIN BOOKS

2-in-1 Harlequin 50th Anniversary Collection

HER SECRET PAST

Eve Barrett—She’s been sent undercover to investigate a cop she was once in love with.

Detective Tony Gallagher—A rash of murders leads straight to his past.

David MacKenzie—Tony’s attorney and best friend.

Vic D’Angelo—A cop with a grudge.

Clare Foxx—She was once Tony’s partner; now she’s his commanding officer. But is she also a woman scorned?

Ed Dawson—There’s no room in the superintendent’s squeaky-clean police force for a rogue cop like Tony.

Maria Mancini—She vowed revenge against Tony for shooting her son.

Fiona Gallagher—Tony’s sister knows what’s best for him.

Fisher—An informant who makes Tony nervous.

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

“Murderer!” the woman screamed at Tony Gallagher. “Look at him, you people! Take a good, long look! Ever stare into the eyes of a killer?”

In her mid-forties, with long black hair flapping about her face and shoulders and gold bangles dangling from both wrists as she gestured wildly, the distraught woman reminded Tony of a gypsy. He suspected she could be just as beguiling. Her shrieks attracted more than a fair amount of attention from people passing by on the street.

Traffic was heavy for early afternoon, and the skyscrapers lining State Street trapped exhaust fumes in the man-made canyons, adding to the thick, charged atmosphere outside Police Headquarters in Chicago.

Pointing a finger at Tony, the woman yelled to anyone who would listen, “See that man? That cop! He killed my baby! My Franco! Shot him in cold blood!”

Tony fished in his pocket for his sunglasses. All things considered, he would rather have been sailing on Lake Michigan this June afternoon, or stretched out on a beach somewhere. Facing a review board—and then a crazy woman—was not his idea of a great time, but he supposed the spectacle she created provided a certain amount of entertainment to some of the onlookers.

Flanked on one side by his best friend and attorney, David MacKenzie, and on the other side by his sister, Fiona, Tony started down the steps. The wind off the lake whipped Fiona’s red hair into a frenzy. She peeled the fiery strands from her face as she matched her steps to Tony’s and David’s. Shifting her briefcase to her other hand, she squeezed Tony’s arm encouragingly.

“Don’t let her get to you,” she murmured.

“We should have gone out the other way,” David said tightly.

“Why?” Tony demanded. He yanked at his tie, letting it drape around his neck like an untied noose. “I don’t have anything to hide. I was cleared in there, remember?”

“By the review board,” David said. “Not by public opinion.”

“Franco Mancini wounded two officers, one of them now permanently disabled. What was I supposed to do? Let him shoot me, too?”

David sighed, slipping on his own sunglasses—expensive ones, to complement his Italian-cut suit and gold watch. “No, of course not. You did the right thing. But with your record…” His words trailed off as they reached the bottom of the steps.