Brenda Jackson - Private Arrangements

No man has ever tempted her like this...

Nikki Cartwright can’t believe Jonas Steele—the Jonas Steele—has chosen her for a high-profile marketing venture. It could make her career. But when she remembers the kiss they once shared, a kiss so intimate it sent their desire skyrocketing from simmering to blazing, Nikki knows she must guard her heart against the seductive Phoenix playboy as if her life depends on it.

Jonas has no problem making their professional relationship personal. With the beautiful and talented photographer within his reach, he can erase her from his system once and for all. From a whirlwind Las Vegas affair to jet-setting across four continents, this Steele discovers getting Nikki out of his system is easier said than done, and now he wants her to belong to him heart and soul—as the woman of his most passionate fantasies....

“Do you believe me now, Nikki?”

She glanced up and, like a magnet, her gaze automatically latched onto Jonas’s mouth. Seeing the shape of his damp lips made her lick her own when she remembered why his was wet. Yes, she believed him. After the way he had devoured her mouth, she had no choice but to do so. And the thought that he had enjoyed the kiss as much as she had, sent her into a head spin. He was fire and if she thought she could play with him without getting burned, then she was only fooling herself. And her mother hadn’t raised a fool. To keep her sanity, she needed to distance herself from him as soon as possible.

“You got the kiss, so now you can leave.” In reality, he’d gotten a lot more than that. He’d snatched her common sense right from her, which was why she needed to hurry him out the door.

“Okay, I’ll go, Nikki. But if you change your mind about coming on board for the Fulton project, let me know within the week.”

She stared at him. Did he honestly think she could work with him now? Whenever she saw him, she wouldn’t think of work; she would think of kisses.

BRENDA JACKSON

is a die “heart” romantic who married her childhood sweetheart and still proudly wears the “going steady” ring he gave her when she was fifteen. Because she’s always believed in the power of love, Brenda’s stories always have happy endings. In her real-life love story, Brenda and her husband of thirty-nine years live in Jacksonville, Florida, and have two sons.

A New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than eighty-five romance titles, Brenda is a retiree from a major insurance company and now divides her time between family, writing and traveling with Gerald. You may write to Brenda at P.O. Box 28267, Jacksonville, Florida 32226; by email at AuthorBrendaJackson@gmail.com or visit her website, www.brendajackson.net.

Private Arrangements

Brenda Jackson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

Dear Reader,

You have to love those “Bad News” Steeles!

When I introduced the Steeles with Chance’s story six years ago in Solid Soul, little did I know that I would be writing beyond Donovan’s story, Intimate Seduction. But the more I wrote about the Steeles, the more I knew I had to tell you about their cousins—those other Steeles who live in Phoenix. They are the ones known as the “Bad News Steeles.”

There are six brothers. So far you’ve been introduced to Galen and Eli and how they succumbed to love. Now in Private Arrangements, you’ll get to meet, up close and personal, another “Bad News Steele”—Jonas. Jonas is a man who thinks he has it all figured out. He loves being a notorious player and has no plans to change. But that love-them-and-leave-them attitude gets challenged when he finds that he can’t resist my heroine, Nikki Cartwright. I think you will enjoy seeing how far Jonas will go to keep from falling in love.

And there’s an added character you’ll want to meet if you haven’t done so already. His name is Quinton Hinton. Be sure to check out fellow author Adrianne Byrd’s Unforgettable and House of Kings series to get to know Quinton, and look for Quinton’s own story in 2012.

Thank you for making the Steeles a very special family, and I look forward to bringing you more books of endless love and red-hot passion.

Happy reading!

Brenda Jackson

To the man who is my first, my last, my everything, Gerald Jackson, Sr.

To my fellow author, Adrianne Byrd, the Queen of Plots. Thanks for letting me borrow Quinton Hinton and his Doll House for a spell.

You do not have because you do not ask.

—James 4:2

Contents

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

Epilogue

Prologue

“So, Jonas, what do you think?” Nicole Cartwright asked as she handed the man standing in front of her desk another photograph she’d taken a few days before.

She watched as Jonas Steele studied the photograph and then his green eyes found hers. The smile that touched his lips made her heart pound like crazy in her chest. His company, Ideas of Steele, was on the upward move, getting a lot of attention, and she felt fortunate to be a freelance photographer working with him on this particular project.

“These are great, Nikki, and just the shots I wanted,” he said, handing the stack of photographs back to her. “I’m glad you agreed to help me out on such short notice. Three weeks wasn’t a lot of time,” he added.

“Thanks, and like I told you, I work better under pressure.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment his cell phone rang.

She inhaled deeply as he shifted his gaze from her to focus on his telephone call. She wondered why on earth she was drawn to him so much. She certainly wasn’t his type. Just last Sunday his face was plastered across the gossip pages; his name was linked to some former fashion model. And the week before, the papers had connected him to some senator’s daughter. It was obvious he much preferred the Barbie-doll type—sleek and sophisticated, without a strand of hair out of place.

She pushed an errant curl back from her face and thought that certainly wasn’t her. And there definitely wasn’t anything sleek and sophisticated about her. Jeesh. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d worn a dress.

She tried not to listen but couldn’t help overhearing his conversation. He was confirming a date for tonight. She tried to not let it bother her that the man she’d had a secret crush on for close to a year was making plans to spend his evening with someone else. Story of her life.

For the past twenty-seven years she had been living in a dreamworld and it was time for her to wake up and realize she’d been living a friggin’ fantasy. As much as she wanted to believe otherwise, she didn’t have a soul mate out there after all. There was no knight in shining armor who would come charging in and whisk her away to a place where the two of them would live happily ever after. It was time for her to accept that marriages like her parents’ and grandparents’ happened just once—maybe twice—in a lifetime. They weren’t the norm.