Yasmin Sullivan - Captivated Love

Opposites ignite…

Where relationships are concerned, Safire Lewis is like quick fire. She moves fast to get what she wants—then moves on before things get too complicated. Artist Darien James’s laid-back charm arouses her interest from their first meeting. But instead of seizing the opportunity for a no-strings fling, he’s looking for a commitment.

Darien has been hurt before. Now he wants a passionate connection that will last. With her sizzling confidence, the gorgeous paralegal has become his artistic muse—and the ultimate temptation. First they’re butting heads, then they’re burning up the sheets. He won’t settle for less than everything Safire has to give. And if she will only lose her fear of letting go, she might realize that Darien is the one man who’ll keep her endlessly enthralled….

One of his hands still cupped her face, and he leaned his head near hers.

“Safire, this has been the best part of the whole evening to me—right here, finding out something real about you. You are beautiful. Don’t let that change. Don’t squander it away. Don’t play it away. It’s…amazing.”

Safire didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she opened her mouth to say something. But she didn’t know what to say. The intense look on this man’s face—so near to hers—took her breath away. His concern over her feelings moved something inside her. His earnest gaze froze her to the spot. His deep voice sent tingles through her.

She nodded once and smiled weakly, not knowing what to say. They seemed so different that she didn’t really expect to see him again, not for another date. Things had gotten a bit tense between them at the sports bar. In the end, he was just a little too conservative for her taste.

She turned to get in her car, and he turned toward his. Safire had turned her key in the lock and opened the door before she felt his hand on her back. She turned around to find him immediately in front of her, taking her in his arms. When Darien kissed her, those soft, kissable lips felt like warm, melted chocolate. Her lips parted at their gentle, platonic touch.

But their kiss didn’t remain chaste.

YASMIN SULLIVAN

grew up in upstate New York and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, from which her family hails. She moved to Washington, D.C., to attend college and has earned degrees from Howard University and Yale University. As an academic writer, she has published on works by Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou and Ed Bullins, as well as the writing of the Negritude Movement and historical fiction treating emancipation in the Danish West Indies/United States Virgin Islands. She currently lives in Washington, D.C., where she teaches with a focus on African-American and Caribbean literatures. When she is not teaching, she also does creative writing and works on mosaics.

Captivated Love

Yasmin Sullivan

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Dear Reader Dear Reader Dedication 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 Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Copyright ,

I think that the people we love and those who love us help us to know ourselves, and our interactions with them help us evolve as human beings. They can be our shelter in times of hurt and our inspiration to create great things. They can shield us from bitterness, and they can help us love the spark within ourselves. This is true of friends and family, but especially of lovers.

I hope that this novel reveals the way we grow through our interplay with those we love. This is what Safire Lewis and Darien James have to find out along their journey together—whether they can evolve with each other, whether they can inspire each other. I’m so grateful that you’ve chosen to share their voyage with me.

I would love to hear your impressions of this book. Please write me at yasminhu@aol.com.

Warm wishes,

Yasmin

For my mother, father, brother and grandmother, who have given me the richness of the human heart; for Jennie and Tanya, who have been my sister-friends; for Madeline, Freddie and William, who have shaped my vision of love; for Vionette and Lois, who have inspired the romantic in me; and for Jimmie, who was somebody to dream with.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text Opposites ignite… Where relationships are concerned, Safire Lewis is like quick fire. She moves fast to get what she wants—then moves on before things get too complicated. Artist Darien James’s laid-back charm arouses her interest from their first meeting. But instead of seizing the opportunity for a no-strings fling, he’s looking for a commitment. Darien has been hurt before. Now he wants a passionate connection that will last. With her sizzling confidence, the gorgeous paralegal has become his artistic muse—and the ultimate temptation. First they’re butting heads, then they’re burning up the sheets. He won’t settle for less than everything Safire has to give. And if she will only lose her fear of letting go, she might realize that Darien is the one man who’ll keep her endlessly enthralled….

Introduction One of his hands still cupped her face, and he leaned his head near hers. “Safire, this has been the best part of the whole evening to me—right here, finding out something real about you. You are beautiful. Don’t let that change. Don’t squander it away. Don’t play it away. It’s…amazing.” Safire didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she opened her mouth to say something. But she didn’t know what to say. The intense look on this man’s face—so near to hers—took her breath away. His concern over her feelings moved something inside her. His earnest gaze froze her to the spot. His deep voice sent tingles through her. She nodded once and smiled weakly, not knowing what to say. They seemed so different that she didn’t really expect to see him again, not for another date. Things had gotten a bit tense between them at the sports bar. In the end, he was just a little too conservative for her taste. She turned to get in her car, and he turned toward his. Safire had turned her key in the lock and opened the door before she felt his hand on her back. She turned around to find him immediately in front of her, taking her in his arms. When Darien kissed her, those soft, kissable lips felt like warm, melted chocolate. Her lips parted at their gentle, platonic touch. But their kiss didn’t remain chaste.

About the Author YASMIN SULLIVAN grew up in upstate New York and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, from which her family hails. She moved to Washington, D.C., to attend college and has earned degrees from Howard University and Yale University. As an academic writer, she has published on works by Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou and Ed Bullins, as well as the writing of the Negritude Movement and historical fiction treating emancipation in the Danish West Indies/United States Virgin Islands. She currently lives in Washington, D.C., where she teaches with a focus on African-American and Caribbean literatures. When she is not teaching, she also does creative writing and works on mosaics.