Brenda Jackson - Temptation

Selected praise for New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Brenda Jackson

“Brenda Jackson writes romance that sizzles and

characters you fall in love with.”

—New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Lori Foster

“Jackson’s trademark ability to weave multiple

characters and side stories together makes shocking

truths all the more exciting.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Possibly [the] sexiest entry in the Westmoreland

series … Jackson has the sexiest cowboy to

ever ride the range.”

—RT Book Reviews on A Wife for a Westmoreland

“Jackson’s characters are wonderful, strong, colorful

and hot enough to burn the pages.”

—RT Book Reviews on Westmoreland’s Way

“.The kind of sizzling, heart-tugging story Brenda

Jackson is famous for.”

—RT Book Reviews on Spencer’s Forbidden Passion

“This is entertainment at its best.”

—RT Book Reviews on Star of His Heart

Dear Readers,

I am honored to once again participate in a MILLIONAIRE’S CLUB continuity.

No two people needed each other more than Zeke Travers and Sheila Hopkins, and getting the couple to realize that fact was both a challenge and a joy. Zeke and Sheila’s story is a special one, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And I’m always excited when I can reunite my readers with characters from past books, such as Darius and Summer from One Night with the Wealthy Rancher .

I want to thank all the other five authors who are a part of this continuity. I enjoyed working with each of you.

Happy reading!

Brenda Jackson

BRENDS JACKSONis 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 reallife love story, Brenda and her husband of thirty-eight years live in Jacksonville, Florida, and have two sons.

A New York Times bestselling author of more than seventy-five romance titles, Brenda is a recent retiree who now divides her time between family, writing and traveling with Gerald. You may write Brenda at PO Box 28267, Jacksonville, Florida 32226, USA, by e-mail at WriterBJackson@aol.com or visit her website at www.brendajackson.net.

Temptation

Brenda Jackson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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To the love of my life, Gerald Jackson, Sr.

To the cast and crew of Truly Everlasting—the Movie , this one is especially for you! Thanks for all your hard work!

Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly.

—Job 8:7 KJV

Some days it didn’t pay to get out of bed .

Unless you had a tall, dark, handsome and naked man waiting in your kitchen to pour you a hot cup of coffee before sitting you in his lap to feed you breakfast. Sheila Hopkins smiled at such a delicious fantasy before squinting against the November sun that was almost blinding her through the windshield of her car.

And the sad thing was that she had awakened in a good mood. But all it had taken to spoil her day was a call from her sister that morning telling her she wasn’t welcome to visit her and her family in Atlanta after all.

That message had hurt, but Sheila really should not have been surprised. What had she expected from her older sister from her father’s first marriage? The same sister who’d always wished she hadn’t existed? Definitely not any show of sisterly love at this late stage. If she hadn’t shown any in Sheila’s twenty-seven years, why had she assumed her sister would begin showing any now? Not her sister who had the perfect life with a husband who owned his own television station in Atlanta and who had two beautiful children and was pregnant with her third.

And if that very brief and disappointing conversation with Lois wasn’t bad enough, she had immediately gotten a call from the hospital asking that she come in on her off day because they were shorthanded. And of course, being the dedicated nurse that she was, she had agreed to do so. Forget the fact she had planned to spend the day working in her garden. She didn’t have a life, so did it really matter?

Sheila drew in a deep breath when she brought her car to a stop at a traffic light. She couldn’t help glancing over at the man in the sports car next to her. She couldn’t tell how the rest of him looked because she could only see his profile from the shoulders up, but even that looked good. And as if he’d known she was checking him out, he glanced her way. Her breath caught in her throat and her flesh felt tingly all over. He had such striking features.

They were so striking she had to blink to make sure they were real. Um … a maple-brown complexion, close-cut black hair, dark brown eyes and a chiseled jaw. And as she continued to stare at him, her mind mechanically put his face on the naked body of the tall, handsome man whom she would have loved to have found in her kitchen this morning. She inwardly chuckled. Neither she nor her kitchen would have been able to handle all the heat her imaginary lover would generate.

She saw his head move and realized he had nodded over at her. Instinctively, she nodded back. When his lips curved into a sensual smile, she quickly forced her gaze ahead. And when the traffic light changed, she pressed down on the gas, deciding to speed up a little. The last thing she wanted was to give the guy the impression she was flirting with him, no matter how good he looked. She had learned quickly that not all nicely wrapped gifts contained something that was good for you. Crawford had certainly proven that.

As she got off the exit that led to the hospital, she couldn’t get rid of the thought that she didn’t know there were men who looked like him living in Royal, Texas. Not that she knew all the men in town, mind you. But she figured someone like him would definitely stand out. After all, Royal was a rather small community. And what if she had run into him again, then what?

Nothing .

She didn’t have the time or the inclination to get involved with a man. She’d done that in the past and the outcome hadn’t been good, which was why she had moved to Royal from Dallas last year. Moving to Royal had meant a fresh start for her. Although, Sheila knew that where she lived was only part of the solution. She had reached the conclusion that a woman didn’t need to be involved with a no-good man to have trouble. A woman could do bad all by herself. And she of all people was living proof of that.

Ezekiel Travers chuckled as he watched the attractive woman take off as though she was going to a fire or something. Hell, she wasn’t the only one, he thought as he watched her car turn off the interstate at the next exit. Whoever was trying to ruin his best friend, Bradford Price’s, reputation had taken things a little too far. According to the phone call he’d received earlier from Brad, the blackmailer had made good on his threat. Someone had left a baby on the doorstep of the Texas Cattlemen’s Club with a note that Brad was the baby’s father.