Anne Mather - Morelli's Mistress

‘Why not?’

Luke spoke succinctly, and she clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms.

‘Just because I let you make love to me the last time you were here it doesn’t mean I’ll do it again!’ she retorted angrily, despising herself and him in equal measure.

‘Well, forgive me,’ he said sarcastically. ‘Only it’s hard to feel sympathy for a woman who’s cheated on her husband in the past.’

‘You know nothing about my marriage to Harry.’

‘And I don’t want to know,’ he retorted, reaching for his jacket. ‘Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps I should get out of here.’

‘Perhaps you should,’ said Abby, striving for indifference.

But before Luke could grab his jacket and leave he trailed his strong fingers down her sleeve and flipped them beneath the hem of her shirt. She tried to back away from him, but the temptation of Luke’s touch was too much for her.

And when his hand spread against her bare midriff, warm and possessive against her soft flesh, every nerve in her body went on high alert. She wanted him to touch her, she admitted despairingly. Her limbs were melting in anticipation of his caress.

Without giving her a chance to break his hold, he pulled her down onto the sofa again and, pressing her back, covered her body with his.

ANNE MATHERand her husband live in the north of England in a village bordering the county of Yorkshire. It’s a beautiful area, and she can’t imagine living anywhere else. She’s been making up stories since she was in primary school and would say that writing is a huge part of her life. When people ask if writing is a lonely occupation, she usually says that she’s so busy sorting out her characters’ lives she doesn’t have time to feel lonely. Anne’s written over 160 novels, and her books have appeared on both the New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller lists. She loves reading and walking and browsing in bookshops. And now that her son and daughter are grown, she takes great delight in her grandchildren. You can email her at mystic-am@msn.com.

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To Sally Fairchild, for her encouragement, and to my editor, Joanne Grant, for making the book live.

Contents

Cover

Introduction Abby stared at him. ‘So—you seriously expect I would be willing to be your mistress?’ ‘Why not?’ Luke spoke succinctly, and she clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms. ‘Just because I let you make love to me the last time you were here it doesn’t mean I’ll do it again!’ she retorted angrily, despising herself and him in equal measure. ‘Well, forgive me,’ he said sarcastically. ‘Only it’s hard to feel sympathy for a woman who’s cheated on her husband in the past.’ ‘You know nothing about my marriage to Harry.’ ‘And I don’t want to know,’ he retorted, reaching for his jacket. ‘Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps I should get out of here.’ ‘Perhaps you should,’ said Abby, striving for indifference. But before Luke could grab his jacket and leave he trailed his strong fingers down her sleeve and flipped them beneath the hem of her shirt. She tried to back away from him, but the temptation of Luke’s touch was too much for her. And when his hand spread against her bare midriff, warm and possessive against her soft flesh, every nerve in her body went on high alert. She wanted him to touch her, she admitted despairingly. Her limbs were melting in anticipation of his caress. Without giving her a chance to break his hold, he pulled her down onto the sofa again and, pressing her back, covered her body with his.

About the Author ANNE MATHER and her husband live in the north of England in a village bordering the county of Yorkshire. It’s a beautiful area, and she can’t imagine living anywhere else. She’s been making up stories since she was in primary school and would say that writing is a huge part of her life. When people ask if writing is a lonely occupation, she usually says that she’s so busy sorting out her characters’ lives she doesn’t have time to feel lonely. Anne’s written over 160 novels, and her books have appeared on both the New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller lists. She loves reading and walking and browsing in bookshops. And now that her son and daughter are grown, she takes great delight in her grandchildren. You can email her at mystic-am@msn.com .

Title Page Morelli’s Mistress Anne Mather www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dedication To Sally Fairchild, for her encouragement, and to my editor, Joanne Grant, for making the book live.

PROLOGUE

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

PROLOGUE

LUKE NOTICED HER as soon as he went into the wine bar.

She was anchored to a stool next to the bar, a cocktail glass with slices of fruit curving over the rim and a tiny coloured parasol propped inside beside her hand.

She didn’t appear to have drunk much of the liquid in the glass. She was simply sitting there, staring into space, ignoring the loud voices and even louder music that filled the overcrowded room.

‘Oh, man, she’s hot!’

Ray Carpenter, who had followed Luke into the bar, was instantly attuned to what had drawn his partner’s attention. Coming abreast of the other man, he threw an arm about Luke’s shoulders.

‘Do you think she’s on her own?’ He paused. ‘Nah, she’s too good-looking to be buying her own drinks.’

‘You think?’

Luke didn’t want to have this conversation. For the first time that evening, he wished Ray weren’t with him. But they’d been finishing up the plans for their latest development project and it would have been churlish not to accept the other man’s invitation to go for a drink.

The choice of wine bar had been Ray’s, of course. Luke would have preferred to go to the pub across the street from their offices in Covent Garden. But Ray had insisted they deserved a celebratory cocktail, so here they were.

And just then, the girl turned her head and saw them. Or at least Luke was fairly sure she had, anyway. He didn’t think her eyes moved beyond his heavy-lidded gaze, and for a heart-stopping moment they simply stared at one another. Then Luke threw off Ray’s arm and moved towards her.

She was good-looking, and fairly tall, judging by the long slender legs that crossed at the knee. Her face was oval and she had a rather attractive nose. Above the kind of mouth most girls could only dream of.

Her hair was silvery blonde and she was wearing a gauzy wrap over a black vest. Her skirt was short and red, black tights ending in high-heeled pumps, one of which dangled enticingly from one swinging foot.