A.C. Arthur - Winter Kisses

As kisses went, this one rated well beyond Monica's high standards.

She struggled to figure out exactly where in the stratosphere it compared, then gave up and simply sank in.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, made it more a pleasure in the present than one just swirling around in her mind. Beneath her arms she felt the strength of his broad shoulders. Pressing against her with heated persistence, the delicious warmth of an aroused man. Her heart hammered as his tongue slipped fiercely into her mouth. He was consuming her, that's what she thought when coherent words surfaced. He was sucking and tasting, savoring and enticing. She was simply falling, falling, until she didn't think she could feel the floor beneath her feet.

Then, as quickly as this pleasurable funnel cloud had swooped her up, it dropped her. Hot to cold, light to dark, beginning to end. Alex pulled back, stared down at her, then walked away.

Again.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dear Reader,

It's finally Monica's turn! When I started the stories of the Lakefield sisters I knew Monica would be last because she had the most baggage and the longest road to true love. I didn't really know which man would be the one to tame her, but after Summer Heat I was sure that Alex Bennett was the one.

This story may touch a few hearts, bring a few laughs or even grunts of disapproval, but it's so truly Monica's story, her voyage through uncharted waters. Sometimes it's hard for a strong, independent woman to sit still and listen, really listen to her heart. I'm glad Monica did just that and I'm very happy that Alex was the one talking to her.

So as Winter Kisses concludes the Lakefield sisters, it opens the door for the Donovan cousins to take the lead. After this wintry love affair, get prepared for the heat of Miami Beach and the lives and loves of Sean and Dion Donovan, coming next year!

As always, happy reading.

AC

To anyone who has ever struggled with a secret, a past that you felt no one would ever understand. Here's to forgiveness and brighter days.

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

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

The Setup

“She's never going to go for this.” Sam Desdune sipped from his glass of wine, looking over the rim at his wife.

Karena Lakefield-Desdune smiled. Marriage and living in the stress-free country house away from the city suited her just perfectly. “The most important thing to Monica is making sure Lakefield Galleries has a stellar reputation and continues to make money. If she thinks for one minute that my missing a meeting might jeopardize that, she'll go to the ends of the earth to fix the problem.”

“And then she's going to come down on you so hard you'll wish you worked in another country,” Sam added with a frown. “I don't want you taking on that kind of stress.”

“I'll be fine, Sam. I'm pregnant, not fragile. I can deal with Monica's backlash.”

“If your guy does his thing we won't have to worry about her backlash,” Deena Lakefield-Donovan said from her perch on a stool at the bar. Standing right beside her with his hand wrapped securely around her shoulders was her husband of about six months, Maxwell Donovan.

“Matchmaking can be a dangerous game,” Max added.

“And matchmaking with my brother is the most dangerous game of all.” Renny Bennett sat on the leather couch with his wife, Sam's twin sister, Bree, beside him.

“I think it's time Alex settled down. He works way too hard and spends too much time trying to take care of his family. He needs to find someone special,” Bree said.

“The operative word being ‘find,’ hence he needs to look for himself, not be conned into a meeting with a woman like Monica,” Sam said.

“And just what's a woman like Monica?” Karena asked, trying not to sound offended.

Sam immediately lifted his hands in surrender while around his den the men looked away, hiding their chuckles. “Whoa, wait a minute. You know I love my sister-in-law. Monica and I have developed an amicable relationship in the time I've known her. But, baby, you know she's not an easy woman. I mean, if she was we wouldn't be sitting here plotting a way to get her laid.”

“We are not plotting to get her laid!” Karena stated adamantly.

“We're not?” Deena gave Karena a perplexed look before putting her glass on the bar.

Bree laughed. “We're plotting to get both of them laid before they drive us all crazy.”

“Fine, we can get Alex there without a problem. The rest is going to be up to them. If you ladies think they're such a good match then a cozy cabin on the slopes of Aspen couldn't be a better place for them to hook up. Now you just need to do your part.” This was from Renny, who wasn't totally convinced but had learned long ago to pick and choose his arguments with his wife. She'd met Monica Lakefield while working with Sam's private investigation agency so she knew the woman and she knew Alex. He would have to trust her judgment, for now.

“Then it's settled. Karena, make the call,” Deena said.

All eyes were on her as Karena picked up the cordless phone and began to dial.

“Monica?” she said a few seconds later. “We've got a problem.”

“Crap!” Monica blurted then looked around to make sure no one heard her. Kneeling quickly, she tried to rescue her BlackBerry that had fallen into a sloppy, wet slope of snow right near the steps.

Droplets of water spotted her white leather gloves as she reached into the snow and scooped up the phone. Her teeth clenched and she so badly wanted to curse again as she tried to shake the water from the phone. The screen was black. She pushed the menu button. Nothing. She pressed the on button. Nothing.

She took the wooden steps without even looking up and continued to study her phone, praying it would turn on. It didn't and then she was at the door so she slipped it into her pocket and walked inside. Her cheeks tingled as the frigidly cold air of Aspen, Colorado, which had just about frozen them, gave way to the welcome warmth of two huge fireplaces.

It was two days after Christmas, a Monday afternoon she should have been spending in her office going over the sales slips from last week's showing. Instead, she was walking up to the large marble-and-cherry-wood counter with the gold sign reading Concierge. She wasn't at the gallery in Manhattan—instead, she was here at this ski resort to meet with two of Lakefield Galleries’ biggest sponsors in the hopes of keeping their support for the Black History showing coming in a few short weeks.

The thought of Karena dropping the ball with the Mendlesons had Monica clenching her teeth again. At this rate she would be paying her orthodontist half her yearly salary. But lately her sisters and their carefree attitude and lifestyle were really starting to get on her nerves. Both her younger sisters were now what they called “happily married.” She'd more aptly call it “blissfully stupid.” Why they thought settling down with a man completed their lives in some way she had no clue. And she much preferred her own stance of “no marriage, no hassles.”