Deborah Mello - Truly Yours

A fine work of art…

Legendary engineer Darryl Boudreaux is a master with his hands, and his creative genius is unparalleled. Many a woman has desired Darryl’s expert tutelage, but he is off the market—for anything serious. Experience has convinced him to focus his passion on his work.

When architect Camryn Charles gets sight of her new partner, she is determined to keep things professional. This is easier said than done. Is it the heat of the smoldering French Quarter, or is it Darryl’s quiet sexiness that is raising her temperature? Camryn would never sacrifice her integrity for a few wanton moments between the sheets. Yet Darryl’s burning gaze suggests there could be something more between them—something that could dare them both to lay everything on the line….

“We have to keep our relationship strictly professional,” she whispered, her tone hardly convincing.

Darryl whispered into her ear. “If you say so,” he said, just before sliding his tongue along the edge and sucking Camryn’s earlobe between his lips.

Camryn gasped loudly, shivering with expectation. “Ohh! Darryl, you have to stop!”

Heaving a deep sigh, Darryl suddenly tapped her lightly against the curve of her hip. “I’m sorry. We should be going,” he said, as he gently separated himself from her and stood up. “Before I do something we’ll both regret.”

Moving to her feet, Camryn wrapped her arms tightly around her torso. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes briefly as she struggled to regain her composure. The man had her feeling some kind of way and it was almost too much. She lifted her face to the bright sun, allowing the heated rays to tenderly soothe the unrest brewing inside of her. When she finally opened her eyes, Darryl was staring at her, a pained expression wrinkling his brow. He reached a large hand out to gently stroke the side of her face. Without him saying a word, Camryn felt that she could feel exactly what he was feeling. She took a step toward him, moving her body easily against his.

The look she gave him was enchanting, her stare an overflowing fountain of emotion. “I won’t regret it,” she whispered as she slid her arms around his waist, the soft curves of her body pressing tightly to the hard lines of his. “I won’t have any regrets at all,” she repeated.

DEBORAH FLETCHER MELLO

Writing since forever, Deborah Fletcher Mello can’t imagine herself doing anything else. Her first romance novel, Take Me to Heart, earned her a 2004 Romance Slam Jam nomination for “Best New Author.” In 2005 she received “Book of the Year” and “Favorite Heroine” nominations for her novel The Right Side of Love, and in 2009 won a RT Book Reviews “Reviewer’s Choice Award” for Tame a Wild Stallion. Deborah’s eleventh novel, Promises to a Stallion, earned her a 2011 Romance Slam Jam nomination for “Hero of the Year.”

For Deborah, writing is as necessary as breathing and she firmly believes that if she could not write she would cease to exist. For Deborah, the ultimate thrill is to weave a story that leaves her audience feeling full, and complete, as if they’ve just enjoyed an incredible meal. Born and raised in Connecticut, Deborah now maintains base camp in North Carolina but considers home to be wherever the moment moves her.

Truly Yours

Deborah Fletcher Mello

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dear Reader,

Allow me to express my sincerest appreciation for all the support and love you all have shown me. I am extremely grateful for each book you’ve purchased, each comment you’ve shared, every review you’ve written, and all the critiques that have hopefully helped me get better and better with each story.

I hope you are starting to love my Boudreaux family as much as I do. Breathing life into Darryl and Camryn’s story was not without some challenges but I hope you’ll agree it was well worth the ride. Admittedly, Darryl Boudreaux put me through some changes. If it wasn’t for Camryn Charles, I probably would have pulled my hair out! Camryn is definitely the yin to his yang!

I do love hearing what you think, so please don’t hesitate to contact me at DeborahMello@aol.com.

Until the next time, take care and God bless.

With much love,

Deborah Fletcher Mello

www.deborahmello.blogspot.com

To Priscilla Meza Mello

May your journey be everything you want it to be

…And more!

Contents

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

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 1

Annoyance painted Darryl Boudreaux’s expression as his gaze shifted from the line of police cars encroaching in his driveway to the Jaguar XF pulling into it. He prepared himself for the barrage of questions he knew would be coming from his older sister, Maitlyn Parks, who was flinging her thin frame out of the luxury vehicle.

Minutes earlier Darryl had been unnerved by the sound of sirens blaring toward the front of his home as his former girlfriend Asia Landry laid sobbing into the wool fibers of his newly installed carpet. The small-caliber handgun that she’d pointed in his direction moments before lay on the floor by her side, still as ominous as when it had been aimed at his head. Now he stood, troubled by the spectacle of it all, just imagining what his neighbors had to be thinking. He let out a deep sigh, blowing warm air past his full lips.

“What the hell is going on here?” Maitlyn asked as she bounded up his front steps. “Are you all right?”

“Fine as wine,” he said sarcastically, his expression shifting into a mask of indifference. “What makes you think anything could be wrong?”

Maitlyn shot him a look of irritation, countering with her own sarcasm. “Uh, maybe because Asia has her face pressed against the glass in the back of that police car, looking like she stepped right out of someone’s horror movie, that’s why!” Maitlyn pointed with her index finger.

Darryl sighed. “She had to have one last hurrah.”

“Darryl, this is—” Maitlyn started before the two were interrupted by a uniformed police officer. The man extended a clipboard in Darryl’s direction.

“Mr. Boudreaux, sir, we just need to get your signature. Then we’re going to take Miss Landry down to the police station.”

“What will happen then?” Darryl asked as he took the clipboard from the man’s hand and swiped his moniker across the document that was secured to it.

“Miss Landry will be booked and held until she can see a judge in the morning. He and the district attorney will decide what happens then, sir. I can assure you, though, that they take possession of a weapon and threat to cause bodily harm very seriously.”

Darryl nodded as he handed the formal complaint back to the officer. “I leave for New Orleans later tonight. I’m scheduled to be away on business for the next few months. Is that going to be a problem?”

The officer shook his head. “I don’t think so, sir. And we have a number to contact you should it be necessary, correct?”

“Yes, and thank you. I’ll also make sure my attorney contacts the D.A.’s office about that restraining order.”

As the man in uniform wished him and Maitlyn a good night, Darryl pushed his hands deep into the pockets of his khakis. His gazed locked on the woman whose face appeared permanently fused to the faintly tinted glass pane.

Asia Landry looked crazed, but not nearly as crazed as when Darryl had told her their relationship was finished and he no longer had the desire for a future with her. He had tried to be as civil as possible, hoping against all odds that they could end their relationship amicably and remain friends. But when he had said goodbye and had wished her a bright and prosperous future, the one good screw in her brain stem had come unhinged.