Kimberley Troutte - Forbidden Lovers

His voice is familiar. Overpowering. Sexy.

But he can’t be the man she loved...

Because Matt Harper is dead.

Julia Espinoza fell for Matt Harper despite his pirate reputation and the social gulf between them. Then he broke her heart. Now she’s made a life without him...until a stranger returns looking and feeling remarkably like her lover. When one no-strings night reveals the truth, unraveling all the schemes dividing them may be their only second chance...

KIMBERLEY TROUTTE is a RITA® Award–nominated, New York Times, USA TODAY and Amazon Top 100 bestselling author. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two sons, a wild cat, an old snake, a beautiful red iguana, and various creatures hubby and the boys rescue.

To learn more about her books and sign up for her newsletter, go to www.kimberleytroutte.com.

Also by Kimberley Troutte

Plunder Cove

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Forbidden Lovers

Kimberley Troutte

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07669-2

FORBIDDEN LOVERS

© 2018 Kimberley Troutte

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dedicated to Anne Marsh for helping me

find the keys to this awesome joyride.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

History of Plunder Cove

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-One

Twenty-Two

Twenty-Three

Twenty-Four

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

History of Plunder Cove

For centuries, the Harpers have masterminded shrewd business deals.

In the 1830s, cattle baron Jonas Harper purchased the land grant of Plunder Cove on the now affluent California coast. It’s been said that the King of Spain dumped the rich land because pirates ruthlessly raided the cove. It is also said no one saw a pirate ship after Jonas bought the land for a rock-bottom price paid with Pieces of Eight.

Harpers pass this tale on to each generation to remind their heirs that there is a pirate in each of them. Every generation is expected to increase the Harper legacy, usually through great sacrifice, as with oil tycoon, RW Harper, who sent his children away ten years ago.

Now RW has asked his children to return to Plunder Cove—with conditions. He is not above bribery to get what he wants.

Harpers don’t love, they pillage. But if RW’s wily plans succeed, all four Harpers, including RW, might finally find love in Plunder Cove.

One

Matt Harper was this side of heaven and jetting for the sun.

Grinning, he ran his hand over her sexy, smooth curves and drove her higher. Faster. Stronger. She purred beneath him and he felt the subtle vibrations in his core. She was hot as hell, all power and finesse, sleek and intelligent. Today, he’d take her to the limits and let her break free to glory. She was made for a guy like him, not the mean old man who’d purchased her to look at her. What a waste. It broke Matt’s heart to think that this sixty-five-million-dollar honey would sit around and collect dust.

His girlfriend for the day was a new Gulfstream G650ER—a sweet piece of aircraft his father had purchased for Harper Industries. Why? It wasn’t as if his father was going to fly by his oil derricks to scare the workers like he used to. If gossip rags were to be believed, his father was avoiding the public and holing up in Casa Larga—the family’s summer home. Matt didn’t know about public avoidance, but he hadn’t seen his father in ten years. Make it fifty and Matt would’ve been fine.

He banked left and the Harper mansion came into view. His jaw tightened. In the Air Force, Matt had a name for each sortie his team flew. Every target he dropped bombs on was called Casa Larga.

He slammed his fist into his thigh. This was jacked up. He’d rather be in battle—hell, anyplace on the planet—than here. And yet, here he was.

Why in hell had his father called him home?

He landed at Harpers’ private airport and shut off the engine. Now if only he could shut down the brutal memories pummeling him from all sides.

Like his father’s hands used to.

He was seventeen again, with blood in his mouth, fists up, and daring RW to slap him one more time. Dad had given him plenty of orders before, but the ultimatum that day had gutted him.

Since you won’t stay away from the girl, you’ve got a choice. Leave now for the Air Force academy or watch what happens to your little girlfriend. I have intel, my boy, the kind that destroys an entire family. Is that what you want to happen to her?

No one could stab you in the back like a Harper.

Were the threats real? Matt hadn’t known back then, still didn’t know, but Julia had been his girl and he’d loved her, plain and simple. He’d had no choice but to protect her and save her family from whatever RW Harper had on them. Matt had been shipped off to the Air Force academy that day. He hadn’t gotten to kiss Julia goodbye, but he’d believed he’d come back for her. What a crock.

Ten years later he’d succeeded in putting it behind him, mostly. But what he couldn’t get past, no matter how many gorgeous women later, was the girl he’d been forced to leave behind. Julia had promised to be his forever, until she married someone else three months after he’d left. He’d been cut and shot, but nothing in the Air Force hurt as bad as receiving news of Julia’s wedding from home. It was the final blow and he’d sworn he’d never return to Plunder Cove.

Until RW made him a deal: fly the Gulfstream to Plunder Cove and Harper Industries would purchase the last plane required for Matt’s fleet in Southeast Asia. An investor had bailed on him and Matt’s new airline company needed that final aircraft. He’d had to take the deal. And, just like that, RW Harper—pirate slash oil tycoon—had bought him.