Sheryl Lynn - Undercover Fiance

“About your fee—” “About your fee—” “I don’t have a fee.” “I pay for whatever services I receive.” “I don’t take cash from stalking victims.” Awareness of her alluring body heated his blood. He’d like to have her in his debt. He’d really like to have her in his bed. Thaw the ice, rev her engine, but now would definitely be a bad time to let her know what he was thinking. Especially since the frigid glare she gave him said she suspected exactly what he was thinking. “How about a trade?” She tilted her head to one side. “A trade?” “I get rid of your stalker, you give me a honeymoon.” “Pardon?” Her voice had risen slightly, and the corners of her mouth twitched. Seeing her fight a smile convinced him that heat pulsed beneath her icy veneer “You’ve got the Honeymoon Hideaway at Elk River, right? Fancy cabins, room service, moonlight and romance. I could really go for that. Can you set up a honeymoon for me?” “I could....” She relaxed—Daniel nearly melted into a puddle beneath his desk. “Are you engaged to be married?” I’m going to marry you. “Not yet. We’ll just keep it open-ended.” Letter to Reader Dear Reader, Sexy and sweet, tough and tender. These are the men of ELK RIVER, COLORADO. The men who still stand tall and know how to treat a woman. The men whom Sheryl Lynn writes about with emotion and passion in her new duet. You may remember the legendary Duke family of Colorado, whom Sheryl first introduced in a duet called HONEYMOON HIDEAWAY a few years back. These titles—#424 The Case of the Vanished Groom and #425 The Case of the Bad Luck Fiancé as well as last month’s #514 The Bodyguard—are still available. Send $3.75 ($4.25 CAN.) each for the first two titles, $3.99 ($4.50 CAN.) for The Bodyguard, plus $.75 shipping and handling ($1.00 CAN.), to Harlequin Reader Service: 3010 Walden Ave., Buffalo, NY 14269, or P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ontario L2A 5X3. Happy Reading! Debra Matteucci Senior Editor & Editorial Coordinator Harlequin Books 300 East 42nd Street New York, NY 10017 Title Page Undercover Fiance Sheryl Lynn www.millsandboon.co.uk Dedication For my favorite future superstars: Jennifer, Emily and Mikey Campbell; Abby and Tristan Manus; and Justin Murphy. Don’t grow up too fast, but when you do, get out there and dazzle the world. CAST OF CHARACTERS CAST OF CHARACTERS Janine Duke—The general manager of Elk River Resort is the perfect businesswoman, with a secret admirer who’s potentially deadly. Daniel Tucker—His life mission is making sure that no one else has to suffer the way his stalker made him suffer. Colonel Horace Duke—The owner of Elk River, who expects his staff and family to live up to his exacting standards. Elise Duke—A gracious matriarch whose family is her life. Kara Duke—Janine’s baby sister thinks Daniel is gorgeous, but is he really serious about pursuing Janine or could he get serious about Kara? Pinky—He loves Janine and to prove it he’ll get rid of the colonel so they can live happily ever after. 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 Copyright

“About your fee—”

“I don’t have a fee.”

“I pay for whatever services I receive.”

“I don’t take cash from stalking victims.” Awareness of her alluring body heated his blood. He’d like to have her in his debt. He’d really like to have her in his bed. Thaw the ice, rev her engine, but now would definitely be a bad time to let her know what he was thinking. Especially since the frigid glare she gave him said she suspected exactly what he was thinking.

“How about a trade?”

She tilted her head to one side. “A trade?”

“I get rid of your stalker, you give me a honeymoon.”

“Pardon?” Her voice had risen slightly, and the corners of her mouth twitched.

Seeing her fight a smile convinced him that heat pulsed beneath her icy veneer “You’ve got the Honeymoon Hideaway at Elk River, right? Fancy cabins, room service, moonlight and romance. I could really go for that. Can you set up a honeymoon for me?”

“I could....” She relaxed—Daniel nearly melted into a puddle beneath his desk. “Are you engaged to be married?”

I’m going to marry you. “Not yet. We’ll just keep it open-ended.”

Dear Reader,

Sexy and sweet, tough and tender. These are the men of ELK RIVER, COLORADO. The men who still stand tall and know how to treat a woman. The men whom Sheryl Lynn writes about with emotion and passion in her new duet.

You may remember the legendary Duke family of Colorado, whom Sheryl first introduced in a duet called HONEYMOON HIDEAWAY a few years back. These titles—#424 The Case of the Vanished Groom and #425 The Case of the Bad Luck Fiancé as well as last month’s #514 The Bodyguard—are still available. Send $3.75 ($4.25 CAN.) each for the first two titles, $3.99 ($4.50 CAN.) for The Bodyguard, plus $.75 shipping and handling ($1.00 CAN.), to Harlequin Reader Service: 3010 Walden Ave., Buffalo, NY 14269, or P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ontario L2A 5X3.

Happy Reading!

Debra Matteucci

Senior Editor & Editorial Coordinator

Harlequin Books

300 East 42nd Street

New York, NY 10017

www.millsandboon.co.uk

For my favorite future superstars: Jennifer, Emily and Mikey Campbell; Abby and Tristan Manus; and Justin Murphy. Don’t grow up too fast, but when you do, get out there and dazzle the world.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Janine Duke—The general manager of Elk River Resort is the perfect businesswoman, with a secret admirer who’s potentially deadly.

Daniel Tucker—His life mission is making sure that no one else has to suffer the way his stalker made him suffer.

Colonel Horace Duke—The owner of Elk River, who expects his staff and family to live up to his exacting standards.

Elise Duke—A gracious matriarch whose family is her life.

Kara Duke—Janine’s baby sister thinks Daniel is gorgeous, but is he really serious about pursuing Janine or could he get serious about Kara?

Pinky—He loves Janine and to prove it he’ll get rid of the colonel so they can live happily ever after.

Chapter One

Concentrate, focus. Daniel Tucker envisioned concentric circles of red, yellow and black surrounding a bright red bull’s-eye. Easy now, picture the dart sailing in a perfect arc. Two thoughts intruded: This is stupid. He was bored.

Scowling, he fingered the dart, testing the point against the ball of his thumb. A potential client should be arriving in a few minutes—his only client in more than a month. Antistalking laws were growing teeth. He felt like a soldier in the final days of a war—bored. The more battles his side won, the more obsolete he became.

He craved a useful purpose—and something else, too. He hadn’t figured out yet what that something else might be, though.

Shaking off the gloomy thoughts, he again conjured the image of the bull’s-eye. He drew back his arm, joints loose, wrist relaxed, the crimson sweet spot glowing like a beacon. And tossed the dart.

A high-pitched squeal shattered the silence. Daniel tore off the blindfold.

There she stood, the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. The yellow fletch on the dart quivered in the doorjamb, scant inches from her face.

The face of an angel with wide blue eyes and a full, soft mouth. Luxurious chestnut curls fell in soft waves to her shoulders. A wine-red jacket hugged her lush bosom and narrow waist and flared over graceful hips. Visions of dart boards shrank and disappeared, replaced by an image of this goddess rising naked from the sea, riding a seashell, while cherubs—