A Stormy Spring
A Stormy Spring - Introduction
She didn’t want a man. She didn’t want love. She wanted to forget.
Though her name is synonymous with success, Becca Wainwright isn’t interested in fame or celebrity. All that matters to her is choreography and how alive she feels when she creates....
Famously single, Lucas Del Garda’s passions are wealth, celebrity and power.
The electrifying attraction between the dancer and PR Guru is instantaneous.
But after a stormy night in the strong arms of Lucas, Becca finds her life has changed, for ever....
A Stormy Spring
By C C MacKenzie
A Stormy Spring
Copyright © C C MacKenzie 2012
Published by More Press
ISBN: 9781909331013
The right of C C MacKenzie to be
identified as the author of this
work has been asserted by her
under the Copyright Amendment
(Morals Rights) Act 2000
This work is copyright.
Apart from any use as permitted under
the Copyright Act 1968, no part
maybe reproduced, copied, scanned,
stored in a retrieval system,
recorded or transmitted,
in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission
of the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places and
incidents are either a product of
the author’s imagination or are
used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual people
living or dead, events or locales is
entirely coincidental.
Cover design by: K Carmichael
About the Author
C C MacKenzie is a wife, and mother of three, based in South Cheshire, U.K.
Since childhood, she dreamt of writing stories that readers would fall in love with, but put those dreams on hold to focus on her family and her careers in banking, fitness, interior design and construction.
C C MacKenzie is currently working on more contemporary romances due for release this year and in 2013. She is also working on a vampire paranormal saga set in a cataclysmic urban future since she loves those suckers!
Contact Me
Email:
mailto:[email protected]
Website:
http://ccmackenzie.wordpress.com/
Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/christineauthor/
Facebook Author Website
http://www.facebook.com/CCMzie
Amazon Author Pages:
amazon.com -
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B007WKC36A
amazon.co.uk -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B007WKC36A
For Hugo
Who’s given me plenty of support over the years. Love you.
As ever I’m deeply indebted to the following for their help and support:
My husband, Hugo – for tolerating the crazy woman and for cooking, shopping, being a domestic God and stepping up to the plate (no pun intended) with the technical stuff.
Critique partners; Cynthia M Bristow, Cathy Lennon and Joanna Terrero – your talent and unconditional support has been awesome.
To my beta readers, Lynne, Sue and Mags.
To the wonderful and talented writers, Jane Wenham-Jones. India Grey who’s been an awesome inspiration and support and who told me not to ‘over think it.’ Tessa Radley who phoned me from New Zealand – I wouldn’t have got this far without your encouragement.
And to all the readers of Reckless Nights In Rome and those who contacted me and told me they loved the story – this one’s for you!
Thank you.
Table of Contents
Contents
A Stormy Spring - Introduction
Reckless Nights in Rome - Book 1
The Trouble With Coco Monroe - Book 4 -
Desert Orchid - Excerpt - Due 2013
Where were her panties?
On her hands and knees, and naked as the day she was born, Becca’s fingers fluttered around the floor, under the bed and found a scrap of silk she realised was her bra. Further exploration found a single shoe.
With hair streaming across her face she wondered where the hell was the other one?
A deep rumbling voice muttered words in Spanish and brought her head up with a jerk. Tucking a curl behind her ear, she peered through dawn’s early light at the man the glossy magazines had crowned one of the world’s most celebrated bachelors. He slept amid tousled white cotton sheets in a bed the size of a lake. Sheets she’d tangled and a bed she knew every single inch of.
What a night. She ached in places she never even knew existed.
The things he’d done to her had been truly...
Becca froze as a muscled arm flopped over the side of the bed missing her by a whisker. She let out a shaky sigh in relief as he murmured again before pressing his face into the pillow.
The spiked heel of her designer shoe dug into her knee, how she managed to contain the hiss of agony she’d never know.
On shaky legs, dangling her shoes in one hand she got to her feet.
With short panting breaths, she tip-toed to the door and slid into the sitting-room of the luxurious hotel suite.
Her eyes widened as a table lamp shed an intimate glow on the evidence of the night before.
Amongst the debris her dress lay in a heap of red silk. Along with his shirt and tie and hastily toed off socks and shoes. No sign of her panties.
She desperately tried to remember the sequence of last night’s events.
Not a good idea.
Don’t think.
Get out.
Struggling into her dress Becca wondered what she’d been thinking. She never did things like this. Things like having a one night stand with a perfect stranger. And he was perfect all right, in every conceivable way. The society pages didn’t do him justice. They couldn’t begin to capture his height, his broad shouldered strength or the sensitivity of that amazing mouth.
One look was all it had taken, one dance, and she was the one who’d asked him to touch her, to kiss her, to...
Stop it.
Don’t think about his mouth.
Frantic fingers zipped up her dress.
Shoving the bra into her bag, she thrust her feet into sky high heels.
Running away was sheer cowardice. She knew it, but it couldn’t be helped.
The whole thing felt surreal.
She was way, way out of her depth. Perhaps she should leave him a note? Thanks for having me?
An erotic little shiver ran up her spine and she knew she’d never forget last night.
Her hand reached for the door handle.
‘Going somewhere, Becca?’
The deep voice husky from sleep held the musical lilt of Spain. It vibrated up her spine and brought jumpy nerves to her throat. The gentle tone, filled with humour, stopped her from acting on her initial instinct and making a run for it.
She turned. Eyes the colour of dark chocolate slammed into hers. Once again their impact left her reeling, off balance.
It was such a cliché but how on earth could one look across a crowded room have led to this?
He was naked except for black trousers, unbuttoned and unzipped. Her physical reaction, the shortness of breath as her heart ricocheted into her throat and the weakness in her legs couldn’t be blamed on a couple of glasses of champagne. She was stone cold sober this morning.
Those immense shoulders leaned against the doorframe. She’d pressed her mouth against that marvellous chest, clutched those dark tousled locks as he’d kissed her intimately. Heat rushed into her cheeks. By his broad grin he’d read her mind.
Her brain soaked up the sight of him. He was ridiculously handsome with the light of fun along with a smouldering desire in his eyes as they stayed on hers.
Attack Becca firmly believed was the best line of defence.
She frowned. ‘Don’t look at me like that.’
Narrowing his eyes at the combative tone of her lovely voice, Lucas Del Garda recognised panic when he saw it.
Her hair, the colour of burnt toffee, tumbled in slippery curls around slim shoulders. Beautiful blue eyes glittered into his.
She hadn’t sounded like that a few short hours ago with those high little moans panting in her throat as she’d begged him to take her. She’d been wild for him and he’d loved it. He had no idea how many times he’d made her come since he wasn’t the sort of man who kept score. But she’d twisted and turned under him and almost burst his eardrums with her screams of completion.
If she thought he was prepared for her to leave without so much as a telephone number then Becca was sorely mistaken. He had no idea of her surname, what she did or where she came from.
This had been a first for him. He never indulged in sex with a beautiful woman without covering the preliminaries.
Her eyes were spectacular, blindingly blue, as they stared into his he read embarrassment, despair and a mounting alarm that tickled his antennae. Hmm, it seemed Becca had regrets and wanted to escape. Interesting. Most women were more than happy to snuggle after sex. He wasn’t a snuggler, never had been and usually managed to extricate himself without any trouble. But last night had been the first time he’d held a woman close. It felt natural with her. It felt right.
Lucas didn’t analyse his feelings but accepted them for what they were. He’d known the instant she left his bed and listened to her hunting for her clothes. It had been wrong of him to play with her and he almost laughed as he remembered her little whimper of alarm.
Intrigued, he studied her. No, Becca did not look happy to see him.