Man of Passion (2 page)

ÊWild Mustang Woman
#1166

ÊStallion Tamer
#1173

ÊThe Cougar
#1179

AHeart of the Hunter
#1214

AHunter's Woman
#1255

AHunter's Pride
#1274

§Man of Passion
#1334

§A
Man Alone
#1357

§Man with a Mission
#1376

Silhouette Shadows

Hangar 13
#27

Silhouette Intimate Moments

Love Me Before Dawn
#44

Silhouette Desire

Chase the Clouds
#75

Wilderness Passion
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Too Near the Fire
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Texas Wildcat
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A
The Untamed Hunter
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Silhouette Books

Silhouette Christmas Stories
1990 "Always and Forever"

Lovers Dark and Dangerous
1994 "Seeing Is Believing"

Morgan's Mercenaries: Heart of the Jaguar Morgan's Mercenaries: Heart of the Warrior

Harlequin Historicals

Sun Woman
#71

Lord of the Shadowhawk
#108

King of Swords
#125

Brave Heart
#171

*Kincaid trilogy

fLove and Glory

**Women of Glory

ffMoments of Glory trilogy

tMorgan's Mercenaries

°Men of Courage

ttMorgan's Mercenaries:Love and Danger

ÊCowboys of the Southwest

AMorgan's Mercenaries:The Hunters

§Morgan's Mercenaries: Maverick Hearts

A homeopathic educator,
Lindsay McKenna
teaches at the Desert Institute of Classical Homeopathy in
Phoenix
,
Arizona
. When she isn't teaching alternative medicine, she is writing books about love. She feels love is the single greatest healer in the world and hopes that her books touch her readers on those levels. Coming from an Eastern Cherokee medicine family, Lindsay has taught ceremony and healing ways from the time she was nine years old. She creates flower and gem essences in accordance with nature and remains closely in touch with her Native American roots and upbringing

Dear Reader

I'm just as much in love with Morgan
Trayhem
and his brave men and women who work at
Perseus
as you are! And after hearing how much you loved my last series, MORGAN'S MERCENARIES: THE HUNTERS, I wanted to find out what Morgan was up to next!

Morgan's mercenaries tend to be alpha men and women warriors—mavericks who don't quite fit into society. In the spirit of the maverick, I decided to write about three men who broke the mold when they were born in MORGAN'S MERCENARIES: MAVERICK HEARTS.

Rafe
Antonio, the hero of Man of Passion, comes from a very rich and noble background, but by turning his back on what his family expects of him, he has severely disappointed his father, the owner of a banking empire in
Manaus
,
Brazil
. In
South America
, the firstborn male of any family is expected to learn the family business and take it over when the father tells the son to do so. But the mysterious
Amazon
Basin
calls to
Rafe
. That is why he takes the lowly job of a backwoodsman, or forest ranger, working to protect the Indian people.

Arianna Worthington is a young woman who is trying to find herself. More than anything, Ari wants to fulfill her deceased mother's last wish. But to do so, she must go against her powerful father and head for the Amazon. When she meets
Rafe
, she never expects to fall in love. And neither does
he
....

I'm celebrating a special milestone with this book—it is my fiftieth for Silhouette! Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

Sincerely,

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

"Morgan, I'm glad you could make it," Ben Worthington said, standing up from behind his large cherry desk and thrusting his square hand out toward him.

"Ben, it's been awhile since we saw one another," Morgan replied. Grasping the secretary of the Navy's hand firmly, he saw Ben's blue eyes narrow with concern, and wondered once again what had prompted his old friend's sudden invitation.

"Have a seat," Ben invited. "Becky," he called to his assistant, who sat in the outer office, "is the coffee on the way?"

Morgan took a seat in the leather wing chair at the corner of
Worthington
's desk and looked around the spacious Pentagon office. All kinds of Navy memorabilia—paintings, photos, diplomas—were affixed to the walls. Ben had been a Navy pilot on the carrier
Enterprise
during the Vietnam War. Ben's desk looked just as cluttered and busy as his own, Morgan thought. Through the venetian blinds Morgan could see a patch of blue sky and fluffy white clouds. It was spring in
Washington
,
D.C.
, and hundreds of cherry trees with white perfumed blossoms surrounded the Capitol and nearby monuments.

As
Worthington
's prim and brisk secretary entered the office, silver tray in hand, Morgan gave her a nod. She smiled and handed him a white china cup decorated in gold trim.

"If I remember right, Mr.
Trayhern
, you like your coffee straight?"

Grinning, Morgan took the proffered cup and saucer. "Indeed I do, Becky. You've got a long memory."

She smiled broadly and gave her boss his coffee. "Details are important around here, as you know, sir." She set the tray on a cherry coffee table that sat off to one side, near the cream-colored, buttery-soft leather sofa. "And in case either of you wants a midmorning
snack
, there's a delicious coffee cake drizzled with caramel just begging to be eaten."