“What Are You Doing Here, Vicki?”
She’d never heard Caleb sound this harsh, this unwelcoming. His tone shot her confidence to pieces. She almost turned to leave, but she was here now. And if she could come this far, she could keep going. Their marriage needed her effort.
“You walked away without letting me explain, Caleb.”
“What’s there to explain?”
So much, she thought desperately. And she couldn’t find the right words. “I didn’t know,” she whispered. “I didn’t know you thought I didn’t want you.” For so long she’d controlled her response to his touch, believing he’d be repulsed.
“Now you do.” But he didn’t reach out to gather her in his arms as he had so many nights in the past. He just kept his distance.
Dear Reader,
Thanks for taking time out of your hectic life to pick up and enjoy a Silhouette Desire novel. We have six outstanding reads for you this month, beginning with the latest in our continuity series, THE ELLIOTTS. Anna DePalo’s Cause for Scandal will thrill you with a story of a quiet twin who takes on her identical sister’s persona and falls for a dynamic hero. Look for her sister to turn the tables next month.
The fabulous Kathie DeNosky wraps up her ILLEGITIMATE HEIRS trilogy with the not-to-be-missed Betrothed for the Baby—a compelling engagement-of-convenience story. We welcome back Mary Lynn Baxter to Silhouette Desire with Totally Texan, a sensual story with a Lone Star hero to drool over. WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS…is perhaps better left there unless you’re the heroine of Katherine Garbera’s Her High-Stakes Affair—she’s about to make the biggest romantic wager of all.
Also this month are two stories of complex relationships. Cathleen Galitz’s A Splendid Obsession delves into the romance between an ex-model with a tormented past and the hero who finds her all the inspiration he needs. And Nalini Singh’s Secrets in the Marriage Bed finds a couple on the brink of separation with a reason to fight for their marriage thanks to a surprise pregnancy.
Here’s hoping this month’s selection of Silhouette Desire novels bring you all the enjoyment you crave.
Happy reading!
Melissa Jeglinski
Senior Editor
Silhouette Desire
Secrets in the Marriage Bed
Nalini Singh
Books by Nalini Singh
Silhouette Desire
Desert Warrior #1529
Awaken to Pleasure #1602
Awaken the Senses #1651
Craving Beauty #1667
Secrets in the Marriage Bed #1716
NALINI SINGH
has always wanted to be a writer. Along the way to her dream, she obtained degrees in both the arts and law (because being a starving writer didn’t appeal). After a short stint as a lawyer, she sold her first book and from that point, there was no going back. Now an escapee from the corporate world, she is looking forward to a lifetime of writing, interspersed with as much travel as possible. Currently residing in Japan, Nalini loves to hear from readers. You can contact her via the following e-mail address: [email protected]; or by writing to her c/o Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY, 10279, U.S.A.
This one’s for all my readers—
you guys are the greatest.
Contents
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
Epilogue
One
“I’m pregnant.”
Caleb Callaghan’s heart rocked to a standstill. “What?”
“I said I’m pregnant. Three months along—the doctor just confirmed it.” Shoving her fingers through her shoulder-length blond hair, Vicki sat down in the chair across from his desk.
His entire mind restarted with a kick—this was the chance he’d been waiting for, for two long months. He would not let it slip away. Rising, he moved around the desk to kneel beside her chair. “You’re carrying our child.” Wonder held him in its grip. Within the space of a few seconds, the hell of his life had turned into heaven.
Vicki can’t divorce me if she’s pregnant.
As if she’d heard him, she shook her head. “It doesn’t change anything.” But her voice held the tiniest hint of uncertainty.
He seized the moment. No way was he going to fight fair, not when this was the most important battle of his life. “Of course it does.” He took her fine-boned hand, delighting in once again being able to touch her.
“No.”
“Yes.” In the months since their separation, he’d tried everything he could think of to win his wife back. And failed. But this, this would not allow Vicki to so easily justify a divorce. “How can it not change everything? That’s my baby you’re carrying.”
Her hand tensed in his. “Don’t bully me, Caleb.”
Warned by her tone, he rapidly recalculated his approach. Though he had no intention of letting her shut him out any longer, he knew that if he pushed too hard, he might lose her. But his Victoria had always had a soft heart. “I have a right to experience this with you. This is my first baby, too. Maybe my last.”
Emotions he had no hope of understanding flickered across her face at the speed of light. “You want to move back in,” she said, referring to their restored villa above St. Marys Bay, not far from Auckland’s city center.
“I am moving back in.” That was non-negotiable. “I’m not letting you divorce me while our child is in your womb.” That gave him six months in which to convince her that their marriage was worth saving, that five years of commitment shouldn’t be thrown away so quickly.
She’d asked him for space when they’d separated and he’d given her that as far as he was able—limiting himself to a phone call a day and a couple of visits a week to ensure that she was okay. But that was all ending as of this moment. He wanted his wife back. “This baby is a gift, Vicki—our chance to make it. Don’t throw that away.”
Her eyes seemed to soften.
Standing, he tugged her up and into his embrace, her slender body a perfect fit against his larger frame. “I’ll get my stuff delivered from the hotel this afternoon.” He hated the damn place because it wasn’t home, would never be home. “We’ll be all right.” He’d ensure it. No matter what, he wasn’t going to lose her.
She was his everything.
Vicki let Caleb hold her