Berringer Bodyguards File #4
Name: Luke Berringer
Trademark: Single-minded determination…
Biggest weakness: A sweet ’n’ sexy gal who drives him to distraction!
Luke Berringer used to have everything—money, status. And just like that, he lost it all. Now a bodyguard for Berringer Security, he’s determined to track down the woman responsible for ruining his life. But when he finally catches up with Vanessa Grant, he’s in for one heck of a surprise….
Vanessa is no con artist. It’s a case of mistaken identity, and worse for Luke, the woman has a hidden sensuality that he can’t resist. With her life in jeopardy, Luke must protect an innocent woman, track down a guilty one…and determine if maybe the “wrong woman” isn’t really the right one, after all!
“Are you for real?” Luke asked, transfixed.
He dipped down to capture Vanessa’s mouth with his.
She moaned, the sound reverberating as she wound her arms around him.
“That’s definitely real,” she whispered.
Luke knew that this was a bad decision, but she was sweet in his arms. Her kiss as hot and insistent as his.
“Vanessa.” His voice was rough, objections buried somewhere under the hot need that was taking over as he studied the pink lips that begged for a taste.
“We shouldn’t,” he said, trying one more time to do the right thing. There was no way he could walk away and leave her alone right now. But there was also no way he could stay without having her….
Dear Reader,
Luke Berringer. Many of you have written asking for his book, and here it is—and what an adventure he’s about to have with his heroine! If you read the epilogue at the end of His Kind of Trouble, you’ll know the explosive way these two met (and if you didn’t, go do that, right now!).
Luke, of course, lost everything when a woman he was involved with brought his whole world down around him. After years of searching for her—and for revenge—what he’s found is far more unexpected. Vanessa understands what it means to spend your life searching for something—she’s spent almost all of hers looking for her long-lost siblings. Now she’s found Luke along the way. Hand in hand, they’re not alone in their searches anymore. But what happens when the search is over—can they both get what they’ve wanted for so long? Maybe, especially when what they most want is each other.
So, this is the final Berringer Bodyguards book—but if this is the first one you’ve read, maybe you’ll enjoy going back to read about Luke’s bodyguard cousins, who all have their own stories. If you want to chat about Blaze, Berringers or bodyguards, you can find me on Twitter or Facebook, or email me at [email protected].
Enjoy!
Samantha Hunter
Unexpected Temptation
Samantha Hunter
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Samantha Hunter lives in Syracuse, New York, where she writes full-time for Mills & Boon. When she’s not plotting her next story, Sam likes to work in her garden, quilt, cook, read and spend time with her husband and their dogs. Most days you can find Sam chatting on the Mills & Boon Blaze boards at www.millsandboon.co.uk, or you can check out what’s new, enter contests or drop her a note at her website, www.samanthahunter.com.
For Blaze author Cara Summers, whom we all lost
in September 2013. She walked me through
my first Blaze a decade ago, and was a friend
and colleague years before that. She’s been
a part of every Blaze I’ve written, and that
will always be true. Thanks so much, Carolyn.
Contents
1
LUKE BERRINGER STARED through the bars of the adjoined jail cell at one of the most beautiful women he’d ever known. If he hadn’t been at her house that afternoon right before it had blown up, and if he hadn’t found her in time, neither one of them would be standing here now, waiting for the police to sort it all out.
But he had been there, and now they were both holed up in jail, since she kept insisting that he was a stranger and that she was someone else. She was playing the innocent—the victim—when in truth, Nicole Brooks was anything but innocent. He’d prove that if it was the last thing he did.
Luke looked at his watch again—except it wasn’t on his arm. It was in a property bag being held by the police until he was released, which should be any minute now.
His cousins, the other members of Berringer Bodyguards, should get him out of here soon.
Nicky might not be as lucky, he thought, watching her pace next door.
There were a few subtle differences between Nicky and her new identity, Vanessa Grant. Most people wouldn’t notice.
Luke noticed, but he could still see the real Nicky underneath Vanessa’s softer persona.
“I have to say, I like this look on you. But a schoolteacher, Nicky? You never cared for kids—this score must be really something for you to put on this kind of performance day in and out.”
She turned on him.
“Stop. Calling. Me. Nicky.”
“The cat will soon be out of the bag, why pretend? You might as well get used to these accommodations. You could be here for a while.”
She shook her head and made a small, feral growling sound before she walked to the bars, curled her hands around them very tightly and looked at him hard.
“The