Sunny snuggled deeply into the pillow…
A second later she shot up in her bed. Only, it wasn’t her bed. Or even night. Sun was shining in the bedroom window.
“What’s wrong?” Nick tugged her arm till she turned.
Just looking at him took her breath away. All dark and tawny, sprawled in white cotton sheets. There should be a law against looking so sinful and downright inviting. Her body was already gearing up to accept that invitation, too.
“I have to leave,” she said nervously.
“There you go, having to do something again.” He shifted and the sheet moved dangerously low on his hips. “What’s really wrong?”
Her mouth went dry. “I—I spent the night.”
“And this is a problem—why?”
“Because I don’t spend the night.”
Nick propped himself up on his pillow. “Oh?”
“Spending the night leads to speculation,” she said. “On the part of the person you spend it with.”
Nick grinned and reached for her. “And what’s wrong with that…?”
Donna Kauffman is the award-winning, nationally bestselling author of eighteen contemporary romance novels. She worked as a bookkeeper, dog groomer, people groomer, art instructor and competitive bodybuilder before turning to storytelling. She began writing while expecting her first child, put the manuscript aside, then finished it during a second pregnancy. That book became her first published novel. She’s since written many more, calling on both imagination and background in order to create compelling, innovative stories.
Walk on the Wild Side is Donna’s debut book for Temptation. It’s a fun, sexy story about a wealthy heroine who longs to take a walk in the real world, albeit temporarily. The passion and love she finds with Nick is worth the trip alone. Look for more books from this talented writer who loves to hear from her fans. Check out her Web site at www.donnakauffman.com. Enjoy!
Walk on the Wild Side
Donna Kauffman
This book is dedicated to my “sister,” Jill Shalvis.
Families aren’t always the ones you’re born into.
Thanks for taking that first step and making us a family.
Contents
Prologue
“YOUR PLACE is with the family, heading the company,” said Edwin Chandler, rebuking his granddaughter. “There will be no further nonsense about this…this sabbatical you wish to take.”
Susan Haddon Chandler kept her gaze focused outside the tinted limousine window. Otherwise the sight of her grandfather’s sharply disapproving expression might just tempt her to strangle him. Which would be exceedingly foolish. Then she’d have to take over the business immediately.
“Susan, are you paying attention? I didn’t raise you to be rude.”
No, she thought wearily, she was raised to be cold, unfeeling, totally focused on business and the bottom line—exactly like her grandparents were. To hell with love, life and anything resembling a good time.
And she hated being called Susan. Her grandparents were the only people in her life who didn’t call her Sunny. That nickname was the one nice thing her father had given her before he and her mother had died in a yacht racing accident right before her fifth birthday.
Almost from that day forward, she’d known this day was coming. She’d always believed that she’d somehow find a way to accept the inevitable when the time came. Every other person in her graduating class had clutched their diploma like the ticket to freedom it represented.
She hadn’t, though. Her degrees represented a one-way ticket to life imprisonment inside the block of cold granite and steel that housed Chandler Enterprises. She would be expected to remain in her suite of rooms in Haddon Hall, the ancestral home of her maternal great-great-grandmother, where her grandparents could continue to monitor her every breath.
How did she say, “Thanks, but no thanks,” to the people who had given her everything?
She hazarded a glance at her grandfather and felt her spirits sink even lower. There were no words that would penetrate that stubborn piece of stone he called a heart.
“Grandfather, I’m not trying to upset you,” she began.
“Well, you’re going about it very well indeed. I’m not getting any younger. It’s time to curb this foolishness.”
Her grandfather was seventy-eight. But he still put in a full workweek and then some. She knew he would continue to do so until he dropped dead, preferably while heading an international board meeting, closing yet another multimillion-dollar deal. She was fairly certain there was a clause somewhere on her birth certificate that said she was expected to do the same.
“I’m finally done with grad school. I don’t think it’s foolish to want to spend some time on my own,” she reasoned. “You know how much I appreciate all you and Grandmother have done for me. And I’m not turning my back on Chandler Enterprises.” The critical look he gave her only firmed her resolve. She was no shrinking violet. Edwin had seen to that early on. Well, now he would have to deal with the mini-me he’d created.
“I fully intend to take my place in the