Katherine O’Neal (57 page)

He put a hand to her mouth to quiet her.
“There’s nothing to forgive.”

“You killed your brother because of me.”

His eyes clouded momentarily. “The man I
killed wasn’t my brother.”

“Mace—”

“Hush, love. One thing about being reformed
confidence artists... we know how to start with a clean slate.”

“Are we? Reformed, I mean?”

“Well... maybe after one last hurrah to sow
some wild oats.”

“Before settling down. We do, after all, have
a newspaper to run.”

“We shall go back and run it,” he promised.
“But first, I say we do what we set out to do. Have a real
honeymoon. Strike out—have some fun—leave the past behind.”

“There’s so much for us to adjust to. There
hasn’t been much time.”

“Do you doubt that we can do it?”

“Not anymore,” she said, and found to her
intense joy that it was true. “Then I say let’s honeymoon for all
we’re worth. Before you return to running the paper, and I go
undercover to expose the evils lurking in the heart of the great
city.”

“Now wait just a minute. We never
agreed—”

She broke from him and swam like a demon
toward shore. Once they’d reached the banks, they were panting and
giggling at the same time. Saranda stumbled from the water and set
out to run from him, but he fell on her, propelling her with his
weight to the ground. They rolled in the mud, laughing and
squealing, until he captured her mouth with a kiss. She clung to
him then, grateful beyond words that they’d been given this second
chance.

“I love you so,” she told him. “I want to put
everything behind us. Make love to me, Mace. Let it be like the
very first time.”

“Here?” he cried mockingly. “In the mud?”

“It’s just about the only place we
haven’t
made love.”

He smiled at her with all the love and
gratitude he felt shining in his eyes. “I think I’m going to have
my hands full with you.”

She took his hands and ran them along the
hollows and swells of her body—just to show him how very right he
was.

The End

Katherine O’Neal is the
USA Today
best-selling author of 12 historical romances. She’s the recipient
of
Romantic Times’
award for best Sensual Historical Romance
and the magazine’s Career Achievement Award. She is married to
best-selling author and film critic William Arnold. Together they
travel the world researching their various books. Katherine has
intimately experienced every one of her novels’ settings, so she
might see those exotic worlds through her characters’ eyes.

Visit Katherine

BLOG: www.katherineoneal.wordpress.com

TWITTER: @Katherine_ONeal

FACEBOOK: KatherineOneal.Books

Cover Design by Branko Arsov

Ebook Design by JW Manus

THE LAST HIGHWAYMAN:

“One of the most brilliant debut novels to
come along in many months. Powerfully written, sophisticated, well
researched, highly romantic, smoldering with sometimes erotic
sensuality (a la Susan Johnson) and adventure.” —
Romantic
Times

MASTER OF PARADISE:

“Every page will thrill you.” —
Rendezvous

BRIDE OF DANGER:

“A fast-paced, searingly sensual novel
brimming with plot twists that keep you guessing till the end. A
winner.” —
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

WRITTEN IN THE STARS:

“Katherine O’Neal continues to reign as the
queen of romantic adventure.” —
Affaire de Coeur

MY ONE AND ONLY:

“A gripping journey. . . plenty of intrigue,
romance, and daring.” —
Rendezvous

SILENT SURRENDER:

“Combining the grand sweep of James
Michener’s
Hawaii
with details about the early days of
filmmaking, SILENT SURRENDER has the epic draw of a mainstream saga
and the heated, grand passion of the finest romances. VERY
SENSUAL.” — Kathe Robin,
Romantic Times

THE ART OF SEDUCTION:

“O’Neal’s heated romance plays out against
the backdrop of the Paris and the Impressionist art movement as a
woman strives to break through into the male-dominated art world.
O’Neal can write an intense, intelligent story brimming with
sensuality, yet it loses none of its emotional or thought-provoking
intensity. Readers who enjoy mental and physical titillation know
this author serves it up in style.” —
Romantic Times

JUST FOR HER:

“Not only does O’Neal write a sexually
charged novel, she creates a smart, sexy, riveting story with a
powerful, intelligent, surprising plot and strong characters.
You’ll want to read it more than once.” —
Romantic Times

And be sure not to miss Katherine’s 3 novella
contributions to Brava’s historical romance anthologies:

TAKEN BY SURPRISE

(Susan Johnson, Thea Divine, Katherine O’Neal):

“Katherine O’Neal puts an original spin on
love and erotic romance in ‘Déjà Vu’... Allow yourself to be swept
away by the fresh plotline and scintillating images. SEXY.” —
Romantic Times

STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT

(Susan Johnson, Katherine O’Neal, Pam Rosenthal):

“As O’Neal pushes her story forward, you’ll
be caught up in the web of intrigue, bondage and passion that holds
the characters in thrall in ‘Fool Me Once.’” —
Romantic
Times

NOT JUST FOR TONIGHT

(Susan Johnson, Katherine O’Neal, Diane
Whiteside):

“Leave it to the imaginative O’Neal to sweep
readers off to exotic Buenos Aries [in ‘Dr. Yes’]... Hotter than
hot...” —
Romantic Times