Christmas is just around the corner and we have a treat for you!

Read on for an exclusive extract from The Secret Casseveti Baby by Nina Milne a story about royal scandal and surprises.

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Almost without her realising it her laughter died away and she looked at him, really looked at him for the first time since she had entered the room and events had run off and out of her grasp. His face held evidence that the past months had not been easy, a hint of tiredness in and around the vivid blue eyes, the faint outline of a crease on his forehead.

A sudden urge came to move across and smooth the cares away, to let her fingers smooth down the evening shadow on his jaw and linger on its strength, to run a finger over his lips.

And then…her own lips tingled as if in memory and again she was carried back in time…the feel of his skin under her touch, the sculpt of his muscle, the sweep and strength of his back. His hands on her skin, his lips, inciting, evoking, teasing…

Whoa!

Somehow they’d stepped closer to each other. Carlos’s blue eyes were intent, dark, focused as their gazes locked. It would be easy…oh, so easy…to take one final step, close the gap, reach up and…she mustn’t.

They mustn’t. He didn’t know about the baby; he was a crown prince; he didn’t even know her name.

And as if he too realised the danger, he broke the eye contact, took a small step back. ‘I…’ He cleared his throat. ‘Where were we?’

‘Trying to clear up the myriad misunderstandings,’ she said. ‘So far we’ve established Pradesh lied to us both. He told you I was a reporter on the run and he told me you were on Jalpura to meet Princess Alisha.’

He met her gaze. ‘He was right about one thing though. You did run. Why? Why didn’t you confront me? Or expose me to Alisha?’

‘Pradesh threatened to look into my circumstances and I was worried he would discover my true identity.’

He frowned, studied her face again. ‘Why don’t you sit down and tell me who you really are?’

Jodi complied, sank down, tried to do so gracefully but without revealing her baby bump, sat slightly sideways, inhaled deeply and marshalled her thoughts.

Almost without her realising it her laughter died away and she looked at him, really looked at him for the first time since she had entered the room and events had run off and out of her grasp. His face held evidence that the past months had not been easy, a hint of tiredness in and around the vivid blue eyes, the faint outline of a crease on his forehead.

A sudden urge came to move across and smooth the cares away, to let her fingers smooth down the evening shadow on his jaw and linger on its strength, to run a finger over his lips.

And then…her own lips tingled as if in memory and again she was carried back in time…the feel of his skin under her touch, the sculpt of his muscle, the sweep and strength of his back. His hands on her skin, his lips, inciting, evoking, teasing…

Whoa!

Somehow they’d stepped closer to each other. Carlos’s blue eyes were intent, dark, focused as their gazes locked. It would be easy…oh, so easy…to take one final step, close the gap, reach up and…she mustn’t.

They mustn’t. He didn’t know about the baby; he was a crown prince; he didn’t even know her name.

And as if he too realised the danger, he broke the eye contact, took a small step back. ‘I…’ He cleared his throat. ‘Where were we?’

‘Trying to clear up the myriad misunderstandings,’ she said. ‘So far we’ve established Pradesh lied to us both. He told you I was a reporter on the run and he told me you were on Jalpura to meet Princess Alisha.’

He met her gaze. ‘He was right about one thing though. You did run. Why? Why didn’t you confront me? Or expose me to Alisha?’

‘Pradesh threatened to look into my circumstances and I was worried he would discover my true identity.’

He frowned, studied her face again. ‘Why don’t you sit down and tell me who you really are?’

Jodi complied, sank down, tried to do so gracefully but without revealing her baby bump, sat slightly sideways, inhaled deeply and marshalled her thoughts.

*

The Secret Casseveti Baby by Nina Milne

In this The Casseveti Inheritance story, heiress Jodi is swept off her feet by a handsome stranger on a beautiful Indian island. But Carlos is Prince of Talonos, with duty awaiting him back home…and when Jodi discovers their whirlwind affair has consequences, she must tell strictly off-limits Carlos that she’s carrying his royal baby!

 

Read now in eBook or paperback with Beauty and the Reclusive Billionaire by Rachael Stewart.

By Lauren Gardiner