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His goal had been to spend time with her.
It had not been to like it.
Falling for Jacinth would undermine the most important investigation of his life. Yet, he was falling, and falling hard.
It wasn’t just the physical attraction, though that was dynamite. It was everything about her.
He felt this fierce need to protect her, but the one she needed protection from most was him. He couldn’t keep his hands off her. And that kiss last night had equaled the thrill of having sex with any other woman he’d ever been with. Pulling away and leaving her at the door had been downright painful.
None of that changed what he had to do, but he couldn’t be lover and destroyer. He’d have to put the skids on any romantic involvement.
His mind understood that. His body was the traitor.
Stranger, Seducer, Protector
Joanna Wayne
MILLS & BOON
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TO ALL MY READERS WHO LOVE NEW ORLEANS AND THE
MYSTERY AND ROMANCE IT INSPIRES. AND A SPECIAL
SMILE AND WAVE TO ALL LOUISIANA FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joanna Wayne was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, and received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from LSU-Shreveport. She moved to New Orleans in 1984, and it was there that she attended her first writing class and joined her first professional writing organization. Her debut novel, Deep in the Bayou, was published in 1994.
Now, dozens of published books later, Joanna has made a name for herself as being on the cutting edge of romantic suspense in both series and single-title novels. She has been on the Waldenbooks bestseller list for romance and has won many industry awards. She is also a popular speaker at writing organizations and local community functions and has taught creative writing at the University of New Orleans Metropolitan College.
Joanna currently resides in a small community forty miles north of Houston, Texas, with her husband. Though she still has many family and emotional ties to Louisiana, she loves living in the Lone Star State. You may write Joanna at P.O. Box 852, Montgomery, Texas 77356.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Nick Bruno —He’s dead set on only one thing—until he meets Jacinth Villaré.
Jacinth Villaré —The sprawling Esplanade Avenue mansion she and her sister have inherited has turned into a nightmare.
Elton Bruno —Nick’s father. He’s spent most of his adult life in prison for a crime he claims he didn’t commit.
Caitlyn Villaré —Jacinth’s sister, who is away on her honeymoon.
Dr. Reginald Jefferies —Jacinth’s professor friend and mentor.
Detective Ron Greene —He’s determined to make an arrest.
Joy Adams, Cecelia Davis and Jewel Benet —Three New Orleans exotic dancers who disappeared without a trace.
Sophie and Micah Villaré —Jacinth’s parents, no longer living.
Marie Villaré —Jacinth’s grandmother, who willed her and Caitlyn the aging mansion.
Luther Villaré —Micah Villaré’s half brother.
Carrie Marks —Luther’s girlfriend before he was murdered.
Gladys Findley —Jacinth’s next-door neighbor.
Eric Ledeaux —An old friend of Marie’s before her death, and a spurned lover of Joy Adams’s.
Billy Raquet —Carrie Marks’s current boyfriend. Bill and Eugenia Kibecti —Friends of Dr. Jefferies who own a historic home with a secret passageway.
Sarah Livingston —Joy Adams’s roommate when Joy disappeared.
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
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter One
Her heart pounded and cold sweat trickled down her face and between her breasts. There was no mistaking the creaks of the aged floorboards outside her room.
He was there, pacing, watching, anticipating the moment when he would place his cold, meaty fingers around her neck and squeeze the breath from her lungs.
The doorbell rang. Jacinth Villaré’s heart jumped to her throat and the gritty suspense novel she’d been reading slipped from her hands and slapped against the blue quilt. Apprehension lingered. Who would be visiting this time of night?
She glanced at the clock next to her bed. It was only ten after ten, not really considered late in the Big Easy, though Jacinth had snuggled into bed with her book a full hour ago.
The visitor at the door was likely a lost tourist looking for the bed-and-breakfast where he’d rented a room for the night. There were two in Jacinth’s block alone, one owned by the friendly gay couple who lived just to the right of her.
The bell rang again. She untangled herself from the crisp percale sheets, threw her legs over the side of the bed and felt the familiar tingle of old wool as her heels and toes caressed the worn rug.
She reached back for the book to tuck it beneath the covers, and then realized the act would be a waste of time.
Romantic suspense was her secret escape from the stacks of historically accurate novels and legitimate works of nonfiction that defined her serious, academic persona.
But no one would be visiting her bedroom tonight.
Unfortunately, that was also true for every other night in the recent past and likely the immediate future. Working toward her doctorate and keeping up with her duties as a teacher left no time to invest in a relationship.
Her