is #5 in the free kindle list in the .com kindle store, and is still free, so please if you'd like a free read, do pick it up! .com
Chapter One
A
naked woman swam in his lake.
She floated on
her
back, offering
her lissome body to the sky, silver shards of light reflecting from her pale skin. Long blonde
hair drifted like an exotic
water plant around her head.
Etienne Durand stilled at the lakeside, leaned against one of the huge redwoods circling the hidden paradise, and watched.
He should be angry to find a strange
woman taking advantage. The lake hidden
in the forest was his property,
after all. Prominent
notices posted everywhere proclaimed the lands
as private. But somehow the sight of the woman
luxuriating in the clear water soothed his rotten
mood rather than exacerbated
it. He breathed in the
scent of damp woodland and let his mind wander free.
In
this hidden idyll, she looked like a nymph, a truly beautiful creature at one with the magical
surroundings.
Dry
leaves crackled underfoot as Etienne
pushed away from the tree. A creature who’d invaded his land. Without
permission.
Whatever
her motives, she must have climbed the fence into the forest from the vineyard.
His
shoulders tensed as he stepped
forward.
“Get out of the water,”
he called.
In
an instant, the nymph jackknifed. Her
arms flailed as she swallowed
a deep mouthful of lake water. She came to the surface
spluttering. “I…”
“Get out.” Etienne pointed to the lake shore.
“You’re trespassing.”
“I’m not,” the female shouted back. “And there’s
no way I’m getting out, not while you’re watching.”
Etienne
pulled in a deep breath.
“You are trespassing. And I’m serious. Either get out of the water
or I’ll come in and drag you out.”
The
blonde blushed beet-red. “I can’t. I’m
not…I’m not wearing anything.”
Holding back his amusement, Etienne crossed both arms across his chest. “I know.”
She trod water, watching.
“Well, which is it?” He undid the top button of his
shirt.
Her eyes widened.
“Are you coming
out on your own, or…” Etienne
smothered a grin at her horrified expression. He slowly undid another.
“All right.” She swam closer. “My clothes are over
there.” A wet hand, index finger extended, pointed to the lake shore.
Glancing to his left, he spotted
a small bundle of
discarded clothing.
“You need to turn around.”
Etienne
crossed his arms and glared. “I don’t
need to do any such thing.” No one dictated to him.
As new owner of the St. Clair Durand Vineyard on the outskirts of the Californian town of Almendra, he
was the master of all he surveyed.
She
smoothed back her hair with a wet hand.
“Please.”
The word hung in the air between
them.
Some women would play the situation
for all it was worth—walking
out of the lake naked, with swaying hips and a knowing look in their eyes. He’d
met plenty of those. Or pretend modesty
in an attempt to manipulate. Bitter experience had educated Etienne in the wiles of women.
“I
can’t get out until you turn
around.” The flush crept down her neck.
She rolled in her bottom
lip and
worried it with her teeth.
Etienne shoved a hand through his hair. The flush
couldn’t be faked. Maybe the innocent act was real. If so…
He paused for a long moment, then, with a curt nod,
turned his back.
A rustling noise behind him indicated
she had picked up her clothes.
Etienne hadn’t noticed a towel
in the little bundle, which meant she’d have to climb
into her clothes with her skin still wet from the cool
water. Passion stirred at the thought
of her wet body, and he silently
cursed the inappropriate response.
“I’m dressed,” she said in a voice no louder than
a whisper.
He swung back to catch his first close-up
look of the stranger standing
an arm’s length away. She
was tall for a woman, the
top of her head just about level with his nose. Long wet strands of
dark blonde hair hung to just below her breasts,
and her eyes were clear vibrant green, like new grass after rain.
Like the shoulders he’d glimpsed, her face was pale, with
a light dusting of freckles
across the bridge of her nose. Whatever
makeup she might have been wearing had long washed away, and yet she still
looked… Etienne
blinked. She
was
the
most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And he’d seen
plenty.
His gaze swept
her head to toe. High small
breasts, slender hips, and
legs
which
went
on
forever. Soft lakeshore sand stuck
to her toes, and cherry red polish painted her toenails.
Mon Dieu, what was he doing, gazing at her toenails? Etienne cleared his throat. His gaze flicked
to her face. “So, who the hell are you?”
