Their Baby Girl...?: The Baby Mission / Her Baby Secret

Their Baby Girl...?: The Baby Mission / Her Baby Secret
Marie Ferrarella

Victoria Pade

The Baby Mission by Marie Ferrarella One night Special Agent CJ Jones went into labour with her irresistible partner Byron Warrick right beside her. The second Warrick saw the little girl, he knew he was in love. And as he and CJ hunted down a madman, Warrick ensured their safety and hoped they’d become a family…Her Baby Secret by Victoria PadeSince the moment she’d given birth to beautiful Hannah, Paris Hanley knew she’d do anything for her child. So when Ethan Tarlington offered her the job of a lifetime, Paris said yes. Now Paris was living and working with Ethan, trying to keep her secret. But was Ethan ready to be a daddy to Hannah – and the husband Paris had always longed for?

What’s more irresistible than a gorgeous, sexy man? What’s more adorable than asexy guy and a cute, cuddly baby?

Two lucky women might get to have both in

THEIR BABYGIRL…?

Two bestselling authors deliver two

compelling, emotional stories.

MARIE FERRARELLA

earned a master’s degree in Shakespearean comedy, and, perhaps as a result, her writing is distinguished by humour and natural dialogue. This RITA® Award-winning author’s goal is to entertain and to make people laugh and feel good. Her romances are beloved by fans worldwide and have been translated into Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Polish, Japanese and Korean.

THEIR BABY GIRL…?

The Baby Mission

MARIE FERRARELLA

Her Baby Secret

VICTORIA PADE

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

To

Patience Smith

and our bonding process

The Baby Mission

MARIE FERRARELLA

Prologue

She was back. He’d seen her. Seen Claire.

Held her.

Her eyes were closed now, but she knew it was him. He knew she knew. Because Claire was his.

Now and forever.

He’d been away for three long, aching years and when he’d finally been allowed to return, he was afraid that he’d never see her again. That she would be gone.

But he had found her, found Claire. No one else would ever have her again. Would ever touch her again.

There were no words to do justice to the emotions that were skittering through him. Elation, joy, empowerment, those were all good words, but not really good enough. Not nearly good enough to begin to describe what it was he was experiencing right at this moment, just looking at her lying here on the grass.

He sifted a strand of her hair through his fingers. Bending down, he closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply.

Her hair smelled of something herbal. Something nice.

Silky blond hair.

Hair that would continue to grow even though she no longer would. She wouldn’t have the promise of another sunrise, another star-filled night.

He sat back on his heels and looked at her.

She looked so beautiful.

In his other hand, he held a rose. A single, perfect red rose. A rose as perfect as the young woman who lay here before him.

There were bruises on her throat, which marred that perfection. But he had hidden them. Nobody would ever see.

Carefully he placed the single red rose in her hand, then arranged the fingers of her other hand around the stem. He sat back and studied his handiwork.

She looked as if she was sleeping.

Perfect.

The pressure in his chest was gone. It felt good to be back.

To have Claire again.

Because he loved her.

Chapter 1

“Guess who’s back?”

Special Agent Chris Jones, C.J. to her friends, looked up from her desk, the same desk that had kept her a virtual prisoner in the Southern California office for the past two months. She struggled against a very strong inclination to frown.

By the tone of her partner’s voice, her completely free-to-work-in-the-field-while-she-withered-on-the-vine-in-the-office partner, Special Agent Byron Warrick was either going to give her more paperwork to cope with, or worse, he had something going on in the field that she was barred from. The powers that be didn’t think a pregnant woman belonged out there.

Bracing herself, she tossed her long, straight, blond hair over her shoulder and asked, “Who?”

Warrick perched on the edge of C.J.’s desk and looked down at her. All of her. He hadn’t seen her in nearly a week, and every time he was away from her, he had to admit it was a shock when he first saw her again.

He wasn’t accustomed to seeing her this way. When they had first been teamed up, she’d weighed scarcely more than his equipment bag for the peewee softball team he used to coach. The last couple of months had certainly taken their toll on his partner.