The Marriage Risk

The Marriage Risk
Emma Darcy

If only Lucy's sexy boss, James Hancock, would see her as a desirable woman, not just his sensible secretary! Unbuttoning Lucy's prim suits is indeed on James's mind….But will he lose the best assistant he's ever had?Lucy is thrilled when James sweeps her into an intense affair. But when passion leads to pregnancy…dare she risk marriage with him?

“This is not the office,” James growled at her, his expression thunderous.

“You’re still my boss,” Lucy countered.

“Time you stopped putting your life into neat little pockets,” James told her. “Forget playing safe. Take a risk.”

He caught her totally off guard, hauling her in to him with a thump that left her breathless. Or maybe it was the impact of feeling a vital wall of muscle connected to her wobbly frame that stole her ability to breathe.

“Now melt,” he commanded gruffly.

And Lucy melted.

Some of our bestselling authors are Australian!

Emma Darcy…

Helen Bianchin…

Miranda Lee…

Lindsay Armstrong…

Look out for their novels about the Wonder of Down Under—where spirited women win the hearts of Australia’s most eligible men.

Coming soon:

Marriage at a Price

by Miranda Lee

The Marriage Risk

Emma Darcy

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 ONE

‘AND how is my ever delightful and worthy Miss Worthington this morning?’

Lucy gritted her teeth against a seething wave of resentment, almost hating the man who clearly had no idea how such blithely tossed off words lacerated her heart.

The breezy greeting from her boss probably meant he’d spent a highly pleasurable night with his latest woman. His voice lilted with macho smugness, a sure sign of sexual satisfaction, and his playful play on her surname accentuated the fact that Lucy wasn’t the type he’d toss in his bed, however delightful she might be to work with. Worthy women didn’t excite him.

Though if her breasts were big enough to fill and overflow a D-cup bra, he might consider her more bed-worthy, Lucy thought caustically, ungritting her teeth and turning from the filing cabinet to direct a bland smile at the sexy wolf who employed her as his sensible secretary.

‘Good morning, sir,’ she piped sweetly.

James Hancock was the classic tall dark and handsome prototype, with the potent addition of a shrewd business brain and the kind of charm that won friends and influenced all the right people. He was thirty-four, in the prime of life, had the well-earned reputation of being a dynamic agent in the entertainment field, which helped make him an A-list bachelor in Sydney society, and he was definitely exuding an air of being on top of his world.

His rakish black eyebrows lifted. ‘Sir?’

She cocked her head on one side, returning his quizzical look. ‘Weren’t you cueing me to greet you formally with your Miss Worthington?’

He laughed, his blue eyes twinkling devilish delight. ‘The comeback queen strikes again. What would I do without you to entertain me, Lucy?’

Resentment crawled down her spine and loosened her tongue. ‘I imagine you’d quickly find someone else to score off.’

‘Score off?’ he repeated incredulously. ‘My dear Lucy, the scoring honours invariably go to you.’

‘Really? I hadn’t noticed.’

She picked up the files she’d extracted from the cabinet and carried them to her desk, ready to hand them over to him.

‘It comes naturally to you,’ he assured her, grinning from ear to ear. ‘One of the joys of office hours, hearing your salty down-to-earth comments. They invariably reduce all the hype in this business to what’s real and what isn’t. An invaluable talent.’

‘Invaluable enough to be worth a raise in salary?’