A Kiss In The Dark

A Kiss In The Dark
Jenna Mills

Found with blood on her hands, ice princess Bethany St. Croix became the prime suspect in her ex-husband's murder.But her chilly silence didn't fool one man. P.I. Dylan St. Croix had once been seared by the passion that blazed beneath Bethany's cool facade. And though they'd parted bitterly before she'd married his cousin, he couldn't desert her now.Tragedy and silence had torn them apart. Yet after one dark, forbidden night of love, Bethany carried Dylan's baby. Nothing could douse the fire of possession that burned through Dylan, that made him want to lay claim to mother and child. But though he would risk his reputation to prove her innocence, would he risk his heart to win back her love?

“You’re pregnant?”

“I don’t owe you any explanations.” Bethany said, trying to push past Dylan. She might as well have tried to move a boulder.

“If you think I’m going to let you walk out of here by yourself, you’re out of your mind. You told me yourself you’d do what it took to protect your child. No way am I going to risk you driving off into those mountains and never coming back.”

“I appreciate your concern, Dylan, but I’m not some fragile flower, and I don’t need you playing bodyguard or bounty hunter or whatever it is you think you’re doing.” Even if for a few dangerous moments she wanted to feel his arms close around her more than she’d ever wanted anything.

His expression darkened. “I’d call it father.”

Everything inside her went very still. “W-what?”

“This child you’re carrying, Bethany. This child is mine.”

Dear Reader,

A new year has begun, so why not celebrate with six exciting new titles from Silhouette Intimate Moments? What a Man’s Gotta Do is the newest from Karen Templeton, reuniting the one-time good girl, now a single mom, with the former bad boy who always made her heart pound, even though he never once sent a smile her way. Until now.

Kylie Brant introduces THE TREMAINE TRADITION with Alias Smith and Jones, an exciting novel about two people hiding everything about themselves—except the way they feel about each other. There’s still TROUBLE IN EDEN in Virginia Kantra’s All a Man Can Ask, in which an undercover assignment leads (predictably) to danger and (unpredictably) to love. By now you know that the WINGMEN WARRIORS flash means you’re about to experience top-notch military romance, courtesy of Catherine Mann. Under Siege, a marriage-of-inconvenience tale, won’t disappoint. Who wouldn’t like A Kiss in the Dark from a handsome hero? So run—don’t walk—to pick up the book of the same name by rising star Jenna Mills. Finally, enjoy the winter chill—and the cozy cuddling that drives it away—in Northern Exposure, by Debra Lee Brown, who sends her heroine to Alaska to find love.

And, of course, we’ll be back next month with six more of the best and most exciting romances around, so be sure not to miss a single one.

Enjoy!

Leslie J. Wainger

Executive Senior Editor

A Kiss in the Dark

Jenna Mills

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

JENNA MILLS

grew up in south Louisiana, amid romantic plantation ruins, haunting swamps and timeless legends. It’s not surprising, then, that she wrote her first romance at the ripe old age of six! Three years later, this librarian’s daughter turned to romantic suspense with Jacquie and the Swamp, a harrowing tale of a young woman on the run in the swamp and the dashing hero who helps her find her way home. Since then her stories have grown in complexity, but her affinity for adventurous women and dangerous men has remained constant. She loves writing about strong characters torn between duty and desire, conscious choice and destiny.

When not writing award-winning stories brimming with deep emotion, steamy passion and page-turning suspense, Jenna spends her time with her husband, two cats, two dogs and a menagerie of plants in their Dallas, Texas, home. Jenna loves to hear from her readers. She can be reached via e-mail at writejennamills@aol.com, or via snail mail at P.O. Box 768, Coppell, Texas 75019.

A book about a woman who longs for the joys of motherhood deserves to be dedicated to the wonderful women who’ve loved, nurtured and supported me—my mother, Sharilynn Aucoin, my dear grandmothers, Rosemary Aucoin and the late Marie Allison, and my special mother-in-law, Judith Miller.

You’re the best!

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Epilogue

Prologue

“Had laws not been, we never had been blamed; For not to know we sin is innocence.”

—William D’Avenant

“Stop!”

The broken cry shattered the silence of the night. He awoke abruptly, heart hammering, adrenaline surging. Disoriented, he sat upright on the sofa and blinked against the grainy dryness of his eyes, tried to focus. The cabin was dark, shadows blurring detail. Nothing moved save for the orgylike frenzy of snowflakes outside the window.

A dream, he told himself. Just another nightmare. They were stronger here in the cabin, where memories crowded in from every direction like ghosts in a desecrated cemetery.

He was a fool to keep coming back.

“D-don’t kill him!”