Live-In Lover

Live-In Lover
Lyn Stone

In ten years with the FBI, Damien Perry had posed as a drug lord, a terrorist, even a hit man. Now the thrill was gone. But what would he do if he quit? Maybe the answer was in the mail, on the card from Marian Olivia Jensen– Molly, as he remembered her. The earthy redhead who aroused unfamiliar fantasies of a wife and family in his jaded soul.Molly Jensen was finally safe from her menacing ex-husband– until he was released from jail. Now the threatening phone calls wouldn' t stop. Molly knew there was only one man who could help her: Damien Perry. His charade as her live-in lover was ingenious, but how long could she pretend to be pretending?

“Do you have an extra room, by any chance?” Damien asked.

Molly laid down a spoon and looked at him with such hope. “You’ll stay here? With me?” Her relief was nearly palpable.

“I have an idea,” he said, using his most businesslike tone. “How do you think Jensen would react to your having a live-in lover?”

Her beautiful mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened with shock. Then she laughed, that full-bodied, head-thrown-back laughter he remembered from when he’d first met her. His own smile widened in response to it. Even her child giggled and patted its sticky hands together.

How would it be if Molly touched him with a bit of that caring she showed so easily to her family? She must have some to spare. It needn’t be anything permanent. Love certainly wasn’t necessary, or even something he wanted from her. That would be a little too deep for comfort. He wished only for a taste of how it would feel to know someone cared.

Dear Reader,

It’s the beginning of a new year, and Intimate Moments is ready to kick things off with six more fabulously exciting novels. Readers have been clamoring for Linda Turner to create each new installment of her wonderful miniseries THOSE MARRYING MCBRIDES! In Never Been Kissed she honors those wishes with the deeply satisfying tale of virginal nurse Janey McBride and Dr. Reilly Jones, who’s just the man to teach her how wonderful love can be when you share it with the right man.

A YEAR OF LOVING DANGEROUSLY continues to keep readers on the edge of their seats with The Spy Who Loved Him, bestselling author Merline Lovelace’s foray into the dangerous jungles of Central America, where the loving is as steamy as the air. And you won’t want to miss My Secret Valentine, the enthralling conclusion to our in-line 36 HOURS spin-off. As always, Marilyn Pappano delivers a page-turner you won’t be able to resist. Ruth Langan begins a new trilogy, THE SULLIVAN SISTERS, with Awakening Alex, sure to be another bestseller. Lyn Stone’s second book for the line, Live-In Lover, is sure to make you her fan. Finally, welcome brand-new New Zealand sensation Frances Housden. In The Man for Maggie she makes a memorable debut, one that will have you crossing your fingers that her next book will be out soon.

Enjoy! And come back next month, when the excitement continues here in Silhouette Intimate Moments.

Yours,

Leslie J. Wainger

Executive Senior Editor

Live-In Lover

Lyn Stone

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

LYN STONE

loves creating pictures with words. Paints, too. Her love affair with writing and art began in the third grade, when she won a school-wide prize for her colorful poster for book week. She spent the prize money on books, one of which was Little Women.

She rewrote the ending so that Jo marries her childhood sweetheart. That’s because Lyn had a childhood sweetheart herself and wanted to marry him when she grew up. She did. And now she is living her “happily-ever-after” in north Alabama with the same guy. She and Allen have traveled the world, had two children, four grandchildren and experienced some wild adventures along the way.

Whether writing romantic historicals or contemporary fiction, Lyn insists on including elements of humor, mystery and danger. Perhaps because that other book she purchased all those years ago was a Nancy Drew story.

In appreciation for pep talks and the lively exchange

of ideas, this book is dedicated to fellow adventure

lovers Debra Webb, Dianne Hamilton,

Martha Kreiger, Mary Bauer and Rhonda Nelson.

Contents

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

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Epilogue

Chapter 1

Damien Perry popped the cap off his bottle of Guinness, shook his head and laughed, a mirthless sound, as most of his laughs were these days. Sad commentary when a man had to check where a message came from to determine who he was supposed to be.

His thumb traced the postmark on the unopened envelope that lay on the bunk beside him. Nashville, Tennessee. Ah, yes, his role as an assassin.

He’d spent almost a decade now assuming other accents and identities, and the job was getting old. The Bureau loaned him out to other agencies for joint operations as if he were a piece of office equipment.

He had considered resigning. Government pay was atrocious, even with the hefty allowance for designer clothes on assignments such as his last one. The investments he’d made with his inheritance would insure he never had to work again.