Murdock's Last Stand

BEVERLY BARTON

Литагент HarperCollins EUR

A MAN OF HONORAnd honor was the only reason well-muscled former mercenary Aloysius Murdock agreed to be Catherine Price's bodyguard. For Murdock owed Catherine's father his life. But once Murdock laid eyes on his best friend's beautiful daughter, he realized he would do anything for her….A WOMAN IN LOVECatherine knew better than to succumb to the passion Murdock clearly offered, for she believed in love–and Murdock had given up on love long ago. Still, something in his heated gaze made her believe that the battle-worn bachelor needed her. Maybe just as much as she needed him&#133.

“Don’t you know the more you fight a man, the more determined he’ll be to conquer you?”

Murdock arrogantly raked his eyes over her. “And, Cat, honey, you have a knack for verbal sparring that can really turn a man on.”

That was it! Catherine had had it with this big, smart-mouthed wise guy! With her hands balled into tight fists, she took that one step that separated them, then lifted her gaze to make direct eye-to-eye contact. That’s when she realized she’d made a mistake. A huge mistake. Murdock was looking at her as if she were the last drop of water in a sweltering, dry desert.

“What the hell,” he said as he reached out and jerked her into his arms. “We might as well get this over with.”

Dear Reader,

Happy New Year! Silhouette Intimate Moments is starting the year off with a bang—not to mention six great books. Why not begin with the latest of THE PROTECTORS, Beverly Barton’s miniseries about men no woman can resist? In Murdock’s Last Stand, a well-muscled mercenary meets his match in a woman who suddenly has him thinking of forever.

Alicia Scott returns with Marrying Mike… Again, an intense reunion story featuring a couple who are both police officers with old hurts to heal before their happy ending. Try Terese Ramin’s A Drive-By Wedding when you’re in the mood for suspense, an undercover agent hero, an irresistible child and a carjacked heroine who ends up glad to go along for the ride. Already known for her compelling storytelling abilities, Eileen Wilks lives up to her reputation with Midnight Promises, a marriage-of-convenience story unlike any other you’ve ever read. Virginia Kantra brings you the next of the irresistible MacNeills in The Comeback of Con MacNeill, and Kate Stevenson returns after a long time away, with Witness…and Wife?

All six books live up to Intimate Moments’ reputation for excitement and passion mixed together in just the right proportions, so I hope you enjoy them all.

Yours,

Leslie J. Wainger

Executive Senior Editor

Murdock’s Last Stand

Beverly Barton

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

To Connie,

whose mind is filled with fanciful, magical and intriguing ideas. This “protector” is for you.

BEVERLY BARTON

has been in love with romance since her grandfather gave her an illustrated book of Beauty and the Beast. An avid reader since childhood, she began writing at the age of nine and wrote short stories, poetry, plays and novels throughout high school and college. After marriage to her own “hero” and the births of her daughter and son, she chose to be a full-time homemaker, aka wife, mother, friend and volunteer.

When she returned to writing, she joined Romance Writers of America and helped found the Heart of Dixie chapter in Alabama. Since the release of her first Silhouette book in 1990, she has won the GRW Maggie Award and the National Readers’ Choice Award and has been a RITA Award finalist. Beverly considers writing romance books a real labor of love. Her stories come straight from the heart, and she hopes that all the strong and varied emotions she invests in her books will be felt by everyone who reads them.

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

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