In Petrakis's Power

Maggie Cox

Литагент HarperCollins EUR

An inconvenient arrangement… To safeguard her family’s future Natalie Carr must make a deal with the devil – Ludo Petrakis. She doesn’t trust him, but the energy between them leaves her breathless and powerless. So Natalie agrees to his outlandish proposition: travel to Greece as his fiancеe! Natalie can see the cracks in Ludo’s unshakeable control as the lines between pretence and reality blur.In a challenge to his terms she longs to expose the shadows behind his eyes, and it’s getting harder and harder to resist the smouldering tension between them…‘Vivid landscapes and an exotic tone set the story alight from page one!’ – Sian, 47, Warrington www.maggiecox.co.uk

‘Perhaps you won’t be in such a hurry to leave if I tell you that I have a deal in mind that I’d like to talk to you about? A deal that would benefit your father as well as yourself,’ Ludo asserted calmly.

Riveted, Natalie immediately pulled her hand away from the brass doorknob and turned to face him.

‘What kind of a deal?’

Pacing a little to help arrange his thoughts, Ludo took his time in answering. He stopped pacing to settle his gaze on the beautiful inquisitive face in front of him.

‘I will increase what I paid for your father’s business by half the amount again if you agree to come with me to Greece and play the role of my fiancеe.’

Natalie turned as still as a statue, her stunned expression suggesting she wasn’t entirely sure she’d heard him right. She moved across the room to a burgundy-coloured wing-backed armchair and slowly sank down into it.

When she glanced up again to meet his eyes Ludo experienced a private moment of undeniable triumph, because he suddenly knew she was going to give in to his offer.

About the Author

The day MAGGIE COX saw the film version of Wuthering Heights, with a beautiful Merle Oberon and a very handsome Laurence Olivier, was the day she became hooked on romance. From that day onwards she spent a lot of time dreaming up her own romances, secretly hoping that one day she might become published and get paid for doing what she loved most! Now that her dream is being realised, she wakes up every morning and counts her blessings. She is married to a gorgeous man, and is the mother of two wonderful sons. Her two other great passions in life—besides her family and reading/writing—are music and films.

Recent titles by the same author:

WHAT HIS MONEY CAN’T HIDE

DISTRACTED BY HER VIRTUE A DEVILISHLY DARK DEAL THE LOST WIFE

Did you know these are also available as eBooks?Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

In Petrakis’s Power

Maggie Cox

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

CHAPTER ONE

‘TICKETS, PLEASE.’

Having just dropped down into her seat after a mad dash to catch the train, flustered and hot, Natalie Carr delved into her voluminous red leather bag and unzipped an inside compartment to retrieve her ticket. The discovery that it was nowhere to be seen was akin to the jolting shock of tumbling down an entire flight of stairs. With her heartbeat hammering in her chest, she raised her head to proffer an apologetic smile to the guard.

‘Sorry … I know it’s here somewhere …’

But it wasn’t. Desperately trying to recall her lastminute trip to the ladies’ before running onto the platform to catch the train, she had a horrible feeling that after checking her seat number she’d left the ticket, in its official first-class sleeve, on the glass shelf beneath the mirror, when she’d paused to retouch her lipstick.

Feeling slightly queasy as a further search through her bag failed to yield it, she exhaled a frustrated sigh. ‘I’m afraid it looks like I’ve lost my ticket. I stopped off at the ladies’ just before boarding the train and I think I might have accidentally left it in there. If the train weren’t already moving I’d go back and look for it.’

‘I’m sorry, miss, but I’m afraid that unless you pay for another ticket you’ll have to get off at the