The Playboy's Proposal

AMANDA BROWNING

Joel Kendrick is the sexiest man Kathryn has ever met - even though she knows he isn't interested in a permanent relationship.But never one to refuse a challenge, when Joel flirts with her she flirts back! Only, flirting turns into a genuine desire on Joel's part - and true love on Kathryn's. Embarking on a passionate affair, Kathryn conceals her feelings, knowing Joel doesn't believe in love. Then suddenly, to her amazement, her bachelor playboy proposes….

“You’re not afraid of me?”

“Should I be? Do you intend to devour me?” Kathryn challenged scoffingly, knowing she wasn’t in the least bit afraid of him.

“The idea becomes more enticing by the minute. Doesn’t it?” Joel charged softly.

Warning bells went off in her head. “I think this is where I should protest that we have only just met.”

“Maybe we have, but it only took a second for both of us to know we want each other.”

“Do we know it?” she charged mockingly, and he nodded.

“Oh yes, and I give you fair warning, when I want something I usually get it.”

“Your arrogance is incredible!”

“My lovemaking is even better,” he retorted.

AMANDA BROWNING still lives in the house where she was born. The third of four children—her sister being her twin—she enjoyed the rough and tumble of life with two brothers as much as she did reading books. Writing came naturally as an outlet for a fertile imagination. The love of books led her to a career in libraries, and being single allowed her to take the leap into writing for a living. Success is still something of a wonder, but allows her to indulge in hobbies as varied as embroidery and bird-watching.

“Amanda Browning pens a riveting tale

chock full of dynamic characters,

sharp dialogue and an explosive conflict.”

—Romantic Times

The Playboy’s Proposal

Amanda Browning

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ONE

KATHRYN TEMPLETON was wrapped in a pleasant haze, floating somewhere between sleeping and waking. The virtually silent engine and the gentle music issuing from the car’s speakers had had her sinking more comfortably into her seat and closing her eyes some time ago. It was the sudden cessation of noise as the music was turned off which brought her eyes open with a start, and she turned puzzled green orbs towards the driver, her Titian hair swinging about her face as she did so.

‘What’s up?’ Glancing ahead, she expected to see trouble in the form of an accident, but the road, winding through a Lakeland landscape clad in a late-winter fall of snow, was empty.

‘We’re almost there,’ declared Drew Templeton, her cousin and the reason she was sitting here heading into the Cumbrian wilds, as if that explained everything.

As far as Kathryn was concerned, it left a lot to be desired. Sitting up, she glanced at him curiously. ‘So what’s turned you so serious all of a sudden?’

Drew’s fingers tapped out a nervy tattoo on the steering wheel. ‘Nothing, really,’ he denied, then added, ‘I thought I’d better warn you about Joel, that’s all.’

Finely arched brows rose questioningly in a heart-shaped face. Drew had been fairly reticent about his employer. All she knew was that he had trouble with his computer, and, because she cared for her cousin, she had agreed to help. She ran a small but flourishing business sorting out problems with computer programs.

‘What about him?’ It seemed to her a fine time to start issuing warnings, when they were almost at journey’s end, but she guessed Drew hadn’t wanted to risk her running out on him. The rat. Not that she would have. ‘OK, tell me the worst. Is he some sort of monster?’ she teased lightly, and he gave her a sombre look.

‘Not exactly. I think the best way to describe Joel Kendrick is as a wolf in wolf’s clothing,’ he declared seriously.

The description had her ears pricking up. Really? She had never met an honest-to-goodness real life wolf before. What would he be like? Handsome, of course, with sex appeal dripping from ev