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Rescued by a hot, kilt-wearing Scot…
Freya’s on the run from her abusive ex-boyfriend. She’s exhausted and terrified, but if she stops, she knows he’ll find her – and their infant daughter – and make her pay. Desperation drives her to do something she shouldn’t, that she knows is fundamentally wrong…
… and sure enough, she gets caught red-handed. All she can do is beg for mercy.
When Jasper catches the gorgeous new maid with her hand in his wallet, his first instinct is to call the police. But Freya’s tearful plea strikes a chord deep within him, and instead he finds himself offering her the protection of his name and family.
Their union is meant to be on paper only but Jasper soon finds himself enthralled by his new bride. He starts a campaign to seduce her into his bed, never expecting her to wiggle her way into his heart.
And when her past threatens her very existence, he will stop at nothing to keep her safe.
Fall headlong into this steamy, fake relationship, stand-alone romance between a fierce Scottish businessman and a single mother as they navigate the road of love with all its pitfalls
Read an ExcerptWith her heart galloping faster than the speed of sound, she glanced at the door. It felt like she had thousands of eyes watching her, judging her, ready to call her out. She swallowed down any revulsion she felt, because she didn’t have any choices. This was the choice. Then she filched the cash, peeling off three hundred-dollar bills from the stack. It was tempting to take the whole thing and simply run. Grab their belongings at the motel and head off. But she wouldn’t be selfish. This was enough to get her past the next week with rent, food, and diapers. After that, she would figure it out like she always did. She placed the money clip back on the desk and folded the cash to fit in her jeans pocket.
“So. Do you want to call the police or should I, lass?” a deep male voice with a hint of an accent asked behind her.
Oh god no!
She’d been caught stealing. The one time she did something outside the law, she got caught. Freya whipped around and sucked in a panicked breath.
And she was confronted with the most gorgeous man she’d ever encountered.
Mr. Campbell was tall, a few inches above six feet, with some of the broadest shoulders she’d ever seen. They stretched his ivory linen button-up dress shirt obscenely. The shirt looked like it had been spray painted on over his muscles. The ivory shirt contrasted sharply with his thick, inky hair that fell to his shoulders in soft, tousled waves. He had a striking face with thick black brows framing deep-set cobalt eyes that were currently glowering menacingly at her. A proud Norman nose bisected his face and sat above a pair of the most perfectly formed, lush male lips. And his sexy, kissable mouth was shrouded by his close-cropped black beard that did nothing to hide a jawline that was all man and added to his striking physique. He was the poster boy for tall, dark, and hunky. He was all hard angles and drop-dead gorgeous.
With her heart hammering wildly, she blurted out. “I’m sorry. I’m about to be evicted and—”
He sighed deeply and shook his head as he withdrew his phone from the back pocket of his jeans. “Save your lies for the police, lass.”
“Please don’t call the police. I swear I’ll leave and never come back.” She pleaded. Her bottom lip trembled. She couldn’t go to jail. She held up the three hundred-dollar bills and laid them on the desk.
She did not know how she would afford anything, her rent or diapers or food. Because she doubted she would get paid for her work today. Freya wanted to rage at fate, at the unfairness of the cards she’d been dealt. Other people broke the law and didn’t get caught. But she did.
Shit! This made a bad day even worse.
Maybe they should leave today. Stop by the motel, grab what little she had stored there, and go.
And go where? Every place they had run, he’d found them. She didn’t have the gas money to get them far. She had far too many problems and not enough resources to solve them.
He narrowed his eyes and prowled her way. Unholy fear had her quaking in her shoes. Would he hurt her? Would he beat her? Menace rippled off his towering form. She backed up until her butt hit the desk and she had nowhere else to run. Her gaze darted to Maddie in the playpen on the other side of the couch, staring solemnly at the scene.
Please stay quiet, baby. Don’t let him hear or see you.
“You’re not a very good thief if all you were going to take is a lousy three hundred bucks.”
“I’m not a thief,” she sputtered. He scowled, glancing from her to the cash on the desk and then back to her again with a get real expression stamped across his handsome face.
“I mean, okay, I was going to steal it, but only so I could pay rent and buy food. But I really don’t want any trouble. Please, you have the money back. I’ll go, and you’ll never see me again.” Tears threatened, but she steeled herself, unwilling to allow those tears to fall.
“Hmm. What to do?” He reached out. She flinched. It was a knee-jerk reaction after living with her ex, who would hit her whenever the whim struck him. It was far too ingrained in her that he was going to cause her pain, because that’s what men did.
His cobalt eyes narrowed, and he curled his hand around her bicep. Unexpected heat lashed through her at his touch. She licked her bottom lip, and her gaze lowered to his mouth. It really was a sexy one, too. The image of her sucking on his full bottom lip flashed through her brain.
Hello, libido. You do still exist.
The air thickened at his nearness. His scent, a deeply masculine one with notes of sandalwood and something darker, greeted her. And Freya couldn’t explain what manner of madness drove her to do it. Only that she was drawn to that mouth, drawn to him, even though panic beat a drumbeat through her. Maybe fear heightened the sudden onslaught of desire thrumming through her body. Because she leaned up on her tiptoes, planted her mouth over his full lips, and kissed him.
Mr. Campbell’s entire body froze. She traced the seam of his lush lips, hungry to taste him, to tangle their tongues together and nibble on that bottom lip. His lips were smooth as silk. His beard teased her mouth and sent tingles shooting through her body to coalesce in her core. And then he groaned, cupped her face in his large, firm hands, and kissed her. He kissed her like he’d been waiting for her his entire life.
About the Author: Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Anya grew up listening to Cardinals baseball and reading anything she could get her hands on. She remembers her mother saying if only she would read the right type of books instead of binging her way through the romance aisles at the bookstore, she’d have been a doctor. While Anya never did get that doctorate, she graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri-St. Louis with an M.A. in History.
Anya is a bestselling and award-winning author published in multiple fiction genres. She also writes urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance under the name Maggie Mae Gallagher. A total geek at her core, when she is not writing, she adores attending the latest comic con or spending time with her family. She currently lives in the Midwest with her two furry felines.
