Modern Romance May 2019: Books 1-4 Read online

  About the Authors

  CAROL MARINELLI recently filled in a form asking for her job title. Thrilled to be able to put down her answer, she put ‘writer’. Then it asked what Carol did for relaxation and she put down the truth—‘writing’. The third question asked for her hobbies. Well, not wanting to look obsessed, she crossed her fingers and answered ‘swimming’—but, given that the chlorine in the pool does terrible things to her highlights, I’m sure you can guess the real answer!

  MICHELLE SMART’s love affair with books started when she was a baby and would cuddle them in her cot. A voracious reader of all genres, she found her love of romance established when she stumbled across her first Mills & Boon book at the age of twelve. She’s been reading them—and writing them—ever since. Michelle lives in Northamptonshire, England, with her husband and two young Smarties.

  USA TODAY bestselling and RITA® Award–nominated author CAITLIN CREWS loves writing romance. She teaches her favorite romance novels in creative writing classes at places like UCLA Extension’s prestigious Writers’ Program, where she finally gets to utilise the MA and PhD in English Literature she received from the University of York in England. She currently lives in the Pacific Northwest, with her very own hero and too many pets. Visit her at caitlincrews.com.

  MELANIE MILBURNE read her first Mills & Boon novel at the age of seventeen, in between studying for her final exams. After completing a master’s degree in education she decided to write a novel, and thus her career as a romance author was born. Melanie is an ambassador for the Australian Childhood Foundation and a keen dog lover and trainer. She enjoys long walks in the Tasmanian bush. In 2015 Melanie won the HOLT Medallion, a prestigious award honouring outstanding literary talent.

  Also by Carol Marinelli

  Their One Night Baby

  Claiming His Hidden Heir

  Billionaires & One-Night Heirs miniseries

  The Innocent’s Secret Baby

  Bound by the Sultan’s Baby

  Sicilian’s Baby of Shame

  Ruthless Royal Sheikhs miniseries

  Captive for the Sheikh’s Pleasure

  Christmas Bride for the Sheikh

  The Ruthless Devereux Brothers miniseries

  The Innocent’s Shock Pregnancy

  The Billionaire’s Christmas Cinderella

  Also by Michelle Smart

  Married for the Greek’s Convenience

  Once a Moretti Wife

  A Bride at His Bidding

  The Sicilian’s Bought Cinderella

  Bound to a Billionaire miniseries

  Protecting His Defiant Innocent

  Claiming His One-Night Baby

  Buying His Bride of Convenience

  Rings of Vengeance miniseries

  Billionaire’s Bride for Revenge

  Marriage Made in Blackmail

  Billionaire’s Baby of Redemption

  Also by Caitlin Crews

  Bride by Royal Decree

  Undone by the Billionaire Duke

  A Baby to Bind His Bride

  Imprisoned by the Greek’s Ring

  My Bought Virgin Wife

  Bound to the Desert King collection

  Sheikh’s Secret Love-Child

  Scandalous Royal Brides miniseries

  The Prince’s Nine-Month Scandal

  The Billionaire’s Secret Princess

  Stolen Brides collection

  The Bride’s Baby of Shame

  Also by Melanie Milburne

  The Temporary Mrs Marchetti

  Wedding Night with Her Enemy

  A Ring for the Greek’s Baby

  The Tycoon’s Marriage Deal

  A Virgin for a Vow

  Blackmailed into the Marriage Bed

  The Tycoon’s Forbidden Cinderella

  Bound by a One-Night Vow

  The Scandal Before the Wedding miniseries

  Claimed for the Billionaire’s Convenience

  The Venetian One-Night Baby

  Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

  Modern Romance Collection Books 1-4

  Claimed for the Sheikh’s Shock Son

  Carol Marinelli

  A Cinderella to Secure His Heir

  Michelle Smart

  The Italian’s Twin Consequences

  Caitlin Crews

  Penniless Virgin to Sicilian’s Bride

  Melanie Milburne

  www.millsandboon.co.uk

  ISBN: 978-1-474-09595-2

  MODERN ROMANCE COLLECTION BOOKS 1-4

  Claimed for the Sheikh’s Shock Son © 2019 Carol Marinelli

  A Cinderella to Secure His Heir © 2019 Michelle Smart

  The Italian’s Twin Consequences © 2019 Caitlin Crews

  Penniless Virgin to Sicilian’s Bride © 2019 Melanie Milburne

  Published in Great Britain 2019

  by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

  All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

  By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

  ® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

  www.millsandboon.co.uk

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  About the Authors

  Booklist

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Claimed for the Sheikh’s Shock Son

  Back Cover Text

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  EPILOGUE

  A Cinderella to Secure His Heir

  Back Cover Text

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTE
R EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  EPILOGUE

  The Italian’s Twin Consequences

  Back Cover Text

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Penniless Virgin to Sicilian’s Bride

  Back Cover Text

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  About the Publisher

  Claimed for the Sheikh’s Shock Son

  Carol Marinelli

  The sheikh’s seduction...

  ...has a lifetime of consequences

  Desert prince Khalid never loses control...with one exception: his illicit night of passion with captivating dancer Aubrey. Khalid was shocked to discover Aubrey was a virgin. Yet after returning to his kingdom, nothing compares to the bombshell that she’s had his secret child! Claiming his son is nonnegotiable for this proud prince... But claiming Aubrey will prove a much more delicious challenge!

  A royal love story with a secret baby twist!

  Dear Alex,

  with love, always. xxxx

  CHAPTER ONE

  ‘WILL YOU BE speaking at the funeral, Your Highness?’

  The questions from the paparazzi started even before Sheikh Prince Khalid of Al-Zahan had stepped out of the luxury vehicle.

  Jobe Devereux’s funeral was tomorrow. The press and television crews were gathered outside the late, great man’s Fifth Avenue home, capturing images of visitors arriving to pay their condolences.

  Some visitors walked slowly, keen to be photographed and seen, others put their heads down and hurried from their cars to the residence.

  Others opted to use the trade entrance.

  Khalid did neither.

  He had flown to New York from Al-Zahan and at the family’s request had come directly from the royal jet to Jobe’s home. Tomorrow Khalid would be clean-shaven with his thick, black hair freshly cut and he would be wearing a suit. Tonight, though, having come from a retreat in the desert, he was bearded and his tall frame was dressed in dark robes. Khalid was a striking man—tall and slim yet muscular too. Despite his impressive physique he moved in an elegant, unhurried fashion towards the home that he knew well, ignoring the paparazzi’s questions. For Khalid, the presence of the press had barely registered and certainly he didn’t deign to respond. His mind was elsewhere, for he had lost not just a business partner but someone he both valued and respected.

  Yet they persisted.

  ‘Will Chantelle be seated with the family?’

  ‘Might there be some unexpected guests?’

  ‘Your Highness, is it true that the King of Al-Zahan is soon to announce your marriage?’

  The last question jarred, not that Khalid showed it. But at home the pressure on him to marry was immense. That it was now being aired here in New York, the place he considered his bolthole, now rendered the pressure inescapable.

  The door was opened by the housekeeper and as he stepped inside it was clear that even prior to the funeral, Jobe had pulled in quite a crowd. People were mingling and spilling out from the reception room where groups stood talking. Drinks were being served as if the funeral had already taken place.

  Khalid was not here to socialise, though, and was taken straight through to Jobe’s study.

  ‘I’ll let Ethan know that you’re here,’ the housekeeper said. ‘He’s just speaking with the senator.’

  ‘Tell him there is no rush,’ Khalid said.

  ‘Is there anything I can get for you?’ she checked, ‘He shouldn’t be long.’

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ Khalid said, but as the housekeeper headed out the door he called to her. ‘Barb,’ Khalid said. ‘I am sorry for your loss.’

  She gave him a watery smile. ‘Thank you, Khalid.’

  It was a relief to be here in the study and away from the hordes. Khalid could, of course, be polite and make small-talk—his royal status demanded it. He was in no mood to, though.

  How odd that one room in a house so far from home could hold so many memories. Jobe’s globe had always been a draw for Khalid. It had been an antique when Jobe had purchased it and Khalid would look at all the old countries now gone, while his island country, independent from the mainland, remained.

  And it was from this very decanter that Khalid had first tasted alcohol. On that desk that the first tentative sketch of the Royal Al-Zahan Hotel had been drafted.

  It was just a year off completion now.

  An impossible dream, first born in this study.

  Khalid picked up a heavy paperweight and recalled Jobe, for once awkward, tossing it between his hands as a far younger Khalid had opened the study door.

  ‘You wanted to see me, sir?’

  ‘How many times do I have to tell you to call me Jobe? Even my own kids do.’

  But Khalid called his own father by his royal title and bowed to him on arriving and leaving, so he struggled to accept the informal greetings in the Devereux household.

  ‘Sit down, son.’

  Khalid took a seat when he would have preferred to stay standing, for he was certain he was about to be disciplined. At sixteen he had been in New York City for close to a year and he and Ethan had discovered fake IDs and girls.

  Yes, there were plenty of reasons Ethan’s father might want to have words with him.

  ‘There’s no easy way to say this.’ Jobe cleared his throat. ‘Khalid, you need to call home.’

  ‘Is something wrong with the twins?’ Khalid asked, for he knew his mother was due to give birth any day now.

  ‘No. Your mother gave birth to twins this morning, but there were complications. Your mom took a turn for the worse and could not be revived. I’m very sorry to tell you this, Khalid, but your mom is dead.’

  It felt as if the air had been sucked out of the study and though Khalid determinedly didn’t show it, he felt as if he could not breathe. It simply could not be, for his mother was so alive and, unlike his stern father, she smiled and laughed and loved life. Queen Dalila was the very reason that Khalid was here in NYC.

  ‘Call home,’ Jobe said. ‘Tell your father we can head straight to the airport and that I will accompany you back to Al-Zahan.’

  ‘No.’ Khalid shook his head, for Jobe did not understand that Khalid had to arrive aboard the royal plane. ‘But thank you for the kind offer.’

  ‘Khalid.’ Jobe spoke with exasperation. ‘You are allowed to be upset.’

  ‘With respect, sir, I know what is allowed. I shall call the King now.’

  Khalid awaited privacy, but Jobe remained in his seat and then, to Khalid’s mind, did the oddest thing. Jobe Devereux put his elbows on the mahogany desk and buried his face in his hands.

  Jobe, Khalid realised with both bemusement and strange gratitude, had found telling him hard. It had hurt Jobe to break the news, and he hurt for their mother, and his two-year-old brother, Hussain, and for the twins just born.

  Then he heard the voice of the King.

  ‘Alab,’ Khalid said, calling him Father.

  A mistake.

  ‘I am your King first,’ he reminded Khalid. ‘You must never forget it, not even for a moment, and especially in dark times.’

  ‘Is it true?’ Khalid said.
‘Is she dead?’

  The King confirmed the grim news, but said there was much consolation that an heir had been spared. ‘We celebrate that this morning another heir to the Al-Zahan kingdom was born.’

  ‘So she had a boy and a girl?’ Khalid checked.

  ‘Correct.’

  ‘Did she get to see them?’ Khalid asked. ‘To hold them? Did she know what she had?’

  ‘Khalid, what sort of question is that? I was not with her.’

  That he hadn’t even found out had Khalid fold then, and an agonised breath shuddered out of him that the King heard.

  ‘There will be no tears,’ the King said sharply. ‘You are a prince, not a princess. The people need to see strength, not their future King acting like some peasant who weeps and keens.’

  As Khalid was being reminded he was royal, and so above emotion and pain, Jobe came around the desk and placed his hand on Khalid’s shoulder. Jobe did not know what was being said, for Khalid spoke in Arabic, yet his hand remained, even when the phone call had ended.

  ‘I’m so sorry, son. You’ll get through this. Abe and Ethan lost their mom too.’