“Sex” coming out of her lush mouth in that velvety voice had Mateo’s libido sitting up and taking notice. That’s right. He’d be having sex with this tempting creature on the screen.
She tilted her head, sending all that thick black hair to one side and exposing her pale neck. “I’ve had some thoughts about those nights in bed.”
The instant, searing image of her arched neck while he buried his hand in her hair had Mateo tearing his eyes away. He looked out on the city. Jesus. She was right, it had been too long. And he didn’t need his little brain casting a vote right now.
She made it sound so simple.
Her money gave him more than the three years of financial ledge-clinging that he’d scraped together on his own, a timeline that had already caused sleepless nights. The only way Mateo could have the Tempranillo Vino Real planted and profitable in three years is if everything went perfectly—no problems with development, no bad growing seasons. Mother Nature could not give him that guarantee. Her deal also prevented his father from taking more drastic measures. The chance for a quiet phone and an inbox free of plans like the one to capture the Monte’s principal irrigation source and bottle it into “Royal Water” with the king’s face on the label was almost reason enough to sign the contract.
Mateo refused to list “regular sex with a gorgeous woman who looked at him like a lollipop” in the plus column. He wasn’t led around by his cock like his father.
And that child; his far-off, mythical heir? The príncipes y princesas of the Monte del Vino Real had been marrying for profit long before Roxanne Medina invented it. He didn’t know what kind of mother she would be, but he would learn in the course of the year together. And if they discovered in that year they weren’t compatible...surely she would cancel the arrangement. After the initial shock, she’d seemed reasonable.
Gripping on to his higher ideals and shaky rationalizations, he picked up the pen and signed.
The nurse plunked an empty plastic cup with a lid down on the desk.
“What the...?” Mateo said with horror.
“Just the final test,” Roxanne Medina said cheerily from the screen. “Don’t worry. Helen left a couple of magazines in the bathroom. Just leave the cup in there when you’re finished and she’ll retrieve it.”
Any hopes for a reasonable future swirled down the drain. Roxanne Medina expected him to get himself off in a cup while this gargoyle of a woman waited outside the door.
He stood and white-knuckled the cup, turned away from the desk. Fuck it. At least his people were safe. An hour earlier, his hands in the dirt, he’d thought he could save his kingdom with hard work and noble intentions. But he’d fall on his sword for them if he had to.
Or stroke it.
He had one last question for the woman who held his life in her slim-fingered hand. “Why?” he asked, his back to the screen, the question coming from the depths of his chest. “Really, why?”
“Why what?”
“Why me.”
“Because you’re perfect.” He could hear the glee in her rich voice. “And I always demand perfection.”
Don’t miss Lush Money by Angelina M. Lopez
Available now wherever Carina Press ebooks are sold.
www.CarinaPress.com
Copyright ©2019 by Angelina M. Lopez
We think you have a good book in you!
Are you writing in the below genres? The Carina Press editors want to see your manuscript.
We Are Currently Acquiring
Most subgenres and all heat levels of romance:
• Contemporary
• Erotic
• Paranormal & Urban Fantasy
• Science Fiction & Fantasy
• Romantic Suspense
• Historical
• Your subgenre here. See our submissions guidelines!
We want to reaffirm our commitment to inclusion and representation in our publishing program and extend a specific invitation to Black authors, authors of color, disabled authors, LGBTQ+ authors, and other traditionally marginalized and underrepresented voices. We strive to make our list one of inclusion, and are working hard to build a catalog that is more representative of the romance reading public.
To learn more about our submissions guidelines, please visit: bit.ly/write4cp
All submitted manuscripts receive a thorough editorial review and a response in approximately 12 weeks.
Get the latest on Carina Press by joining our eNewsletter!
Don’t miss out, sign up today!
CarinaPress.com/newsletter
Sign up and get Carina Press offers and coupons delivered straight to your inbox!
Plus, as an eNewsletter subscriber, you’ll get the inside scoop on everything
Carina Press and be the first to know about our newest releases!
Visit CarinaPress.com
Other ways to keep in touch:
Facebook.com/CarinaPress
Twitter.com/CarinaPress
ISBN-13: 9781488057052
Hate Crush
Copyright © 2020 by Angelina M. Lopez
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
For questions and comments about the quality of this book, please contact us at [email protected].
Carina Press
22 Adelaide St. West, 40th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada
www.CarinaPress.com
