She’d once wanted him with all the passion and desperation of youth. And she wanted him still.
The realization came as a surprise, and left her aching.
As he touched her and her body begged for more, he was nothing if not professional. He didn’t linger. Her face, on the other hand, was flooded with heat by the time he was done checking her for a tracking device. Taylor was more aware of his proximity, of the intimacy of their situation, than she’d ever been before.
Akeem stayed still for a long moment, breathed in, breathed out. “I can’t find anything,” he said darkly. “You search me.”
An invitation to touch him. Oh my.
She could do this, she thought as she felt along his muscles, looking for anything that would prove how they’d been followed. Then she stared into his swirling dark eyes and knew she wanted this man.
And if she wasn’t mistaken, she saw the same heated look in Akeem’s eyes. He wanted her.
The question was, what were they going to do about it?
Dear Reader,
Thank you for celebrating Harlequin’s Diamond Anniversary with us! These stories of romance, love and inspiration have been a part of my own life for decades. I feel so honored to now be writing some of them.
I was so excited when I was asked to be part of the Harlequin Intrigue line’s special anniversary miniseries, DIAMONDS AND DADDIES. This is the first time that I have written a story featuring a sheik hero set in the United States. Akeem has been in love with his best friend’s sister forever, but he told himself that she was off-limits and too young, and he had nothing to offer her. But he could never fully forget her; not even when he lost her to another man. Now it seems as if they are getting another chance, and this time the Texas sheik swears that he is not going to let anything come between them again. When Taylor’s son is kidnapped and she turns to Akeem, he charges into danger, ready to defend her and her little boy. He knows he could rekindle that old love—if only he could save them from a deadly enemy as darkness surrounds them.
I hope you enjoy the miniseries about Akeem and his friends. And I wish many more happy anniversaries to all of us—the wonderful team at Harlequin Books, our steadfast readers and talented authors.
Sincerely,
Dana Marton
DANA MARTON
DESERT ICE DADDY
TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON
AMSTERDAM • PARIS • SYDNEY • HAMBURG
STOCKHOLM • ATHENS • TOKYO • MILAN • MADRID
PRAGUE • WARSAW • BUDAPEST • AUCKLAND
This book is dedicated to my wonderful writer friends:
Rita Herron, Elle James and Ann Voss Peterson.
Working with you on Diamonds and Daddies
was an honor (not to mention fun).
My sincere gratitude goes also to my editor, Allison Lyons. Happy anniversary, Harlequin Books!!!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dana Marton is the author of more than a dozen fast-paced, action-adventure romantic suspense novels and a winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence. She loves writing books of international intrigue, filled with dangerous plots that try her tough-as-nails heroes and the special women they fall in love with. Her books have been published in seven languages in eleven countries around the world. When not writing or reading, she loves to browse antique shops and enjoys working in her sizable flower garden where she searches for “bad” bugs with the skills of a superspy and vanquishes them with the agility of a commando soldier. Every day in her garden is a thriller. To find more information on her books, please visit www.danamarton.com. She would love to hear from her readers and can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
Books by Dana Marton
HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE
806—SHADOW SOLDIER
821—SECRET SOLDIER
859—THE SHEIK’S SAFETY
875—CAMOUFLAGE HEART
902—ROGUE SOLDIER
917—PROTECTIVE MEASURES
933—BRIDAL OP
962—UNDERCOVER SHEIK
985—SECRET CONTRACT*
991—IRONCLAD COVER*
1007—MY BODYGUARD*
1013—INTIMATE DETAILS*
1039—SHEIKH SEDUCTION
1055—72 HOURS
1085—SHEIK PROTECTOR
1105—TALL, DARK AND LETHAL
1121—DESERT ICE DADDY
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Taylor McKade—With a bad divorce behind her, she is working to create a new life for herself and her son. But when four-year-old Christopher disappears, the only man who can help her is the one she could never get in the past.
Akeem Abdul—Grandson of a sheik and a powerful man in his own right. He has everything he’d ever set out to get, except Taylor McKade. When danger surrounds her, he knows he is not ever going to let her go again. But will he be able to overcome their enemies and claim that second chance?
Flint McKade, Jackson Champion and Viktor Romanov—Akeem’s closest friends, members of the Aggie Four.
Deke Norton—A close friend of the Aggie Four and a trusted business associate who has acted as mentor to the four friends in the past.
Jake Kenner—A horse trainer who is tired of working for money. He thinks he’s found an easier way.
The Boss—His identity is unknown, but he sure seems to know a lot about the McKade family. Could he be a “friend”?
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter One
A half-dozen men were dead. And some of the clues pointed to a business associate of his, a man he had vouched for. If even the hint of terrorist involvement surfaced, it would end Texas Double A Auctions, the business Akeem Abdul had built from the ground up, the one thing most important to him. Jabar was a friend—which was the most difficult part of the whole damned affair to accept.
The darker side of his nature bubbled
