Christmas in His Royal Bed / Rossellini's Revenge Affair: Christmas in His Royal Bed / Rossellini's Revenge Affair. Yvonne Lindsay

      Raffaele despised her with every breath in his body.

      Lana was widowed, when she should have been a divorcée. Tall, elegant, unnaturally composed. Had she even loved her dead husband? He doubted it. If she’d loved him, she would have let him go. Let him go to Maria, Raffaele’s sister, instead of clinging to a marriage long dead.

      Would his treasured sister be lying in a hospital bed right now, supported only by life-giving machinery, if Lana had only given in to her husband’s repeated requests to be set free? Set free before the birth of a child who would now never know its father or its mother.

      He’d failed to protect his sister but he would not fail her unborn child.

      Raffaele Rossellini never made the same mistake twice.

       HEIDI BETTS

      An avid romance reader since school, Heidi knew early on that she wanted to write these wonderful stories of love and adventure. It wasn’t until her first year of college, however, when she spent the entire night reading a romance novel instead of studying for finals, that she decided to take the road less travelled and follow her dream. As well as devoting her time to reading, writing and creating romance, she is the founder of her local Romance Writers of America chapter. She also has a tendency to take injured and homeless animals of every species into her Central Pennsylvania home.

      Heidi loves to hear from readers. You can write to her at PO Box 99, Kylertown, PA 16847, USA (an SAE with return posatge is appreciated, but not necessary) or e-mail [email protected]. And be sure to visit www.heidibetts.com for news and information about new books.

      Dear Reader,

      I’ve always wanted to write a story involving some type of royalty…a prince hero or princess heroine. I also knew that I wanted to give Alandra Sanchez, whom I introduced in my April 2008 Desire™ book, Blackmailed into Bed, a very special hero of her own. Well, what could be more special than a prince, right? Putting them both together seemed like the perfect solution. Add to that the opportunity I was given to set this story during the holidays, and I was one happy camper!

      I hope you enjoy Christmas in His Royal Bed and this little jaunt through the island kingdom of Glendovia.

      And don’t forget to visit my website, www. HeidiBetts.com, as often as you like for information about all of my books!

      Happy holidays!

       Heidi Betts

      Christmas in His Royal Bed

      HEIDI BETTS

      Rossellini’s Revenge Affair

      YVONNE LINDSAY

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      In loving memory of Helen Brown. When she passed away this time last year after a long and valiant battle with breast cancer, I lost a friend, and the romance world lost a dedicated fan. We miss you, Helen. And if Heaven is any kind of Heaven at all, it will be filled with romance novels for you to enjoy.

      And with much appreciation to loyal reader Jennifer Yates, who, when I challenged readers to help me out, came up with many of the names used in this story. Thanks, Jennifer!

      CHRISTMAS IN HIS ROYAL BED

      by

      Heidi Betts

      One

      Only she would do.

      Prince Stephan Nicolas Braedon of Glendovia watched the ebony-haired beauty from afar. Tall and lithe, with an hourglass figure, she had silky black hair that fell in a straight curtain to her hips. He was too far away to know the color of her eyes or see the full pout of her lips, but he trusted the feeling in his gut that told him both would be just as alluring as the rest of her.

      Cocking his head toward the tall, suited man at his side, he said in a low voice, “Find out her name.”

      His bodyguard followed the direction of his gaze, then gave a stiff nod before moving away. Nicolas didn’t need to ask how Osric intended to get the information, nor did he care.

      A few minutes later, his bodyguard returned, standing at attention at Nicolas’s side.

      “Her name is Alandra Sanchez, Your Highness. She is in charge of the organization of this evening’s event.”

      Alandra. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.

      She floated around the large, crowded ballroom, smiling, chatting with guests, making sure everything was running smoothly. The full-length lavender gown she wore shimmered in the muted lighting every time she moved, and fit her perfect feminine curves like a glove.

      Nicolas hadn’t attended this fund-raising dinner in hopes of finding a lover, but now that he’d seen her, he knew he wouldn’t be leaving the United States without making arrangements for her to become his next mistress.

      It was true that he was the member of the royal family in charge of overseeing Glendovia’s charitable organizations, but his duties did not extend to attending charitable events outside of his own country. That, he usually left to his sister or one of his two brothers.

      But though his sister, Mia, had been scheduled to make the trip to the States and attend this dinner to raise funds for a new children’s wing at a central Texas hospital, she’d had to cancel at the last minute. Since Nicolas was to meet with very wealthy oilmen to discuss fuel for his country, he decided to attend.

      Until a few minutes ago, he had been resenting the interruption of his own life and plans, and all but cursing his sister for being the cause. Now, however, he was considering sending Mia a bouquet of flowers or a box of her favorite truffles. He wanted to thank her for putting him on a path to what could turn out to be an extremely pleasurable experience.

      Smiling so brightly the muscles in her cheeks ached, Alandra Sanchez moved around the room, making sure everything was running smoothly. She’d been working to set up this gala for months now, in hopes of raising both awareness and money for the new children’s hospital wing.

      Unfortunately, things weren’t going quite as well as she’d hoped, and Alandra knew she had only herself to blame.

      Everyone in the room seemed to be watching her. She could see their curiosity. Sense their condemnation.

      All because she’d had the dreadful misfortune to get mixed up with the wrong man.

      Of all the things that could have happened to put a damper on this evening’s event, this was the worst. A hurricane, a flash flood, even the hotel catching on fire…

      Those