Vows and a Vengeful Groom (Silhouette Desire #1843)

Kimberley Blackstone's long stride--and the Louis Vuitton suitcase she towed in her wake--gathered momentum as she left customs at Auckland's international airport and headed toward the exit. Despite the handicap of her three-inch heels, she hit the Arrivals hall at a near jog, her focus on grabbing the first taxi in the rank outside, her mind making the transition from laid-back holiday mode to all that awaited her at House of Hammond on her first workday after the Christmas-New Year's break.She didn't notice the waiting horde of media until it was too late. Flashbulbs exploded around her like a New Year's light show. She skidded to a halt, so abruptly her trailing suitcase rammed into her legs.Surely, this had to be a case of mistaken identity. Kimberley hadn't been on the paparazzi hit list for close to a decade, not since she'd estranged herself from her billionaire father and his headline-hungry diamond business.But, no, it was her name they called. Her face the focus of a swarm of lenses that circled like avid hornets. Her heart started to pound with fear-fuelled adrenaline.What did they want?What the hell was going on?With a rising sense of bewilderment she scanned the crowd for a clue and her gaze fastened on a tall, leonine figure forcing his way to the front. A tall, familiar figure. She stared in stunned recognition and their gazes collided across the sea of heads before the cameras erupted with another barrage of flashes, this time right in her exposed face.Blinded by the flashbulbs--and by the shock of that momentary eye-meet--Kimberley didn't realise his intent until he'd forged his way to her side, possibly by the sheer strength of his personality. She felt his arm wrap around her shoulder, pulling her into the protective shelter of his body, allowing her no time to object, no chance to lift her hands to ward him off.In the space of a hastily drawn breath, she found herself plastered knee-to-nose against six feet of hard-bodied male.Ric Perrini.Her lover for ten torrid weeks, her husband for ten tumultuous days.Her ex for ten tranquil years.After all this time, he should not have felt so familiar but, oh, dear Lord, he did. She knew the scent of that body and its lean, muscular strength. She knew its heat and its slick power and every response it could draw from hers.She also recognised the ease with which he'd taken control of the moment and the decisiveness of his deep voice when it rumbled close to her ear. "I have a car waiting. Is this your only luggage?"Kimberley nodded. A week at a tropical paradise did not require much in the way of clothes. Especially when she was wearing the one office-style dress and the only pair of heels she'd packed. When he released his grip on her shoulder to take charge of her compact suitcase, she longed to dig those heels into the ground, to tell him exactly what he could do with his car, and his presumptuous attitude.But she wasn't stupid. She'd seen Perrini in action often enough to know that attitude yielded results. The fierce expression and king-of-the-jungle manner he did so well would keep the snapping newshounds at bay.Not that she was about to be towed along as meekly as her wheeled luggage."I assume you will tell me," she said tightly, "what this welcome party is all about.""Not while the welcome party is within earshot."Barking a request for the cameramen to stand aside, Perrini took her hand and pulled her into step with his ground-eating stride. Kimberley let him because he was right, damn his arrogant, Italian-suited hide. Despite the speed with which he whisked her across the terminal forecourt, she could almost feel the hot breath of the pursuing media on her back.This was neither the time nor the place for explanations. Inside his car, however, she would get answers.The initial shock had been blown away--by the haste of their retreat, by the heat of her gatheJameson, Bronwyn is the author of 'Vows and a Vengeful Groom (Silhouette Desire #1843)', published 2008 under ISBN 9780373768431 and ISBN 0373768435.