Blinded by Desire
Arabella Sheen
Back Cover Copy
Is Jason ready to give love a chance, and can he capture Beth’s heart?
Jason Andre is a successful billionaire architect who thinks he can get what he wants when he wants.
Beth Ashton is a feisty redhead with an up-and-coming career as a landscape designer. And she wants nothing to do with Jason.
From the outset, sparks fly between them. She excites him and he infuriates her.
When Jason’s light aircraft crashes and he loses his sight, Beth steps in and does exactly what she promised she wouldn’t do…she works for him.
Are Beth and Jason destined to love or is passion and desire the only thing on offer?
Chapter Two - Excerpt 6
With difficulty, Beth managed to stop Charles from walking with her to the lodge house. It had been a struggle, but eventually, Charles had got the message.
Entering the lodge, she almost fell over the luggage she’d packed earlier that day. Her weekend bags were standing in the hall, and at that moment, she had the urge to grab her belongings and make a run for it…before it was too late.
All she wanted to do was scurry back to her home in Devon, and never return to Clifton Hall. She longed for the safety and security of her own home. If she stayed much longer, she was bound to become entangled in the decisions Jason had to make, and then there would be no turning back. She knew Jason wouldn’t let her go.
What was it he’d said that evening? “If you work for me, you will have to call me Jason.” And against her will, she’d called him by his given name.
It seemed Jason Andre knew what he wanted and how to get it. But Beth decided he wouldn’t be getting her. She wasn’t available, at any price.
* * * *
The library walls were lined from floor to ceiling with volumes of thick leather bound books. Two Chesterfield sofas and several high-backed winged armchairs were dotted about the place. And near the French windows, which looked out onto the grounds of Clifton Hall, stood a chunky roll-top desk, with a laptop computer, along with several rolls of papers in readiness for the morning’s work ahead.
Beth had been waiting for Jason to make an appearance, and as he entered the room, the force of his personality was instantly tangible. He radiated energy. And making his way toward her, he was like a panther prowling in the jungle, searching for his prey.
Beth felt nervous. She had no idea why her stomach was churning, but it was.
“You’re early,” Jason said. And as he zoned in on her, he looked around, and asked, “What…isn’t Charles with you?”
There was a hint of contempt in his voice which he hadn’t made an effort to conceal.
Jason towered above her. He seemed tense and on edge. And she suspected he was sporting for a fight, and aiming for a battle, but she had no idea why.
Was Jason remembering the way Charles had followed her to the lodge house last night? And did he think Charles had stayed with her, and that they had spent a hot, passionate night in her bed…making love?
If that was the case, then Jason was wrong. It wasn’t a night of passion that had given her renewed energy and a feeling of glowing radiance; it was simply a sound night’s sleep, alone, and in her own bed. After working a long, hard week on the estate, Beth had finally managed to catch up on the hours of sleep she had missed.
Excitement was pulsing through her veins, and she was eager to get started. The idea of spending a morning working with a renowned architect was exhilarating; and just the sight of him had got the adrenaline flowing, and her heart beating faster.
Beth rubbed her moist palms of her hands along the sides of her curved hips, and as she did so, she saw Jason’s eyes follow her movements.
“I’ll let you return to Charles as soon as possible,” he told her with a sneer of contempt in his voice. “And…when we finish working on my designs, and if you play your cards right, perhaps there will still be time for you to go to the barn dance with him.”
“Actually, it was an agricultural show,” she informed him. “But I won’t be going, and if I might add…I don’t rely on Charles to act as my escort. It‘s kind of you to think I need someone to take me out…but let me assure you, I can look after myself―Mr. Andre.”
Beth was puzzled and annoyed that Jason thought she would be going anywhere with Charles. And it was obvious Jason believed they were having an affair.
“You’re still calling me, Mr. Andre,” Jason reminded her. “I thought we agreed you would use my name.”
“I didn’t say I would,” she told him, denying any such suggestion. “I made no promises. All I said was that I would call you Jason, if I should decide to work for you. And so far, if I’m not mistaken…I’m not in your employment.”
“Not yet,” he muttered in soft undertones. “Now let me hear you say my name. Or perhaps it’s too difficult?”
Jason had stepped forward until he was standing directly in front of her. He was challenging her. And although she knew she was fighting a losing battle, she realised that eventually, she would have to obey.
Drat the man, she thought. Why does he have to be so intimidating? I’m a grown woman. I’m not someone he can boss around and bully.
Beth realised that until now, the two of them had never been alone in a room together. There had always been someone with them. But at that moment, with Jason standing so close, she could actually feel his body heat, and she wondered what would happen if she reached out toward him.
They were almost touching, but not quite.
The musky fragrance of his cologne was still fresh on his skin, and her senses were buzzing. The spark of attraction between them was coming alive, and she could feel herself surrendering to her desires.
Realising what was happening, Beth’s defence system kicked in. Alarm bells were ringing in her ears, and she quickly warned herself to keep her feet firmly on the ground.
The man oozed sex appeal, and she knew that if he made a pass, she would have no chance of fighting him off. She would crumble and succumb to his touch.
You’re out of your depth and he’s out of your league, she thought.
She didn’t know why she was in a panic, or why she was unnerved at the idea of him caressing her, but she was. If he reached out, she knew she would be no match against his powerful potency. She would have no will or strength to resist.
Jason was six-foot-two and she was at a disadvantage. Straightening to her full height, she took a cautious step away from him. She felt safer. With her protective shell now firmly in place, she brushed a non-existent speck of dirt from her dress and looked Jason squarely in the eye.
He was still waiting for her to say his name. It was a battle of wills between them, and she conceded that he had won. Reluctantly she repeated his name.
She said it slowly and clearly. She hadn’t wanted to say it, but she seemed compelled to obey his order.
When Beth saw Jason’s reaction, she realised she should have known better. She ought to have known how he’d react. It was so predictable. He had looked at her, raised an eyebrow, and then he’d given a wide victorious grin. He had won the first battle and she felt completely defeated. But she wasn’t giving up just yet. The battle between them had scarcely begun, and she was determined to win the next round.
Blinded by Desire
Copyright © 2012 by – Arabella Sheen
ISBN: 9780957569829
Publisher: priceplacebooks
Electronic Publication: May 2012
Cover: Fantasia Frog Designs
eBooks are not transferable. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
About Arabella Sheen
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| Arabella Sheen - Author |
Arabella Sheen is a British author of contemporary romance and likes nothing more than the challenge of starting a new novel with fresh ideas and inspiring characters.
One of the many things Arabella loves to do is to read. And when she’s not researching or writing about romance, she is either on her allotment sowing and planting with the seasons or she is curled on the sofa with a book, while pandering to the demands of her attention seeking cat.
Having lived and worked in the Netherlands as a theatre nurse for nearly twenty years, she now lives in the south west of England with her family.
Arabella hopes her readers have as much pleasure from her romance stories as she has in writing them.
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