Susan Kearney - Enslaved (Midnight Fantasies) (Harlequin Blaze)

SUSAN KEARNEY

TORONTO NEW YORK LONDON
AMSTERDAM PARIS SYDNEY HAMBURG
STOCKHOLM ATHENS TOKYO MILAN MADRID
PRAGUE WARSAW BUDAPEST AUCKLAND

To Barbara Joel and Barbara Ankrum for being there just when I needed them.

Contents

Mother, you cant buy me a man!

Brittany Barrington finally let loose the aggravation that had been building for weeks, ever since her mother had decided to stick her famous nose into Brittany s private life.

But if I could buy you a man, would you want him?

Not in the least perturbed by Brittany s outburst, the woman whod graced the covers of Cosmopolitan and Vogue in the sixties perched on the corner of Brittany s desk, her lithe figure a testament to good genes, a healthy diet and the best cosmetic surgery money could buy. But her mother was more than a pretty face and svelte body. The intellect that had built a cosmetics empire in the eighties shone out of Samantha Barringtons green eyes, simmering with well-meaning concern.

Brittany didnt need her mothers concern, her pity or her meddling. What she needed was to be left alone to deal with her private life like the twenty-nine-year-old woman she was. Just because shed gone through the most embarrassing divorce of the decade didnt mean her mother could come into her office and start rearranging her life. As usual, her mothers interference had Brittany s defensive walls shooting sky-high and her blood pressure rocketing.

Seemingly oblivious to Brittany s annoyance, Samantha walked around her daughters desk and tapped the computer keyboard. Next years budget analysis of Brittany s Feed The Hungry Children advertising campaign disappeared from her monitor.

Hey, I was working, Brittany complained, already knowing it would do no good, since her mother seemed bent on a mission.

Youre always working.

The censure in her mothers voice brought forth an immediate protest. Thats not true. I have a life, Mother.

A boring one.

Brittany didnt find her life boring. She kept herself busy with her work, her short list of friends, and more work. If she chose to waste her entire life playing solitaire with a deck of fifty-one, it was her businessnot her mothers.

Drawing herself to her full five feet eight inches, Brittany kept her voice under tight control. Im sorry if my life doesnt live up to your high standards.

I want you to be happy.

How could she argue with that statement? Brittany would be happier if her mother would leave her alone, but she bit back the sharp retort.

Samantha always meant well. First a gorgeous model and then a powerful executive, her mother was accustomed to getting her way without a smack-down, drag-out fight. Not this time. Although Brittany knew from experience that the harder she argued, the more stubborn her mother would become, she, too, knew how to be resolute.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, shed inherited that same stubborn trait. Not for the first time she wondered why she couldnt have inherited Samanthas eyes, or her facial structure that practically kissed the photographers lens and said I love you, while it returned the sentiment tenfold. Instead, Brittany s oval face resembled the father shed never knownthe love of her mothers life, a free-spirited hippie whod died in a motorcycle accident before Brittany had made it out of Samanthas womb.

While Brittany had never received any fatherly advice, she had gotten his wavy blond hairnot near as striking as her mothers chestnut locksand rather mundane hazel eyes, which while pretty, were nothing extraordinaryand not near as riveting as her mothers deep emerald eyes. Or, for that matter, as vibrant a color as the pair of baby blues that Brittany s ex-husband Devlin had dumped her for.

Not that Brittany blamed her failed marriage on her looks. The charming Devlin hadnt had the ability to remain faithful to any one woman. Brittany s mistake had been that shed thought she could change him into a man of honor and convictions, naively believing that if she loved him enough he wouldnt stray.

Her mother had brought Brittany up to believe that anything was possible if she believed in herself and if she worked hard enough. Until Brittany s failed marriage, that philosophy had worked. Shed been a straight A student. Popular in the private New York City high school. Accepted at the University of Michigan , the college of her choice where shed majored in business.

Shed even landed her dream career in New York City , heading up a charity that fed the worlds starving children. Brittany had had everything shed always wanted, until three years ago, when Devlins philandering had shredded her heart.

According to her mother, shed been moping and hiding ever since. Brittany preferred to call her withdrawal from most social activities and all dates self-preservation. She was no longer afraid of running into Devlin with his latest girlie-girl on his arm. No, she was simply avoiding another mistake.

Her mothers plum nails waved through the air, slicing through Brittany s thoughts. Did you check out the e-mail I sent you?

Sorry. I havent had time. Ive taken up a new

Hobby? Darling, thats wonderful. I knew youd enjoy the dance class I arranged for you if you gave it a chance. Are you finding it therapeutic?

I dont need therapy.

Her mothers look said that was a matter of opinion. The perfectly shaped brows arching in disagreement allowed Brittany to squash her guilt over the memory of tossing the dance certificate into the trash along with the free massage from Milo . Milo , who happened to be very Italian, very dark, very handsome and very available, was not a man she trusted to run his hands all over her body. And dancing required a dance partnerthe last thing she needed was some man leading her around.

Shed been led around enough, thank you very much. I started a nutrition class at the university.

Thats more work, dear. Samantha called up the e-mail shed sent Brittany . You need some fun. She pointed the cursor at an attached file, clicked the mouse and opened it. How about him?

The computer screen filled with a picture of a hunk. With black wavy hair, killer blue eyes and a toothpaste-bright smile, he sported pectoral muscles that suggested he spent more time in the gym than working a real job.

Brittany refused to be drawn into her mothers idea of a fantasy man and let out a sigh of exasperation. Mother.

Samantha punched another key and called up a blond Adonis in a thong who looked as if he could apply for an audition on Boywatch . He had the shoulders of an Olympic swimmer, a lean flat stomach and thighs and a butt that wouldnt pinch an inch.

Hes kind of cute, dont you think? Her mother watched her, waiting for a reaction.

Brittany refused to give her mother the satisfaction of agreeing. Maybe you could hire him for your mens cosmetic division.

Dont you find him attractive? her mother pressed with a hint of forced sadness.

Brittany ignored her mothers attempt to manipulate her, ignored the green eyes widening with an innocence that almost always elicited a feeling of guilt in Brittany for not going along with Samanthas wishes. Brittany s private life might not be much, but it was hers and shed like to keep it private. That her mother thought she needed help to find a man was downright embarrassing. Almost as humiliating as the day Samantha had found Brittany crying outside her and Devlins apartment after shed walked in on him in their bed with another woman. Brittany had been so stunned, so hurt, shed pulled into a painful fetal ball. Unable to leave, unable to stay, shed huddled against the door, trying to understand that her perfect world was no longer the stuff of diary dreams.