Free Because You Are Mine Part I by Beth Kery

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    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have control over and does not have any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
    BECAUSE YOU TEMPT ME
    An InterMix Book / published by arrangement with the author
    PUBLISHING HISTORY
    InterMix eBook edition / July 2012
     
    Because You Are Mine Copyright © 2012 by Beth Kery.
    Excerpt from Wicked Edge Copyright © 2012 by Beth Kery.
    All rights reserved.
    No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
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    a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
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    ISBN: 978-1-101-60849-4
    INTERMIX
    InterMix Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
    a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
    375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
    INTERMIX and the “IM” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

My deepest gratitude to Leis Pederson, Laura Bradford, Mahlet, and my husband. I couldn’t have made this project happen without you. Also, thank you to all the readers who have supported my books over the years. I most definitely couldn’t have made this career happen without you.

Chapter 1
    Francesca glanced around when Ian Noble entered the room, mostly because everyone else in the luxurious restaurant bar did the same thing. Her heart jumped. Through the crowd she saw a tall man dressed in an impeccably tailored suit remove his overcoat, revealing a long, lean body. She immediately recognized Ian Noble. Her gaze lingered on the elegant black overcoat draped over his arm. The random thought hit her brain that while the black coat was right, the suit was all wrong. He belonged in jeans, didn’t he? Her observation made no sense whatsoever. He looked fantastic in the suit, for one, and for another, according to a recent article she’d read in GQ , he was reputed to almost single-handedly keep London’s Savile Row thriving. What else would a businessman who was the scion of a minor branch of the British monarchy wear? One of the men who had entered with him reached to take his coat, but he shook his head once.
    Apparently, the enigmatic Mr. Noble wasn’t planning on doing more than making a cursory appearance at the cocktail party he was hosting in Francesca’s honor.
    “There’s Mr. Noble now. He’ll be so pleased to meet you. He loves your work,” Lin Soong said. Francesca heard the subtle note of pride in the woman’s voice, as if Ian Noble was her lover instead of her employer.
    “He looks like he has far more important things to