Sev's Blackmailed Bride, Book #1

• Marriage of Convenience
• Boss Romance
• Enemies to Lovers
• Fake Fiancée Romance

Some blazes, once ignited, can’t be extinguished.
Just one burning touch connects a Dante with his soul mate.

One scorching touch connects Sev Dante with lovely jewelry designer, Francesca Sommers. One passionate night together changes their lives forever. One painful secret will tear them apart and destroy both their lives.

As the powerful, take-charge CEO of Dantes jewelry empire, Sev never believed in The Inferno until it sweeps through him like wildfire. According to family legend, to ignore The Inferno guarantees disaster. To succumb, a life of bliss. But what happens when the woman The Inferno chooses works for his competitor and creates a stunning jewelry collection that threatens to destroy his plans to rebuild his family’s empire? The only option available: blackmail her to work for him and become his bride.

Francesca Sommers has her dream job, working for her father, even if he’s unaware of her existence. Her life is almost perfect … until Sev changes her with a single touch. She can’t resist him or his relentless seduction. Has no choice but to surrender to his raw passion. To give him everything and anything he demands. Even to be forced into marriage.

But surrendering to Sev means losing both her budding relationship with her father and her career. And when Sev discovers what she did to even the scales and protect her father’s business from his hostile takeover, she will lose him, too.

Will The Inferno be enough to save them? Or will its relentless fire consume them both?

Note to Readers: Sev’s Blackmailed Bride is Book #1 in The Dante Inferno: The Dante Dynasty Series, a contemporary romance series by USA Today bestselling author and eleven-time RITA© (Romance Writers of America) finalist, Day Leclaire. This story features passionate Italian-American heroes, the scorching connection of The Inferno, and a sizzling romance between soul mates.

No more than a few feet separated them. The single step he took in her direction shrank that distance to mere inches and magnified her reaction to him. Drawing in a deep breath, she tilted her head to one side so he could get a better look at her design, praying he wouldn’t take long so she could escape into the relative safety of the shadows surrounding them. The next instant she found escape the last thing on her mind.

His hand brushed her collarbone as he traced the curve of her necklace with his fingertips, branding her with fire. “Stunning. Absolutely stunning.”

On the surface his comment sounded simple enough, yet a heavy, old-world lyricism underscored it, filled with the flavor of foreign climes. She could hear the faint strains of a glorious Italian aria, smell the tart richness of ripening grapes, soak in the heat and humidity of a Tuscan summer.

Unable to help herself, she swayed toward him and whispered his name. His response came in a frantic explosion of movement. He swept her into his arms, locking her against him. Hips and thighs collided, then melded. Hands sought purchase before hers tunneled into the thick waves of his hair and his spread across her hip and spine, flooding her with a heavy liquid warmth. Lips brushed. Once. Twice. Finally, their mouths mated, the fit sheer perfection.

She practically inhaled him, unable to get enough. Not of his taste. Not of his scent. Not of his touch. His hands drifted upward, igniting a path of fire in their wake. The most peculiar awareness filled her as he touched her. Though his caress aroused her, she didn’t get the impression his actions were a form of foreplay. Instead, it almost felt as though he were committing the shape and feel of her to memory, imprinting her on his brain.

She pulled back slightly, fighting for breath. “I don’t understand any of this. We’ve only just met. And yet, I can’t keep my hands off of you.”

“I can’t explain it, either.” Desire blazed across his face, giving him a taut, hungry appearance. “But, it’s happening, and right now that’s all that matters. Fortunately, that also makes it easy to fix.”

Yes. Thank goodness they could fix this terrifying reaction and make it go away. “Fine. Let’s get it taken care of.”

He caught her hand in his. “Let’s go.”

“Go?” She resisted his pull, not that it got her anywhere. He simply towed her along. “Go where?”

“I’ll pay for a room here at Le Premier, and we’ll spend the night working this out of our systems. Come morning, we go our separate ways, flame extinguished.”

Francesca fought to think straight. “This is crazy.” Severo, a man she’d met just five minutes ago, had kissed her with a passion she’d never known existed and then casually suggested they book a room at a hotel for a night of mind-blowing sex. He seemed to have missed one vital point. “I don’t do one-night stands.”

He never even broke stride. “In the normal course of events, neither do I. For you, I’m willing to make an exception.”

Under different circumstances she’d have found his comment amusing. Without the warmth generated by his embrace, the cool San Francisco air allowed her to regain an ounce of common sense and she pulled free of his grasp. “Wait. Just wait a minute.”

She watched him fight for control. “I’m not sure I have a minute to spare.” A swift grin lit his face with unexpected masculine beauty. “Will thirty seconds do?”

She thrust her hands into her hair, destroying the elegant little knot she’d taken such pains to fashion a few short hours ago. There was a reason she couldn’t go with him. A really good reason, if only she could bring it to mind. “I can’t be with you. I need to get back inside. I—I have obligations.” That was it. Obligations. Obligations to . . . She released a silent groan. Why the hell couldn’t she remember? “I think I’m obligated to do something important.”

Sev shot a perplexed glance toward the ballroom. “As am I.” His mouth tugged into another charming smile, one she found irresistible. It altered his entire appearance, transforming him from austere man-in-charge, to someone she’d very much like for a lover. “Since you don’t know me, you won’t appreciate what I’m about to say, but right now, I don’t give a damn about obligation or duty or what I should be doing or saying or thinking. Right now, finding the nearest bedroom is all that matters.”

“I’m not sure—”

He slid his arms around her, pulling her close, and her hands collided with the powerful expanse of his chest. Everything about him seduced her. The look in his eyes. The deep warmth of his voice. The heated imprint of his body against hers. “Perhaps this will convince you.”

He lowered his head once again and captured her mouth with his. Where before his kiss had been slower and more careful, this time the joining was fast and certain and deliciously skillful. He teased her lips apart and then slid inward, initiating a duel that she wished could go on forever.

Her hands slid upward to grip the broad width of his shoulders. She could feel the barely leashed power of him rippling beneath her palms, could sense how tightly he held himself in check. And she found that she wanted to unleash that power and break through those protective safeguards. What would his embrace be like if he weren’t holding back? The mere thought had her moaning in anticipation.

He must have heard the small sound because he tensed. A compelling combination of desire and determination poured off him. His kiss deepened as he shifted from enticement to an unmistakable taking. He wanted her, and he expressed that want with each escalating kiss. If they’d been anywhere else, she’d have done something outside her realm of expertise. She’d have surrendered to his seduction and given herself to him right then and there.

She’d never experienced anything that felt so right, not in all her twenty-six years. How could she have doubted? How could she have questioned being with this man? She belonged here in his arms and nowhere else. She wanted what only he could offer. More, she wanted to give him just as much in return. As though sensing the crumbling of her defenses, he lifted his head and stared down at her with dark, compelling eyes.

“Come with me,” he insisted, and held out his hand. “Take the chance, Francesca.”
How could she refuse him? Without another word of protest, she linked her fingers with his.