A GOLDEN BETRAYAL – Barbara Dunlop
The Highest Bidder , Book 6
Harlequin Desire #2198
ISBN: 978-0-373-73211-1
December 2012
Series Romance

New York City and the Country of Rayas – Present Day

For months Rayas Crown Prince Raif Khouri has waited patiently while the authorities in New York City investigate Waverly's auction house against charges that the company stole his country's prestigious Gold Heart statue. The statue is still missing while the prime suspect, Roark Black, is unaccounted for, and Raif decides to take matters into his own hands. He arrives in New York with a mission in mind: kidnap the CEO of Waverly's, Ann Richardson, and hold her hostage until Roark turns over the Gold Heart . But the moment Raif meets Ann again, he suddenly can't forget about the kiss they once shared. Yet Raif, as the Crown Prince, is honor bound to marry a woman who will meet with his country's approval. Ann is not a proper bride for Raif.

Ann is nearly at the end of her rope. She believes Roark (the hero from THE ROGUE'S FORTUNE, released in Nov. 2012) when he says that the statue he has might look like the one from Rayas but that it isn't. When Ann comes face to face with Raif again, the tingling desire she feels for him has only to do with the fact that he is one of the most attractive men she's met, right? She tries to put Raif on a wild goose chase for the statue to get him out of her hair, but that backfires, and he executes his own plan and kidnaps Ann. Soon the captor has fallen under the captive's spell. But any future between Raif and Ann is destined to end unhappily because he can't marry her.

History and honor go hand in hand for Raif and Ann in A GOLDEN BETRAYAL. Readers who have followed the progress of the search for the missing Gold Heart are familiar with Ann as the CEO of Waverly's. She's been accused of thievery, a scandalous affair with another auction house's owner, and dragged in by the police for interrogations. Now Raif has kidnapped her, and it becomes a way for Ann and Raif to get to know each other…and learn that their attraction for each other is mutual. Raif comes from a country that is steeped in tradition and one where women are kept pretty much under lock and key. Ann is as independent as they come, and no one puts Ann in a corner. Their argumentative bantering proves that hate can lead to love. Once they stop talking they lock lips and soon can barely keep their hands off each other. But both realize that there is no future for them as a couple…

A GOLDEN BETRAYAL is the final book in The Highest Bidder series, and it finally shows readers how each of the six couples and their stories are connected. Oh, we knew the search for the Gold Heart was part of it, but there is much more than that. For this reason, while A GOLDEN BETRAYAL can be read alone, it's preferable to have read the prior five books in the series for a better understanding.

Ann and Raif fall in love despite it being a forbidden attraction that can lead nowhere. In A GOLDEN BETRAYAL, old meets new and love finds a way to bring Ann and Raif together. A sexy tale that is as satisfying as a cool drink on a hot day, be sure to pick up A GOLDEN BETRAYAL and make it part of your reading pleasure.

Patti Fischer