Conor (Blood and Thunder 5)

By Susan Stephens

With white-hot revenge...

Karolina’s thoughts on marriage didn’t count. She was a woman like any other trapped in her father’s web, to be used as payment, a bartering chip, or a honeytrap according to his whim.

Karolina Karolides lost her innocence the night her mother was pushed out of a helicopter above a featureless ocean by Karolina’s father, a merciless slaver. When a woman outlives her usefulness, she’s disposed of, demoted, or sold on. Karolina’s fate is to be offered as bride to Irish hardman Conor Murphy in exchange for some polo ponies and a promise of untold wealth.

Since her mother’s death, freeing her father’s captives and exposing the extent of his unimaginable crimes has been Karolina’s goal. Is Conor Murphy a convenient escape route from imprisonment at the embassy, allowing Karolina to pursue her revenge, or does Conor have an agenda of his own?

How hard can it be to resist a man with the black-hearted charisma of Conor Murphy? Surely, she only has to play-act the part of bride? A man with such blistering good looks can’t possibly be interested in the physical side of marriage with a plump innocent with attitude.

Can he?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan Stephens
• Release date: Jan 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781910604595

Susan Stephens

Romance with heart, heat and red-hot men, written by author addicted to all of the above.Latest release for Harlequin... UNTOUCHED UNTIL THE GREEK’S RETURNBLOOD AND THUNDER SERIES Dangerous women. Hard men. Ferocious passion.ALEXEI. https://books2read.com/u/m2leOdDANTE. https://books2read.com/u/38dejVDIEGO https://books2read.com/u/me9XezCESAR https://books2read.com/u/mB25GACONOR https://books2read.com/u/baDBNQBooks 1-4 BLOOD AND THUNDER available as box set https://books2read.com/u/mYGQ7YHOT HEX seriesWARRIOR WITCH https://books2read.com/u/3Gw5yPROYAL WITCH. https://books2read.com/u/4Xr6qNCHRISTMAS WITCH https://books2read.com/u/49nXRwFIRE WITCH. https://books2read.com/u/3n2eB8USA TODAY best-selling author Susan Stephens has global sales of over 10 million books. Translated into 26 languages across 109 countries, Susan's 75th book recently hit the shelves.A professional singer before meeting her husband on the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta, in true romance style they met on Monday, became engaged on Friday and were married three months later.Susan's menagerie consists of dogs, cats, horses, a donkey, several guinea pigs, a husband and three terrific children.Sue enjoys entertaining, travel, and going to the theatre. To relax she reads, cooks and plays the piano, and when she's had enough of relaxing she throws herself off mountains on skis, or gallops through the countryside singing loudly.But most of all, she loves hearing from you, her readers, and keeping in touch via regular newsletters.FREE story for new subscribers.Newsletter Sign-up:https://subscribepage.com/f9n2j5

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Who didn’t love a good-looking Irish man built like a kickboxer with wavy black hair, an easy smile, and a reputation like Conor Murphy’s? A woman who had just been told she was to marry him as if she was nothing more than another product for her father to trade, that’s who.

The angry clack of rotor blades drew Karolina Karolides’s attention to her bedroom window, where Conor Murphy’s sleek black helicopter had spread shade over the helipad at the Kasiki embassy where Karolina had the misfortune to be the ambassador’s daughter.

Karolina’s father, Kaspar Karolides, had boasted not an hour before that he was an expert in women, which allowed him to inform Karolina that Conor Murphy would be pleased with her. He should know, since Ambassador Karolides was one of the foremost slavers in Europe.

Karolina’s thoughts on marriage didn’t count. She was a woman like any other trapped in her father’s web, to be used as payment, a bartering chip, or a honeytrap according to his whim. Grinding her jaw with impotent fury, she turned away from the blinding floodlights outside her attic room, but not before she caught sight of a tall figure, formidable even in silhouette, stepping down from the exclusive aircraft.

Backing deeper into the room, she watched the man she was expected to marry as one of her father’s thugs escorted him to the rooftop elevator that would take him down to the sumptuous interior of an embassy noted for its regal excesses.

Well outside of central London, where screams and gunshots would be lost in the wind, the embassy of Kasiki was a front for the oldest and most evil trade in the world. Would Conor Murphy know there were slaves in the basement of the gracious old building awaiting transportation? Would he care? What would his view be on the furious rebel in the attic, prepared to do anything, even marry him, to escape her father so she could try to save his slaves and many more like them in the future?

She was forced to concede that Conor Murphy was an impressive sight. He towered over her father’s henchmen. His bearing, height, and build, along with the impeccable cut of expertly tailored clothes that skimmed his athletic form, confirmed her reading of the man. So far, so predictable. Ex-special forces, Conor would no doubt maintain his magnificent physique as a matter of habit. With a billion-dollar tech empire funding his every whim, he could certainly afford the best means of transport as well as the most expensive tailoring.

Irritated by a strange sense of loss that washed over her as the elevator doors slid closed and he was hidden from sight, she had to wonder what was wrong with her for finding a man attractive when he radiated the same power and command as her evil father.

There was no love lost between father and daughter. As far as Kaspar Karolides was concerned, Karolina was valuable currency like any other slave he owned. He had one simple principle: if a woman was good-looking enough, sexual bondage was her fate. When her looks faded, she would join the ranks of the domestic slaves in the homes of the rich.

There was only one certainty in the embassy of Kasiki, and that was no hope of release for these women. The same stately home that featured so prominently in society magazines for its glorious architecture and glittering receptions was nothing more than a gilded cage, a prison where her father held his valuable stock.

She flinched at a rap on the door.

Ambassador Karolides’s guest is here. The gruff male voice was accompanied by the sound of a key grating in the lock of Karolina’s attic room. I’m to escort you down, the guard informed her as he swung the door wide, regardless of whether he was invited in or whether she was dressed or not.

Fortunately, Karolina knew better than to keep her father waiting and had been dressed and groomed to perfection for quite some time. Of course, she agreed. Picking up her evening purse, she followed the man out of the room. It didn’t matter which of her father’s thugs had been sent to escort her. Apart from one whom she had partway befriended in the gym, they were all the same faceless men without feeling or compassion. Even the man she had managed to form some sort of relationship with was so frightened of her father, he was too guarded to call a friend. The ambassador bought loyalty through fear. His brutality knew no bounds. The only passion he had was polo and the polo ponies he adored.

As the door closed on her room, Karolina’s hand flew to check the heavy diamond necklace her father had insisted she must wear tonight. The priceless collar was a signal, a promise to Conor Murphy of the type of wealth he could tap into if he married the ambassador’s daughter. The workmanship was exquisite, but as far as Karolina was concerned, it was a slave collar.

The air was stale on the upper floor where her room was located. Access to the roof used to be readily available when the windows would open. They’d been nailed shut after the last escape attempt. Karolina had been caught, but those she’d helped had got away. She was lucky not to have suffered her mother’s fate when she was brought before her father. Keeping those around him uncertain suited him, the ambassador had told her.

Uncertainty breeds indecision, and I can work with that.

How right he was. Those who had attempted to escape in the past and were caught had begged to die quickly, she had learned from her contact in the gym. Karolina had been saved for a worse fate, her father had gloated. You will marry Conor Murphy.

The foremost breeder of polo ponies in the world, Murphy had a reputation for ruthlessness second to none. Could he possibly be any different from her father?

So…this was the deal he was expected to enter into. He’d have to be crazy not to want to enter that. The woman framed in the doorway of the embassy of Kasiki’s banqueting hall was stunning. Her sparkling, ankle-length white gown clung lovingly to every luscious contour she possessed. Lush dark hair cascaded in gleaming waves to her waist, while an oval face and dark intelligent eyes completed a picture that exceeded all his expectations. This latest mission might not be such a trial after all.

Apparently chilled out in his seat next to the ambassador at the head of a thirty-foot sumptuously dressed dining table, Conor Murphy remained acutely tuned in to everything around him, including the ambassador’s malevolent interest in Conor’s reaction to the daughter in the doorway the bastard crook was basically putting up for sale.

Maintaining his customary public expression of genial Irish charm, Conor nodded his approval. The ambassador expected nothing less. Nor did the women present expect anything less than Conor’s blisteringly dangerous charisma washing over them. A notorious billionaire polo player, Conor’s reputation went before him and they all wanted a slice of it.

All except this woman.

His bride-to-be was a pleasant surprise in more ways than one. Standing in the doorway like a supermodel pausing to be admired, she was staring at him with the utmost disdain.

The feeling’s mutual, darlin’.

A glance at the ambassador confirmed her father approved his daughter’s poise and beauty, but she would suffer later for her reaction to Conor, he guessed.

Leaning over, he confided, glass in hand, I admire your daughter’s spirit. Karolina reminds me of my favorite ponies. We should have an interesting time together, Ambassador.

Kaspar Karolides’s face underwent an immediate transformation from thunder cloud to smarmy. I’m glad to hear you say that. Karolina can be a little, shall we say, difficult?

Perfect, Conor remarked, glad to have that settled so he could sit back in his seat away from the ambassador’s gusting rotten breath. I love nothing more than the training process, as you will discover when you trial some of my outstanding ponies, Ambassador.

Please, call me Kaspar.

Needs must when the devil drives, Conor reminded himself, grimacing inwardly as the ambassador reached across to shake his hand. You have a beautiful daughter, Kaspar. He held the stare of Karolina’s loathsome father steadily.

Soon to be yours, the ambassador reminded him with a sleezy curl of his lip.

Human flesh for horseflesh. Depending on your passions in life, Conor supposed that some might call that fair trade. He called it inhumanity on an unprecedented scale. Bribery and corruption ruled here. The ambassador could easily afford to buy Conor’s entire stock of ponies, but like many overprivileged individuals, he believed contacts and networking were the secret of expanding his evil empire—that and bragging rights. Having Conor in the family would be a real feather in his cap.

He noticed now that everyone around the banqueting table was staring at the ambassador’s daughter. No surprise there. Karolina was a vision in white. The ultimate irony. Was he supposed to believe she was pure, a virgin with a blameless mind? The collar around her neck signaled great wealth. Where did she think that came from? An ambassador’s salary was generous, but slaving paid better. Karolina might look like an angel with her long lustrous hair and clear dark eyes, but the apple never fell far from the tree.

Do you like my choice of bride for you, Conor?

How should he answer with the stare of the woman in question locked on his face? Those eyes had seen too much for Karolina Karolides to ever be described as innocent.

She’s lovely, he murmured, more interested in the fact that there wasn’t the slightest flicker of warmth in her father’s expression as Karolina crossed the floor toward them with her head held high and defiance flaring in her gaze.

Lovely, you say? Quick to anger, the ambassador’s voice rang with disappointment. Not spectacular, then? he pressed.

Conor smiled faintly. A deal was a deal was a deal. He felt no compunction to flatter the ambassador with some flowery comment about his daughter or pander to his overinflated ego. The necklace is spectacular, he conceded.

The ambassador, recognizing a fellow dealer, shot him a look man to man as he whispered excitedly, You must have encountered many beautiful women in your time.

Many, Conor confirmed. Some had been freed from cellars exactly like the dungeons located in the bowels of this embassy and were unable to sashay across a dining room floor because of the chains locked around their ankles.

Karolina improves with knowing, Karolides confided, leaning over to give Conor the full benefit of his stinking breath. I’m sure you’ll break her in with no trouble and soon train her in your ways.

I’m certain of it, he agreed as he