A MERGER BY MARRIAGE – Cat Shield
Las Vegas Nights , Book #2
Harlequin Desire #2304
ISBN: 978-0-373-73317-0
May 2014
Contemporary Series Romance

Las Vegas, Nevada -- Present Day

After learning that she inherited a sizable chunk of stock from JT Stone's uncle, casino owner Violet Fontaine decides she wants to help out her business rival by proposing a merger…by marriage. She knows some interesting details about JT's father that could threaten his future, so by consolidating her stock with JT's (per terms of the stock only family can vote and she can't sell them) so he can work on ousting his father from the company. But Violet has one stipulation of marriage—it will be in name only. JT agrees to the marriage proposal, but not to the no-sex requirement. She agrees, because she knows the sexual attraction between them burns as bright as the lights on the Vegas Strip at night.

JT has felt constricted by his father's demands and hopes to strike out on his own. The man is controlling and unlikable, so JT decides that if he removes his father from the company board of directors, then he can make the decisions he wants to improve the company. Violet was close to JT's uncle and, unknown to those around him, the man was in process of trying to acquire enough stock to buy it out. Now it is up to JT and Violet to carry on the legacy. Meanwhile, it doesn't take long before they give in to their desire for each other. It's a fiery hot passion that makes them realize just how good they are for each other. Will they decide to make their marriage long term after their business merger is over?

In A MERGER BY MARRIAGE, Violet, along with her two half-sisters Scarlett and Harper, is in the midst of a battle for control of her family's top CEO spot, so helping JT out is a bit of a detour. For months JT has come into her hotel's bar, and the two bantered back and forth. She's interested in him, but since she's planning a future as head of her company, she doesn't have time for relationships. Marrying JT for business's sake is merely a temporary action, but they fit together perfectly, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that maybe they should consider staying together.

JT hates his father with a passion, especially after the coldhearted way the man treated JT's mother. Add in the fact that he bristles under the controlling attitude of his father, one can see why he's been thinking of starting out on his own. Yet when Violet waves the stock and the opportunity it would bring, he can't turn it down. Especially when it has him and the delectable Violet living under the same roof. From the moment they kiss, fireworks shoot off, and soon they can't get enough of each other. Readers will certainly need a fan to cool them down as the sex scenes between Violet and JT sizzle.

Cat Shield spins a fascinating tale in A MERGER BY MARRIAGE that is both passionate and suspenseful as readers are taken behind the scenes of Las Vegas casinos and the people who run them. JT's late uncle kept dossiers on many people, including JT's father. What kind of dirt will be exposed? Part of the Las Vegas Nights series, the first book was Scarlett's story, AT ODDS WITH THE HEIRESS, and readers are in for a treat as we learn more about the Fontaine sisters. Grab this one and get ready to roll the dice in your favor with A MERGER BY MARRIAGE.

Patti Fischer