The Fortune Hunter (The Fortune Hunter Books) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jasmine Haynes (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Fortune Hunter Books | Publication Date: November 6, 2007

A bold and sexy new proposition from the author of Open Invitation-and fans won't be able to resist.

It appears that insecure heiress Faith Castle's dreams of having a baby are close to coming true. She's finally been proposed to! But Connor Kingston happens to be as honest as he is handsome, making plain that his offer is purely a career move. A marriage of convenience is far from romantic, but Faith agrees-after all, she's getting what she wants as well. She has only one caveat: she requires his absolute fidelity. But her randy fianc? wants to be free to come and go. What transpires is the sexiest and most unpredictable love story of the season.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jasmine Haynes lives in the California mountains with her husband. She loves writing hot, sexy romances.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Faith Castle wants a family, Connor Kingston wants to run her father’s company. In a modern-day marriage of convenience, the bargaining begins...

He actually wanted to marry her?

Faith laughed, a real laugh, not one of horror or disbelief. His compliments warmed her, made her sit straighter in her chair. God. Was he starting to win her over? “I’ve never met anyone like you. You just say what you’re thinking, don’t you, without worrying how the other person is going to judge you?”

He leaned back in his chair and spread his hands. “What you see is what you get.”

The girls at the next table in the café turned saucer-eyed like one of her little kindergartners. He continued to ignore them. Rather, he didn’t even appear to notice them.

What you see is what you get. What Faith saw was extremely appealing. Broad chest with nicely defined muscles tapering down to a hard abdomen showcased by a formfitting polo shirt. She just didn’t know that what she saw was the same as what she’d get. With a jolt, she realized she was actually considering his outrageous proposal. “So, I get children and a husband who promises not to wander as long as I have sex with him as often as...” She tilted her head. “How often?”

“At least once a day if I’m stressed. It’s a good tension reliever.” He didn’t even crack a smile. “How about you?”

Gee, once a year would be nice. She had low expectations. “I’ve never really thought about it. But we’re talking about the bargain here. Lots of children, no infidelity, as long as there’s sex once a day.” She started to tingle. “And all you want is to run my father’s company.”

He didn’t address the last comment but went back to the sex issue. “Not just wham-bam sex. Real sex.”

She couldn’t believe she was having this conversation. She glanced around to see if anyone was listening, but except for the table of young women too far away to eavesdrop, they weren’t the center of attention. Far from it, they were just another couple in a crowded coffee shop talking about sex. “Define real sex, please.”

His breath whispered across her hair. “Mind-blowing sex. Last night doesn’t count since neither of us had an orgasm, but it was a damn good hint of things to come.”

She had to swallow and not let her erotic thoughts rule her emotions. “What if you get tired of the same woman every day?”

“We won’t get tired if we’re willing to try anything. To experiment. To let our inhibitions go and no limits.”

His use of “we” was so terribly seductive. She tried to appear unmoved. “Anything? I’m not into bondage or stuff that hurts.” She tipped her head one way, then the other. The discussion had become almost a game. Except for the core of heat burgeoning inside her. “Or wife swapping. Or group sex.”

“Just the two of us.” He stroked her middle finger where her hand lay on the table. “No pain. Only ecstasy.”

Her face flushed. “You’re too agreeable. I must be missing something here.”

He nodded gravely, as if her concerns meant something to him. “Think about it overnight and put any other conditions on it that you want.” He was so close, he could have been talking dirty in her ear.

She’d almost lost the ability to think. “I have to give you my answer tomorrow?”

“You can give it to me whenever you’re ready.” The way he said the word, it could mean anything, marriage, an answer.

Or hot, sweaty sex and unbridled passion.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (November 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425219178
• ISBN-13: 978-0425219171
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,243,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Try a classy erotic romance by Jasmine Haynes, Rita Finalist, Holt Medallion winner, and two-time National Readers Choice Award winner. Coming in 2011, she brings readers a breath-taking new trilogy from Berkley Heat, The DeKnight Tales. Don't miss her sexy novellas available right here on Amazon. REVENGE SEX, Book 1 in the West Coast Series, is available now! Of course, she's also the author of the popular Max Starr paranormal mystery romance series, starting with DEAD TO THE MAX.

Jasmine's alter ego, award-winning author Jennifer Skully is back! The KOD Daphne winner brings you a poignant tale of loss and renewal. Her books are peopled with hilarious characters that will make you laugh and make you cry. Don't miss BABY, I'LL FIND YOU, plus SHE'S GOTTA BE MINE(formerly Sex and the Serial Killer), and FOOL'S GOLD, in e-book for the first time!

Read more about Jennifer Skully at www.jenniferskully.com, Jasmine Haynes at www.jasminehaynes.com, and the Max Starr series at www.jbskully.com. Visit her blog www.jasminehaynes.blogspot.com where she offers free reads!

Jasmine and her husband live in Northern California with numerous wild cats who have discovered that food from a bowl is easier than slaying gophers (though it would be great if they got rid of the gophers, but no such luck).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Fortune Hunter-A Joyfully Recommended Title!!, January 25, 2008

By 

M. Nix - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Fortune Hunter (The Fortune Hunter Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

Faith Castle can have anything money can buy. Her father is rich and
dotes on her. She works as a school teacher, not because she has to
but because she loves children. Almost thirty, Faith despairs of ever
obtaining her life long dream - having a child of her own. While some
women are modern enough to go the single mother route, Faith is not
one of them. She needs a husband first and then a child. The problem
with her dream is that she is not dating anyone who is good father
material and her biological clock is ticking. When she sees Connor
Kingston at a social gathering not only does her clock continue to
tick, but it seems like her heart will beat out of her chest.

Connor Kingston is escorting a friend to a party when he sees his
quarry. She is like a lush golden goddess and Connor wants to make
her his. He has thought long and hard about what he wants and he
wants to be the CEO of a big name company. If he has to marry to do
that, then that is something he will do. When he is introduced to
Faith Castle, Connor has no doubts that this is his woman. Now all he
has to do is convince her of his plan and hopefully she will see that
they both can benefit from a marriage not based on love, but based on
a contract that benefits the both of them.

Faith thinks Connor is crazy to even suggest to her what he does.
However, after she thinks about it, she realizes that it might not be
such a bad idea after. She has one stipulation - fidelity, and Connor
has one as well - control of her in the bedroom. Connor assures her
that he will keep his end of the bargain and he desires Faith to agree
to his as well.

A friend of mine suggested I read The Fortune Hunter as I had not
heard of this book. I got a copy, looked at the blurb, and thought
that there was no way I would like story. I thought Connor too
blatant and unfeeling in the blurb and Faith's character seemed a bit
fragile. Imagine my surprise and complete joy when I discovered that
I was wrong. And I was SO wrong. Yes, Connor wanted control of Faith
in the bedroom with no questions asked. Yes, Connor wanted to be CEO
of a company and Faith was his means to an end. But in his achieving
his goal, he realized that he found so much more than he thought he
wanted and he never once lied to Faith. Not one time did he give her a
falsehood and for that reason alone, I fell in love with Connor
Kingston. His ability to bring out the best in Faith, while falling
in love with her, was uncanny in its realism. Faith was an open book
to me and I could undeniably relate to her. She was self conscious
about her looks, which Connor found utterly enchanting. Her confidence
in Connor was unconditional and while I worried about her giving her
trust to him as soon as she did, he proved to me and to Faith that he
was an outstanding choice.

If you have not read The Fortune Hunter by Jasmine Haynes, might I
suggest running as quickly as possible to the nearest bookstore and
obtaining it? Ms. Haynes has a new fan, one who wholeheartedly
without a doubt Joyfully Recommends The Fortune Hunter!

Talia
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Jasmine Haynes winner!, December 3, 2007

By 

Book and Dog Lover (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Fortune Hunter (The Fortune Hunter Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

Heiress Faith Castle, a kindergarten teacher, has always wanted children of her own. But she doesn't have a lot of confidence in herself and is worried as she's approaching 30 that she may never find a husband and have the family that she wants. She doesn't want to be a single mom - she wants a husband and children.

Connor Kingston wants to be the CEO of a company. He offers Faith a deal - he'll marry her and give her children if she can convince her father that Connor should be the CEO of her father's company. Faith isn't sure at first, but agrees, with the stipulation that Connor must be faithful to her. Connor agrees to be faithful, as long as Faith agrees to do his bidding in bed.

What follows, along with some scorching hot interludes, is the story of Faith learning to have confidence in herself and of Connor learning that being the CEO isn't the only thing he wants.

I've loved all of Jasmine Haynes books. I was wondering how she would do writing a full-length novel and I was not disappointed - The Fortune Hunter is a wonderful read. Also, when you think of the fortune hunter story line, you think of historical romances, not contemporary. Yet this works - the reasons that these two get together makes sense and the heat in this story seems like a part of the storyline, not just an excuse to put sex in the book.

According to the author's website, this is the first book in a trilogy. I'm not sure whose story will be next - Trinity? Josie? Doesn't matter - I'll be sure to pick up the next book!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVED The Fortune Hunter!, November 11, 2007

By 

M. Woods "Mich '-)" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fortune Hunter (The Fortune Hunter Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

Dear Ms Haynes,
I LOVED The Fortune Hunter! I started it yesterday afternoon and couldn't put it down until I finished it!! I enjoyed your stories in Twin Peaks & Somebody's Lover and was glad to see you do a full length novel!

I enjoyed the story line and the introduction of the secondary characters and their development. I liked watching Faith gain confidence in herself--sexually and more so as as a woman and her place in the world.
Conner was a sexy hero that was easy to like and wish for him to succeed with Faith, Castle Mining and finding love!

It was a SEXY & HOT read with a good story line that captured my attention and held it from the first line to the last!

Thank you for a GREAT read that I plan to recommend to all my friends!!! "-)

PS I'm going to check out your Open Invitation next.