The Courtland Chronicles - Courtland Chronicles - E-book - ePub

Collected in a single volume for the very first time, experience this saga of love, loss, acceptance and affirmation spanning twenty years in the lives of three unforgettable characters. By Chance - A life of wealth and privilege doesn't equal happiness-just ask Eric Courtland. Growing up with a cold, unfeeling father and unstable mother has taught him exactly what he doesn't want out of life or love.
Popular, wholesome, straight Nick Thompson is far more temptation than Eric's prepared for, but Nick's warm manner gradually cracks through Eric's prickly protective shell. Strictly Business - Eric Courtland is hungry for revenge against the cold, unfeeling father who never loved him, and who drove his mother to an early grave. Tossed headfirst into the shark-tank world of big business, Eric soon learns it's eat or be eaten, and has no choice but to throw in his lot with ruthless titan of industry Branford Crane.
Still reeling from his mother's death, Eric plunges into a dark spiral of self-destruction, rejecting his longtime partner Nick's love and support in favor of the harsh tutelage Bran offers him, in and out of the bedroom. But one night, when Bran finally pushes Eric beyond any reasonable limit, Eric realizes how far he's fallen-and how desperately he needs Nick to help pull him back from the edge.
Complications - Tired of taking a backseat to Eric's burgeoning political career, Nick calls it quits. A devastated Eric seeks consolation in liquor-and the arms of college friend Ally Taylor. Their passionate rebound affair deepens into something more. Still, Ally's thrown when Eric proposes marriage, with no mention of love. His wealth and connections would certainly help her career, but is their intense physical connection and Eric's promise of fidelity enough?The Arrangement - Most people are lucky to find one love - Eric Courtland has two.
But when Allison, his new wife, discovers his secret affair with Nick, his on-again, off-again lover of over a decade, Eric can't bring himself to choose between them. Instead, he stuns them with a bold proposition neither can refuse. Jealousy mars the early days of their relationship, but trust and growing intimacy lead to a deeper and more satisfying arrangement-as long as they keep their non-traditional partnership under wraps for the sake of Eric's budding political career.
Blackmailing political rivals, the pressures of living in the public eye, and a serious illness all threaten their relationship-and force Eric to decide what he's willing to sacrifice to keep the only two people he's ever loved. Triad - Eric Courtland has spent the last decade tucked away in a Tuscan villa with his wife, Allison-and their partner and lover, Nick Thompson. Worlds away from the bigotry and hatred they faced in the States, the triad has built an unconventional relationship that is unassailable.
Or so they think. After years of disappointment, Allison is finally pregnant. But the happy news is soon blunted by a family crisis that brings them-reluctantly-back to the country they've foresworn and the emotional riptides that bide there. Assailed from every direction, the three face blackmail and a potential corporate takeover, but it's the devastating revelations from both Eric's and Nick's pasts that leave them shaken to the core.
The three must stand together and face the maelstrom, or risk losing everything they've worked so hard to build-including the unique love that binds them.