NEVER ENTICE AN EARL by Lily Dalton
(April 29, 2014; Forever Mass Market; $8.00)
A Deception Most Reckless
Lady Daphne Bevington would do anything for her maid Kate-including masquerading as Kate and sneaking around the wrong side of London to settle the poor girl's debt. Yet her innocent ruse takes a scandalous turn when "Kate" runs into a handsome gentleman on a secret quest of his own. A moment of passion could cost Daphne her reputation, but how can she ignore the stranger's searing kiss?
An Arrangement Most Wicked
Lord Cormack Northmore is determined to find the immoral peer who ruined his sister. So when he learns that the irresistible woman he knows as "Kate" is the Season's most sought-after debutante, Cormack plans to use her connections to help him set a trap. Now, the closer Cormack gets to uncovering the villain who haunts the ton's ballrooms, the more he realizes that the lovely lady is in danger herself. Will he abandon his quest for revenge-or risk losing his one chance at love?
An Arrangement Most Wicked
Lord Cormack Northmore is determined to find the immoral peer who ruined his sister. So when he learns that the irresistible woman he knows as "Kate" is the Season's most sought-after debutante, Cormack plans to use her connections to help him set a trap. Now, the closer Cormack gets to uncovering the villain who haunts the ton's ballrooms, the more he realizes that the lovely lady is in danger herself. Will he abandon his quest for revenge-or risk losing his one chance at love?
Purchase Links:
About the author:
Lily Dalton grew up as an Army brat, moving from place to place. Her first stop after relocating was always the local library, where she could hang out with familiar friends: Books! Lily has an English degree from Texas A & M University and after graduation worked as a legal assistant in the fields of accident reconstruction and litigation. She now lives in Houston , Texas, with her family. When she isn't at work on her next manuscript, she spends her time trying out new recipes, cheering on her favorite Texas football teams and collecting old dishes, vintage linens and other fine "junque" from thrift stores and flea markets.
Social Media Links:
Excerpt from Never Desire an Earl:
She held his
face in her hands, and pressed butterfly soft kisses across his nose and cheeks
and eyelids, as he whispered her name. His hands gripped her arms, as if he
intended to stop her…but he didn’t.
With a sigh,
she explored lower, parting the linen at his throat, and pressing a trail of
kisses down the center of his chest. An odd, strangled sound, burst from deep
in his throat, one that pleased her.
“Daphne, no.”
His entire body quaked. “You’re confused. You just survived a terrifying
ordeal.”
“It’s just
kissing—”
“No, it’s not just kissing.” He gripped her by the
arms, and gave her a solid shake, his gaze burning into hers. He was trying to
be noble, which only made her want him more. “You are innocent, and you can’t
know what you do to me, with just a kiss. A look. With just a toss of your
hair.”
“Cormack, I
know what I said at the Monument this afternoon, that I couldn’t go any
further, because I wouldn’t be able to let you go when the time came. But
tonight, out there under the lanterns, under the stars, I realized that neither
can I let you go now.”
“I can’t marry
you, and if I can’t marry you, this
will not occur.” He shook her again.
“I don’t want
you to marry me. I just want to be close to you, whatever that means, even if
it’s just for tonight.”
“What are you
saying?” His gaze flared with heat.
“That I want
you, Cormack,” she said unsteadily, terrified of speaking the words aloud, yet
knowing they had to be said. “That I want us,
right now. I know what I mean by that. I may be inexperienced, but I’m not
misinformed.”
Suddenly he was
gone from her arms, and she was left with an empty bench. She twisted round to
find him in the distant corner, arms outstretched along the walls and his long
legs bent at the knees, staring at her through glassy eyes. “Don’t do this to
me.”
He looked so
tall, and handsome and tortured that she almost laughed.
“I made the
decision never to marry Cormack. That doesn’t mean I intended to die a virgin.”
He closed his
eyes and cursed. “You don’t know what you are saying.”
“I know exactly
what I’m saying.” She crossed the space between them, sinking between his
knees, and closing her hands over his. “One day I fully intend to be everyone’s
favorite old maiden aunt, one with a beautiful secret.” She smiled. “Please
give me this memory. I want it to be you.”
“Old maiden
aunt, my eye,” he answered vehemently, his gaze moving over her face, then
lower to her breasts, which rested between his open thighs. Fully aware that
her torn gown gaped, she held still, allowing him to take his fill of the view.
“You ought to find someone special and marry. This memory you ask for, should
belong to him.”
“There’s not
going to be a husband. I belong only to me.” She answered fiercely, squeezing
his hands. “And I want to share this with you.”
“I’ve no
right—”
“But I have every
right,” she whispered, running her hands up the tops of his muscled thighs…over
his pelvis…and up his rigid stomach, allowing her curiosity to lead her.
Feeling the powerful flex and seize of his muscles beneath her palms, her mouth
went dry with what she knew to be desire.
He hands came
to either side of her face, suddenly and fiercely, his expression a portrait of
torment. “Daphne.”
She leapt
against him, crying out in pleasure as his arms closed around her. She couldn’t
get close enough, and as if he couldn’t either he shoved her skirts up to her
hips and brought her legs, bent at the knees, around his waist. With one hand
at the center of her buttocks, and the other splayed wide at her back, he
seized her against him, and thrust his hips upward and off the seat so
fiercely, his cheek turned against her breasts, that she felt the sudden
invasion of his arousal into the swollen place between her legs. She moaned, as
the most wonderful, but elusive sensation fluttered through her legs, and up
her spine. There, everything went hot
and damp and needful. Instinctively she tilted her hips, wanting more. As if in
answer, he moved, the heels of his boots sliding heavily against the floor of
the carriage, replicating the same sensation as before, only this time deeper
and more satisfying.
No comments:
Post a Comment