Never Surrender to a Scoundrel
One Scandalous Season #3
by Lily Dalton
Forever Romance
Release Date January 27, 2015
About NEVER SURRENDER TO A SCOUNDREL:
A Reckless Desire . . .
Lady Clarissa Bevington is in trouble. A reckless indiscretion has left her with two choices: ruin her family with the scandal of the Season, or marry Mr. Kincraig, the notorious scoundrel mistaken as her lover. Desperate and disgraced, Clarissa vows to love and cherish a veritable stranger, a man whose eyes smolder with danger-and undeniable desire . . .
An Unexpected Arrangement
As an agent for the Crown, Lord Donovan Blackmer has spent the last two years guarding Clarissa's grandfather from an unknown assassin while disguised as the rakehell Kincraig. His mission may now be over, but his duty has just begun. Salvaging his beautiful, impetuous wife's virtue will cost him his fortune and his position as an officer-but it might save him from the ghosts that haunt his own past. When their marriage "in name only" leads to exquisite seduction, Donovan must risk the only thing he has left to lose . . . his heart.
I have to say that Lily Dalton brings a marvelous story in Never Surrender to a Scoundrel. When I
started the story, I was trying to figure out how it was going to be
scandalous. The first couple of chapters she’s lovey-dovey with Lord Quinn, and
she’s soon to be engaged to him. Everything just seems to be working out for
Clarissa. Disasters strikes! Finally! I know that’s probably horrible of me,
but I wanted to have drama. From her coming out the excitement beginnings; YES!
Poor Clarissa, she gave away her goods before getting on her
finger. This might sound even worst, but what popped in my head was Beyoncé Single Ladies and the part “then you
should have put a ring on it.” It’s all downhill for Clarissa cause Lord Quinn
marries another. GASP The blackguard. He really wasn’t that great of a
catch, but now she’s in a pickle. So, we have Mr. Kincraig to save the day.
Poor Mr. Kincraig, he found himself in a compromising situation with Clarissa.
So, he’s force to do the honorable thing. He tries to weasel himself out of the
situation, but to no avail. He thought he would be able to get out of it if
announced his true name Dominick Blackmer; nope. There beginnings the
challenging beginning to their marriage.
I absolutely adored Never
Surrender to a Scoundrel, because you found Clarissa and Dominick in a
situation they both didn’t want to be and forced to marry one another. It
actually took time for them to work things out. They didn't automatic fall in
love with one another. Actually Dominick is bitter for a good portion of the
story at what happen to his life, and he wants to blame Clarissa. I love
Clarissa’s maid, because she put things into perspective and she should make
the best of the situation. Clarissa tried. So, it broke my heart when she said
this to Dominic:
“That I’m some silly
child that you’ve been saddled with, unworthy of your thoughts and cares
because most certainly they are too deep and complex for simpleminded little me
to understand.”
Right there everything started to change. Key word started.
Both had to work hard to make the marriage succeed, more so for Dominick.
Dominick had some demons that took sometime to workout. I did enjoy the twists
in the story that were causing problems for Dominick and Clarissa. Overall, I
thought this story was fantastic. I love that saw them truly working on making
the marriage work. I love Never
Surrender to a Scoundrel had my feelings going everywhere. Definitely worth
the time to read.
Copy provided by Forever Romance via NetGalley
Excerpt from Never Surrender to a Scoundrel:
He set the nightshirt back on the bed,
and spoke over his shoulder.
"I think it’s time you returned to
your room."
He spoke the words without passion. She
could only assume he’d had enough talking and wanted her to leave. The night
air chilled her skin, and she wrapped her arms around her waist for warmth. She
felt rebuffed by him. Stung. Her husband, the man with whom she would spend the
rest of her days, did not have the slightest interest in spending a moment more
in her company.
She knew she ought to calmly say ‘Very
well then, I bid you good night,’ and quit the room, but she feared with a certainty
that if she opened her mouth and attempted to utter a single syllable, her
voice would falter and reveal the confused tumult of her emotions.
Not because she cared for him. Of course she
didn’t. Clearly he did not care for her.
They’d been thrown together, and no
amount of wishful thinking or good intentions would create a spark between
them, when such a spark was never intended to be. She blinked away tears.
Foolish tears! As if he had hurt her, but he hadn’t.
It had just been a long day, and a long
night before that, and she'd made a terrible mess of everything, and she hated Quinn.
And perhaps still loved him. And she was lonely. So very lonely and frightened
of what the future held.
So instead she nodded jerkily, her chin
outthrust, and turned on her slippered foot to escape into the dark dressing
closet, taking care to close the first and the second door firmly behind her. Miss
Randolph reclined in her sleeping gown and robe on the chaise with her book
open and steepled across her forehead, snoring, which was just as well because
Clarissa could not face the woman’s questions or her pity.
She doused the lamps and, in darkness,
with only the scant light from behind the fire grate to see, crawled into bed and
lay on unfamiliar sheets, her mind tangled with thoughts of… Mr. Blackmer.
Suddenly,
the door swung open, and a shadow moved toward her, stealthily and swift, with
only the faint white swath across his hips visible in the night. She recognized
Blackmer instantly and desire ignited inside her. He
crouched above her, breathing hard, his skin still damp and the tight flex of
muscles in his shoulders darkly illuminated. The scent of the soap from his
bath filled her nostrils. Her pulse raced, her heart near exploding.
“You,” he
growled deep in his throat. “Are my preference.”
A second later, he kissed her hard,
pressing his thumb against the side of her jaw, commanding her lips to part
while his tongue boldly entered and teased. She gasped for breath, stunned into
half-senselessness…and surrendered, her mouth opening fully to accept each
deep, possessing stroke.
He gave a husky groan. His large hands
caught hers by the wrists, pinning her to the mattress. She squirmed beneath
him—but with no intent to escape.
Moments before he had dismissed her
coldly, and made her feel invisible and unwanted and yet in this moment, he
revealed his true feelings, ones he’d tried to conceal. She knew without a
doubt that her husband desired her. Something about that made her weak, and—
His mouth moved to her cheek…her neck,
leaving her skin hot and awakened wherever his lips touched. Sensations she’d
never experienced spiraled up from inside her, delicious and achingly sweet,
awakening a need in her body and rendering her unexpectedly wild.
God help her, she didn’t understand, but
she wanted him as well. The moment he released her hands she moaned and seized
his shoulders, sliding her hands upward over his neck, finding unexpected
appreciation in the powerful contraction and flux of his muscles beneath her
palms. He exhaled, filling her mouth with his breath, and sucked her bottom
lip—
Only to groan and twist away.
No. She reached, her hands trailing over
his shoulders and his arms, desperately wanting more. More of his kiss, and his
warm, firm skin. And yes, for him to ravish her so she would forget—
Then nothing.
The bed creaked, relieved of his weight. She
heard his sharp exhalation of breath--a laugh, perhaps?
“Good night then, Mrs. Blackmer,” he
murmured.
Silence filled the room.
“Good night,” she answered breathlessly.
He crossed the room, disappearing into
the dressing closet, gone the way he had come. She heard the door close.
After a long moment of silence, Miss
Randolph’s voice came from the direction of the chaise. “Well that was rather thrilling.”
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About Lily Dalton:
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.
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