About ALONG CAME A ROGUE
The Secret Life of Scoundrels, 2
Anna Harrington
Forever Romance
February 23, 2016
THE WICKEDEST SECRET . . .
Major Nathaniel Grey is free to bed whomever he wants, whenever he chooses, and that's exactly how he likes it. His only loyalties are to country and the two friends he served with-brothers he'd do anything for. So when one of them is gravely injured and asking for his little sister, Grey will move heaven and earth to bring her home. He's greeted not by the gangly girl he remembers, but a stunningly beautiful woman holding a loaded musket. And he's utterly captivated by her . . .
IS A SECRET SEDUCTION
Once upon a time, Emily would have loved nothing more than a stolen hour with her brother's best friend, the dashing officer who captured her heart and soul. But things are different now-and so is she. Gone is the eager young woman who believed in love. In her place is a widow weighed down with secrets who desperately needs to disappear before they're revealed. But Grey's sinfully sexy smile offers protection unlike anything she's ever known, tempting her to risk everything . . . even her heart.
Excerpt:
About DUKES ARE FOREVER (Book 1 in The Secret Life of Scoundrels series, out now!)
Emily leaned against the wall and
squeezed her eyes shut as she struggled to calm both her racing heart and her
swirling mind.
Captain
Nathaniel Grey…Impossible!
Yet
here he was. The man she still remembered so vividly from his visit to Ivy Glen
when she was sixteen…those chocolate eyes that crinkled when he laughed, that
mouth that grinned so charmingly, and that thick, unruly blond hair curling at
his neck. His body was broader now, the hard muscles of his chest and shoulders
much more developed, but those eyes were the same, so were the chiseled lines
of his handsome face.
Grey. She could hardly
believe it. Thomas had sent him to her after all these years, and he’d appeared
like some dashing knight in shining armor. Yet as she fought back a sob of
anguish, she knew she had no choice but to chase him away.
With
grim resolve, she pushed herself away from the wall and hurried downstairs to
the kitchen to find Yardley.
The
woman had been with her for the past two years, arriving just after Andrew
brought her to Snowden, when he decided the maid who had attended Emily since
her debut was disrespectful to him and replaced her. Emily had been devastated.
But the older woman was kind and gentle, and now Yardley was the only person in
the world she trusted with her secrets.
“My
lady.” Yardley nodded as Emily entered the kitchen, putting together a tray to
take upstairs to the men.
“We’re
having guests for the night,” Emily told her unhappily.
Yardley’s
hand froze in mid-air as she placed a saucer on the tray. “Is that wise?”
“I
don’t believe we have a choice.” She frowned as she looked down at the
shortbread on the tray. Five years ago, Grey had raved about Cook’s cinnamon
biscuits. If she had known he was coming, she would have made some for him. Yet
perhaps it was better not to make him feel too welcome, not when her primary
goal now was to drive him away.
“And
who are they, my lady?”
“Major Nathaniel Grey and his man.” Emily
hesitated. How on earth did one describe Grey? “The major is…an old family
friend.”
But
he was far more than that. Even at sixteen, she’d realized how special Grey
was. Dashing and kind, he possessed a fierce determination to carve out a brilliant
career for himself and a handsome presence that caught the ladies’ attentions.
With her, though, he’d simply captured her heart. Yet to her chagrin, he’d paid
her no more mind than a piece of furniture…until that one afternoon in the
garden.
“A
family friend, eh?” The suspicious glance Yardley gave her as she placed a
teacup onto the saucer told her that the woman didn’t believe her.
“It’s
not what you think.” Yet she couldn’t stop the blush of embarrassment heating
her cheeks.
The
last time she’d seen him, the very last time—Heavens, she’d been so
foolish! She’d asked him to give her a kissing lesson so she would know what to
do with suitors…or some such silly nonsense she barely remembered now. Yet her
manipulation worked, and he’d kissed her. It had been the most magical moment
of her young life, until her parents stumbled upon them. Amid angry shouts and
accusations, Grey left Ivy Glen, with Thomas riding away after him. And two
days later, she was sent to boarding school where her parents hoped to keep her
away from “upstarts” like the captain.
“Major
Grey served with my brother in the wars,” she explained, with more pride than
she had a right to feel. Even after suffering the consequences of what she’d
done that day, she couldn’t forget him and followed him the best she could
through Thomas’s letters—her heart soaring with his heroics, laughing at his
antics, even crying when he’d been wounded. She’d been so upset, in fact, that
she wrote to his parents to assure them that he had
friends in her family, only for the letters to return undelivered. “I trust
him.” I think…
Yardley
removed the water from the stove and poured it into the teapot, giving Emily a
wary look “Why do I suspect there’s more you’re not telling?”
She
bit her lip and divulged with embarrassment, “When I was a girl, I fancied
him.”
Yardley
paused as she set the teapot onto the tray.
“It’s
nothing to worry about now,” she insisted. She shrugged it away as the childish
infatuation it was.
But
it wasn’t childish infatuation which had just made her curl her hands around
his lapels and attempt to pull him closer, that had her pulse racing and her
body tingling in the most intimate places—
Silently,
she cursed herself. It wasn’t Grey that made her behave like such a cake. It
couldn’t possibly be him. Certainly, she’d gotten over her fascination
with him years ago.
About DUKES ARE FOREVER (Book 1 in The Secret Life of Scoundrels series, out now!)
ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE
Battlefields and barrooms hold much more interest for Edward Westover, Duke of Strathmore, than a little girl's fondness for dolls and lace. When he takes possession of his enemy's estate, everything that villain held dear-including his daughter-belongs to Edward. Hire a governess, arrange a dowry, give a few reassurances, and be off on his way-that's Edward's plan. But he's in for the shock of his life. For his new ward is a beautiful, impetuous, and utterly irresistible woman . . .
. . . AND WAR
Kate Benton is stunned. Who is this arrogant, infuriating man who's invited himself into her home and taken over her life? Her vow: to do everything in her power to convince him to leave her-and Brambly House-alone. Yet as chilly days melt into sultry nights, Kate sees glimpses of kindness underneath Edward's cool façade . . . and a passionate nature that takes her breath away. There's so much she doesn't know about this man. But does she dare trust this devilish duke with her heart?
Anna is an English professor in Chattanooga Tennessee and a lover of all things chocolate and coffee. She's a member of RWA and when she's not hard at work writing her next book or planning her next series, she's watching BBC and piloting her own aircrafts.
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