Eleanor Goodwin dreams about falling in love with the kind of hero she writes about in her novels.
When Eleanor first heard about Lord Alexander Summerson he seemed to fulfil all her dreams of a romantic hero and he became the model for the heroes in her own books. Drawn to his darkly dark good looks and brooding nature, she imagines she will be able to inspire him to love her with a fervent passion to match her own.
Summerson has no interest
in falling in love, especially when a woman arrives at his ancestral home with
a son, claiming to be the widow of his elder brother. He seeks out the help of
Lord Robert Medwell, Eleanor’s guardian and one of the Spymasters who worked to
protect England during the war with Napoleon.
While seeking answers, he becomes better acquainted with Eleanor and enjoys her company.
But Eleanor's relationship with Summerson leads her into danger and he must rescue her and clear his name of the slanderous accusations brought against him before their love can flourish.
Publisher's Note: This steamy Regency romance contains elements of power exchange.
Excerpt @2024 Kathy Leigh
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He raised his hand and trailed the pad of his leather-glove-covered forefinger down the column of her throat. She swallowed and took a deep breath but did not pull back. He pressed a little harder, feeling the throb of her lifeblood beneath his finger. His voice was rough as he said, just loud enough for her to hear above the crashing waves and constant wind, "And what about yourself? What kind of hope do you have for yourself?" She looked up at him without wavering, unable to articulate the cravings of her heart, but her eyes revealed all he needed to know. He dropped his voice so low, it seemed to meld with the wind. "Let me teach you about the passion a man and woman can create and your writing will break free from the rigid confines of secondhand experience." His
eyes burned with a desire that sent tendrils of fire unfurling through Nell,
heating her body and causing her heart to beat erratically. She was tempted
by the lure, the seduction, the power of his promise, and for one abandoned
moment, she wanted to throw herself into his strong arms and feel his supple
lips against hers. He rested his finger in the hollow of her throat as if he
knew exactly what her body needed. She blinked and then stepped back but was still close enough to feel the heat that radiated from him and the compelling power of his presence. His expression did not change although for a moment, so brief, she wasn't sure if she had imagined it, he looked disappointed. "No." The word almost choked her. His right eyebrow rose just a fraction. "No?" he repeated. The huskiness returned. "You don't want me to kiss your mouth, to touch your body until you plead for more of me and forget everything, even your own name?" Nell swallowed again and his fingers pressed more firmly against her throat as he absorbed her uncertainty and fear of yielding to his seductive promises. "I-I don't want to marry." She didn't add the word you, but it hung in the air between them. He gave a dry laugh. "For all your eccentricities, you are very conventional at heart and the purity of your heart makes it difficult for you to tell a lie. I wasn't proposing marriage, my sweet Persephone." Even as he said the words, he silently added the word yet. For the first time in his life, he envisaged a future with a woman. The years unfolded before him with Nell seated across from him at the breakfast table, reading in his library, walking through his gardens with their child beside her, spread out naked on his bed as he lay beside her, placing kisses all along her soft skin. Her eyes flared wide with shock and a touch of disappointment. Tender understanding softened his eyes, but he said nothing, simply touching her with the tip of one finger while she battled to come to terms with what he was offering her. When she did speak, her voice was brittle. "Thank you, but no, my lord. I will not accept a carte blanche to become your mistress, because after five Seasons, I have not secured a husband and must, therefore, be desperate for the attention of any man, especially one notorious for his disdain of women." She was aggrieved and indignant and more than a little hurt. She had not expected a man as sophisticated and experienced as Alexander Summerson to want to marry her, but hearing him say so made her feel inadequate and unfeminine and brought all her unhappiness at never having been loved rushing to the surface. His
fingers spread around her neck in what should have been a threatening
movement but made her feel safer, as if Lord Summerson somehow held her life
in his hands as a precious trust. "You misunderstand me, Miss Goodwin." Her mouth opened but he placed the forefinger of his other hand over her lips and she swallowed her protest. His eyes were sincere and his tone more gentle than she had ever heard, but he exuded power that made it impossible for her to do anything except listen. "Keeping a woman as a mistress is a calculated business transaction, not unlike that between husbands and wives. Or men and harlots," he added almost as an afterthought. Her
eyes flared with indignation, but his expression did not waver and his finger
kept her from voicing her protest. "I am suggesting something different.
Hades led Persephone into his realm where she was free to discover the
darkness of passion few people ever have the courage to know. Although
I have had many lovers and indulged my taste for dark pleasures, you are the first woman of my acquaintance who stimulates me on every level. Someone as intelligent and sensitive as you will be more receptive to what I can offer than anyone I have ever known. Beneath your innocence, you burn with curiosity to experience the carnal passion of my world. Come with me into the darkness and plummet depths of desire that will satisfy the deepest longings of your soul." Nell listened to him, more moved by the fire in his dark eyes and the barely concealed desire in his voice than the actual words he spoke. Her voice was hoarse as she contemplated his offer. "The words with which you lure me are just as forceful as Hades' ropes that bound Persephone." She swallowed. "Reality is far more frightening than fiction. I am not sure I am ready for the experience you describe." The longing in her eyes and the breathlessness in her voice belied her words. Summerson
smiled. He knew that she would capitulate, would surrender her sweet body to
his control. And somehow, he knew that, with her, he, too, would experience
dizzying heights of passion and pleasure that he had never felt before. |
Alicia Goodwin experiments with new ideas in science but can she understand the volatile chemistry of love?
Alicia Goodwin prefers books and microscopes to balls and soirees. Only once, has she enjoyed dancing, but that was two years ago and the fleeting attraction between her and Jasper Keeton faded when he left London.
But when he returns to London to seek the help of her guardian, the Earl of Medwell, the chemistry between them is reignited. Alicia finds her loyalties torn between her rekindled love for Jasper and her new friend, Belinda Bennet.
Jasper accuses Belinda’s brother of being involved in the unexpected death of his father and at the center of a plot to assassinate the Duke of Wellington and free Napoleon from his exile on Elba.
As Ali tries to help Belinda clear her brother’s name and discover the truth about Jasper’s father, they become embroiled in events that could end in tragedy.
Can Ali convince Jasper that Belinda is not the enemy? At the same time, her love for Jasper becomes more complicated and intense.
Will love triumph, no matter the difficulties it faces?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kathy Leigh has loved books and writing since she could first follow the stories in her bedtime tales.
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