No Groom at the Inn: A Dukes Behaving Badly Novella (11 page)
Read No Groom at the Inn: A Dukes Behaving Badly Novella Online
Authors: Megan Frampton
My lord.
So she didn’t know who he was. Did that please him or annoy him?
“No,” he said, and the word, the word he wished he could say to all those people who wanted things from him, wanted him to appear at their events just because he was a duke, slid from his lips as easily as if he’d been saying it his entire life.
“No?” She repeated him, imbuing the word with humor, again, as though that was what she always did. She walked further into the room, her skirts rustling with a soft
sh-sh-sh
. “Then we are here together. Perhaps we should be introduced, although there is no one here to accommodate us.” She stepped closer, stopping to rest her hand on the back of one of the sofas. “I am Lady Margaret Sawford.” A pause. She tilted her head at him. “And this is where you should offer who you are.”
“Oh, yes.” Had he ever encountered such an odd woman? But not odd in an unpleasant way. In fact, the way she was looking at him, so directly, so appraisingly, was entirely refreshing. Of course once she knew who he was, that would all change.
“Yes, Your Grace, I will leave immediately.”
Or, worse yet, maybe not
—“No, Your Grace, what will people say if they knew we were alone together? You have compromised me, and now you must do the right thing.”
“I am the Duke of Lasham. I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Lady Margaret.”
She nodded her head, and he saw her smile. “Excellent, Your Grace. Now we are improperly introduced.” She gestured to the sofa. “Would you mind if I sat? I promise not to speak, I just want to sit in here a moment.”
Lasham couldn’t speak himself, he was so taken aback. She—she wasn’t here to entrap him, or engage his interest, or anything beyond, apparently, wishing for a moment alone.
He watched as she looked at him for a few more seconds, shrugged, then sat down and leaned her head back, closing her eyes.
“You can sit, as well, if you want.” She spoke with her eyes still closed. “If you’re not going to leave, which you said you weren’t.”
“But—” And here Lasham finally found his words. “But if we are discovered, that will put you in a very awkward situation. That is, we being together, it isn’t—well, it isn’t proper,” and didn’t he sound like the most stuffy prig in the world, lecturing her on propriety when he’d himself told her no.
She chuckled. “And then what? You will no doubt make all sorts of proper offers, and then I will very improperly say no, and my reputation will be blackened a bit more.” She opened her eyes and turned her head to regard him. “It is not the end of the world.”
He gaped at her. Not the end of the world? Who was she? Where was the usual response of “Oh, Your Grace, of course, yes, I will leave, or yes, I will marry you, or yes, it will be just as you wish”?
And this woman, this person who’d dared to stare so boldly at him, who’d refused his request, even knowing it came from a duke, had just informed him it would not be the end of the world if they were discovered. That she would not insist on marrying him, or otherwise forcing his hand in any way.
And, contradictorily, that just made him want to know her more.
M
EGAN FRAMPTON
writes historical romance under her own name and romantic women’s fiction under the name Megan Caldwell. She likes the color black, gin, dark-haired British men, and huge earrings, not in that order. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and son. You can visit her website at
www.meganframpton.com
. She tweets as @meganf and is at
Facebook.com/meganframptonbooks
.
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MONTANA HEARTS: HER WEEKEND WRANGLER
By Darlene Panzera
A
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NIFORM
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By Codi Gary
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ENEDICTION
N
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By Shelly Bell
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RIGHTWATER
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By Lia Riley
An Excerpt from
MONTANA HEARTS: HER WEEKEND WRANGLER
by Darlene Panzera
Darlene Panzera returns with a sweet new Western series perfect for fans of Debbie Macomber’s heartwarming romances.
Bree Collins has finally come home to Fox Creek, Montana, to manage her family’s guest ranch. She knows she can handle any challenges that come her way, but when the infuriating Ryan Tanner reappears in her life, Bree suddenly has doubts about her ability to stay professional—and away from the handsome cowboy.
B
ree stayed a few more minutes to watch them sway in time to the music, then spun around to search for the three CEOs and collided straight into a hard, chiseled chest. A soothing warmth spread over her entire body as she glanced up into Ryan’s handsome face and gasped. “You’re here.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
She leaned to the side and glanced at the three men behind him. “And you brought your
brothers
!”
“Yeah, they’re the reason I’m late. They didn’t want to come but I knew how much it meant to you, and
why
,” he said, giving her a mischievous grin. “So I had to negotiate a deal to get them here.”
Bree smiled because of the way his mouth twitched when he grinned, because of the excitement in his eyes when he looked at her, and because of the way his dark navy blue dress shirt and jeans clung to his splendid physique.
Whoa, girl! Remember to keep it
casual
.
Recollecting her thoughts, she met his gaze and asked, “What kind of deal?”
Ryan placed a hand on either side of her waist, his touch firm and . . . pleasantly possessive. “I had to trade them my earnings from working your ranch so they can buy a set of new tires for their quad.”
He did that for her?
“Which means,” he continued, flashing her another pulse-kicking grin, “I’m a little short on money and I’d be willing to be your weekend wrangler for the rest of the summer, if you’ll have me.”
Stunned, Bree sucked in her breath and stared at him, unable to speak, unable to process exactly what this would mean for her family, unable to think of anything except that Ryan Tanner was absolutely, undeniably, the very, very best! With a little hop, she squealed, unable to hold back her delight, and with her heart taking the lead, she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him.
It was a quick kiss, over before she even realized what she had done, but when Bree pulled back she didn’t know who was more surprised, she or Ryan.
His gaze locked with hers for several long, breathless moments, then he cupped her cheek with his hand and drew her back toward him . . . and this time he kissed
her.
His mouth was warm, tender, and soft against her own and filled with such passion she blocked out every sound around them, every presence, everything except the fact that Ryan Tanner, the guy she’d wanted to dance with since high school, held her in his arms.
An Excerpt from
A Men in Uniform Novella
by Codi Gary
Sergeant Oliver Martinez joined the military to serve his country—not plan parties. But after a run-in with his commanding officer, Oliver is suddenly responsible for an upcoming canine charity event. Worse, he’s got to work with the bossiest, sexiest woman he’s ever met—who just happens to be the general’s daughter. When tempers flare and a scorching kiss turns into so much more, Oliver and Eve will have to decide if this attraction is forever . . . or just for now.
T
he dog bounded to her, wiggling and licking wherever he could. She held her hand behind her, and Oliver gave her the leash. Once she had it hooked onto Beast’s collar, she stood up with a mischievous smile. “I don’t know why he gives you so much trouble.”
“Oh, I’m sure Best put him up to it,” Oliver grumbled.
“Ah, and he gets a kick out of messing with you, huh?”
“That’s just because I’ve let it go until now, but the dude owes me a sofa and chair.”
Eve laughed and held the leash out to him. “I wonder if maybe you two just got off on the wrong foot. Perhaps you should open your mind to the possibility that Beast has issues and this is his way of dealing with them.”
Oliver took her advice with a healthy dose of skepticism. “What makes you think he has issues?”
“Well, for starters, he came from the animal shelter, so he’s got to have some baggage. The question is, was he turned in because he has behavioral problems and his previous owners just couldn’t deal? Or were the owners jackasses who just didn’t want him anymore?” Her tone was sad as she added, “If he was loved, it’s easy to assume that he is confused and misses it.”
Oliver studied Eve. Her dreamy, sweet expression tugged at his heart and he wondered who she was thinking about. A loved one she missed? A past lover? A bitter rush of jealousy churned in his stomach. He didn’t want to think about another man having even a sliver of Evelyn’s affections. Not when he wanted them all to himself.
“How is it you seem to know so much about what he’s feeling? Are you an event planner by day and dog psychic by night?” He had been trying to make a joke, but one look at her face told him he’d insulted her.
“I’m just making an observation,” she said curtly.
“Hey.” He reached out and touched her arm, turning her toward him. “I was just teasing you.”
She remained silent, and he took her chin in his hand, tilting her gaze up to meet his. “Why does it always seem like I can never say the right thing to you?”
A small smile played across those bee-stung lips. “Maybe I make you nervous.”
Oliver rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip and her sharp, warm breath spread over his skin. “Oh, you definitely make me nervous.”
“I do?” Her breathless question stirred his cock to life.
“Yeah, you do. I can’t relax around you, not with the way you make me feel,” he said.
“How is that?” Her tone was soft, and Oliver dipped his head, his mouth hovering over hers.
“Like I’m standing in the sunshine every time I’m near you,” he said.
“Oh.”
Oliver didn’t give her a chance to escape this time and covered her mouth with his, groaning as the sweet taste of her overwhelmed him. His hands slid back to cradle the back of her head, sliding his fingers into her hair and loosening her ponytail. A tiny sigh escaped her and he took advantage, slipping his tongue between her parted lips, coming undone when her tongue tangled with his. He felt her hands grip his waist, pulling him tighter against her body and he wanted more. Never had he gotten so caught up in one kiss. And never had he ignored every warning bell for a woman, but with Evelyn, it was like common sense went out the window and was replaced by uncontrolled passion.
Oliver felt something pushing between them and opened his eyes to look down at Beast, who was trying to use his giant head to separate them. Ignoring him, Oliver maneuvered them toward the couch, tumbling Eve down onto the mangled leather.
The kiss broke long enough for Eve’s eyes to pop open and she giggled. “Somehow, I never imagined making out on a cloud of couch stuffing.”
Oliver grinned down at her. “What can I say? I’m an original.”
“You’re definitely different,” she said.
“Is that a compliment?” His lips found the pulse point behind her ear and he felt her heart race against his mouth.
“I think so.”
“You don’t sound sure,” he murmured against her jaw.
“Probably ’cause I can’t think while you’re kissing me,” she whispered.
His mouth brushed hers. “Want me to stop?”
“God, no.”
An Excerpt from
A Benediction Novel
by Shelly Bell
In the next sexy and suspenseful novel from Shelly Bell, an investigative reporter and an ex-military Dom witness a murder outside of the sex club, Benediction, and uncover a deadly political conspiracy while trying to clear their names . . .
An Avon Red Impulse Novel
P
uffing on his Cuban cigar, the Senator reclined in his chair, a tumbler of scotch on the rocks in front of him. He stared down the two men sitting on the other side of his desk, daring them to repeat the words that had just been uttered.
Sweating profusely, FBI Agent Seymour Fink tugged on his tie, his Adam’s apple bobbing above the buttoned collar of his shirt.
For a moment, the Senator considered retrieving his gun from his desk drawer and shooting the agent in the head, but he couldn’t risk getting blood or splatters of brain matter on his tuxedo. After all, he had an important dinner to attend in an hour and didn’t want to disappoint his wife.
He downed the rest of his drink, then shook the ice in the glass the way he’d like to shake the mobster who was fucking with him. “Tell me what you’re going to do to fix the problem,” he said calmly, unwilling to allow this minor bump in the road to waylay his plans.
“Do, sir?” Using the sleeve of his suit jacket, Agent Fink wiped the sweat from his brow, cigar smoke circling around his head like a boa constrictor. “I’m not certain we should do—”
“You listen to me, you little prick. There is nothing that will stand in my way.” The Senator hurled his tumbler against the wall above the fireplace, shattering the glass into a million tiny pieces. “Do you understand me? I’ve got your balls in a vise underneath my blade, so let’s try this again. What are you going to do to fix the problem?”
Seymour swallowed convulsively. “No one was supposed to get hurt.”
“Don’t pull that bullshit now. You knew when I approached you that lives would be lost for the greater good,” the Senator said. He handed off his cigar and nodded to the other agent, a bruiser of a man who he’d chosen not only for his twenty years of service to this country, but for his lack of empathy. Agent Richard Evans understood the risks involved in his job, the three bullets he’d taken in the chest a testament to that fact.
Evans pinched the fat cigar between his fingers and in a flash, locked his partner’s head under his arm, pinning Fink’s hands to the table and singeing the top of one with the foot of the cigar. Fink screamed, his smaller body thrashing wildly as he fruitlessly tried to escape from his partner and the pain he was inflicting.
The acrid scent of burnt flesh overpowered the cigar’s sweet one, a smell he would forever more attribute to power.
By the time Evans released him, Fink’s skin had turned pasty white, his shirt completely drenched from his sweat. He breathed heavily, nodding. “Consider the problem solved, sir. By this time tomorrow night, Rinaldi will be dead.”
The Senator leaned back in his chair and smiled.
God bless the USA.
T
ouring the dungeon located in the basement of a private mansion, Rachel Dawson ignored the decadent sights and sounds of sex going on all around her and kept her eye on the prize. After working her ass off to gain entrance into Benediction, the prestigious sex club owned by Cole DeMarco, she was finally here.
Although it was early in the evening and most of the upstairs fantasy rooms were still vacant, she’d gotten to play the role of voyeur as she’d observed two different scenes. The “teacher” bending the “schoolgirl” over his desk and smacking her with a ruler had titillated her, but Rachel had remained a removed observer, her body not engaged by the fantasy.
Then she remembered she wasn’t at Benediction to fulfill her fantasies or to act as voyeur. She was there to do a story about BDSM and for that, she needed to go to the dungeon.
Unlike the fantasy rooms, the dungeon was packed. In here, the sights, smells, and sounds of passion and pain seduced her senses. The potent scents of leather, musk, and sweat teased her with the promise of sex. Everywhere Rachel looked, people indulged in their kinks without judgment or recrimination.
Her mouth grew dry at the sight of a naked woman suspended from the ceiling by rope and flowing white sheets, twirling as if she was an acrobat in a circus act.
Who had bound that woman? Was
he
here tonight?
