To Seduce a Rogue

First published in paperback by Kensington Publishing

Copyright  2000, 2012 by Tracy Sumner

Ebook published by Tracy Sumner 2012

Cover Copyright 2012
HOT DAMN Designs

Ebook Design by
A Thirsty Mind

Without limiting the rights under copyright(s) reserved above and below, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

Please Note

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

The scanning, uploading, and distributing of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the copyright owner is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Welcome back to Edgemont, South Carolina. You first met Adam Chase and Charlotte Whitney in TO DESIRE A SCOUNDREL, and I promised their love story—so here it is! TO SEDUCE A ROGUE holds a very special place in my heart; Adam and Charlotte were the first characters I ever created. They were a couple
I
knew were destined to be together. I loved writing the fireworks, the love and the passion between them.

I’m thrilled by your response to the novels and appreciate your emails, reviews and blog posts more than you know. I’m easily reached at
[email protected]
. Or check out my website:
www.tracysumner.com
. Sign up for my newsletter to find out about new releases, contests and more. I’m also on Facebook (
Facebook.com/TracySumnerRomanceAuthor
) and Twitter (@SumnerTracy).

My next release (April 2012) marks the start of a new contemporary series, and this summer the much-requested finale to the Seaswept Seduction Series will arrive, TIDES OF DESIRE. Yes, Caleb’s story! The number of readers who have contacted me to ask about Caleb has been thrilling to say the least. I originally wrote TIDES OF LOVE and TIDES OF PASSION without a plan for Caleb, and I’m not entirely sure why that is. Maybe he and I needed time to figure out what he wanted in life. Zach is the reliable brother, Noah the sexy genius, and Caleb is stuck in the middle struggling to find his place in the world. Of course, he needs someone wonderful to assist in his “life exploration”, as I like to think of it. And I have just the woman for him.

Happy reading,

Tracy

Learn more about the author and her books at
http://www.TracySumner.com

Disbelief

The inability or refusal to believe or to accept something as true.

Edgemont, South Carolina

Summer 1850

Adam Chase clenched his fists and groaned. Was the trifling amount of whiskey he’d consumed making him see things?

A woman?
Charlie
Whitney, a woman?

He squinted. Nope. She was still sitting there, rump perched on the edge of the chair, feet barely brushing the sawdust-covered floor. Her fingers wrapped around a pencil, deliberate energy he could feel from across the room pushing it across paper.

He wiped his hand across his brow and began a slow advance, feeling as if an angry jury was waiting on the other side. “Excuse me,” he said when he reached her.

Behind them, the saloon’s doors blew open and fragrant air enveloped him. A childhood memory beckoned: arms cradling him, a plump bosom beneath his cheek. Roses. The fragrance invariably recalled another life.

How appalling to recall it
now
.

With part of his mind lodged in the past, he thoughtlessly uttered the first thing that came into it: “Is it a good idea for a woman be in here alone?”

She tilted her head and frowned at him. He noted the rush of color that crossed her cheeks.  “If you’re looking for company, she’s by the piano.” She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder, then turned back to her work.

He followed her gesture, his gaze landing on a blond slouched against the dark, startlingly varnished bar. He pulled his gaze back. “I can assure you I’m not seeking company.”

She glanced at him then—a sharp assessment. A thin shaft of light revealed sea blue eyes. As things seemed to go in Adam’s world, the woman was a lovely, sweet-smelling Charlie. Couldn’t a horse-faced, amazingly gifted Charlie been at the helm of the
Edgemont
Sentinel
?

“I think I should introduce myself.” Adam wondered how, exactly, a man introduced himself to a woman in a saloon who
wasn’t
looking for company. “Adam Chase. New editor of the
Sentinel
.”

“Editor,” she said as she stood, her chair skidding out behind her.

Before she could leave, Adam reached across the table and captured her wrist. He had not expected such unrestrained anger, and he acted a bit without thinking. Perhaps it would help to tell her that this decision had been forced on him as well. “We need to talk.”

Her pupils darkened as she wrenched her wrist free. “I have nothing to discuss.” Tearing her gaze from his, she skirted the side of the table farthest from him.

As she neared the door, he called out the name. The name he thought went with her.

She didn’t turn, but Adam caught the subtle hitch in her step. And even his annoyance couldn’t erase the vision of her enticingly slender bottom swinging as she marched away.

Charlie
.

Damn, what a long summer it promised to be.

* * *

“So, she was difficult?”

Adam adjusted the lever and reached for a hammer. A well-placed whack popped the cylinder into place. With swift efficiency, he hopped to his feet and dusted his hands on his legs. “Difficult. Yes.”

“I guess it’s only to be expected.”

“Hmmm.” He did not care to discuss Charlie Whitney. Rebellious, temperamental...
female
. He lifted his hands before his face. Ink stained them, some of which he had wiped on his trousers.

Gerald Lambert, pressman for the
Sentinel
for over twenty years, walked to a crate sitting behind the press. He came back with a rag hanging from his fingers.

“Thanks.” Adam took the cloth. They stood in silence as he cleaned his palms.