Blurb: Damian,
Earl of Windermere, rues the day he drunkenly gambled away his family's estate
and was forced into marriage to reclaim it. Now, after hiding out from his new
bride for a year, Damian is finally called home, only to discover that his
modest bride has become an alluring beauty—and rumor has it that she's taken a
lover. Damian vows to keep his wife from straying again, but to do so he must
seduce her—and protect his heart from falling for the wife he never knew he
wanted.
Cynthia never aspired to be the subject of scandal. But with her husband off gallivanting across Persia, what was a lady to do? Flirting shamelessly with his former best friend seemed like the perfect revenge . . . except no matter how little Damian deserves her loyalty, Cynthia can't bring herself to be unfaithful. But now that the scoundrel has returned home, Cynthia isn't about to forgive his absence so easily—even if his presence stirs something in her she'd long thought dead and buried. He might win her heart . . . if he can earn her forgiveness!
Cynthia never aspired to be the subject of scandal. But with her husband off gallivanting across Persia, what was a lady to do? Flirting shamelessly with his former best friend seemed like the perfect revenge . . . except no matter how little Damian deserves her loyalty, Cynthia can't bring herself to be unfaithful. But now that the scoundrel has returned home, Cynthia isn't about to forgive his absence so easily—even if his presence stirs something in her she'd long thought dead and buried. He might win her heart . . . if he can earn her forgiveness!
Excerpt: He couldn’t
have said who kissed whom first but declared it a tie because when it came down
to it, who cared? All that mattered was she was intoxicating and finally he was
going to put an end to far too long a celibacy. Somehow his exhilarated brain
kept a grasp on his good intentions. His physical condition was approaching
desperation and he doubted he’d last long enough to please anyone in his
current state. He needed to slow down.
She lolled
against the cushions, a golden angel in a den of iniquity, her eyes big and
dreamy, her hair a honeyed cloud, her lips plump and dark from his kisses and
asking for more. She represented an invitation to sin as sultry as any Persian
houri, despite her nightgown, covering her from chin to toe like a nun. True,
it was an improvement over the thick flannel shroud. It fell smoothly about her
curves, giving him a better impression of her figure than he’d yet been
afforded: high breasts, a small waist, and a lovely curve of the hips. Through
the superfine cambric he caught a shadowy impression of nipples; dark pink, he
fancied. His favorite kind. With thickened fingers he unlooped the button at
her neck, and couldn’t resist the indentation of her collarbone, allowing
himself a quick taste of the tender skin. She arched into his mouth and the
nightgown fell open, revealing round, pert breasts that his palms itched to
touch. “You are lovely,” he whispered. “I want to see all of you.”
He could have bit his tongue, thinking he was going too fast, but he needn’t have worried. The fragrant smoke or some other cause had shredded her inhibitions. With two shrugs and a wriggle she got out of her nightdress, tossing it aside, and arranged herself on the claret-colored velvet like a goddess in an Italian painting. She took his breath away. How could he have ever made the mistake of thinking her short and dumpy? She was a pocket Venus, perfectly proportioned, with ravishing curves to her arms and thighs, and narrow waist above a gently swelling belly.
“You are absolutely made to be naked,” he said with a voice full of awe. “It’s a crime that such beauty should be hidden.”
“A hanging offense or transportation?”
Her smile would entice a monastery of abbots to mass fornication. She stretched like a sensual cat, undulating her hips to draw attention to the blond thatch of her pubis. The anticipation of possession tortured him. It was impossible to believe that he’d had her before, unaware what a treasure he had captured. But now he had to make sure that she was so incredibly satisfied that she would never again give Julian Fortescue as much as a passing thought.
Available for purchase at: Amazon
Since moving to Vermont, she has worked in Special Collections at Dartmouth College and as an editor and journalist on Behind the Times, a small, idiosyncratic (and now defunct) monthly newspaper. She is the owner and editor of a weekly advertiser in the Upper Valley, a job that leaves her enough time to write fiction.
Her first book, Never Resist Temptation. was published by Avon in 2009. The first two books in the Burgundy Club series will be published in 2010.
She lives with her daugher, Becca, a college student and confirmed drama queen, and two cats who are never on the right side of any door.
Be sure to visit Miranda at: Website
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