An Affair So Destined


Book Description

Rumored to be more than just a murderer… Lord Ambrose Ravenner, Marquess Blackraven, has been shunned by the whole of society following the death of his wife and the shocking events that transpired at her funeral which resulted in his mother-in-law’s demise. But shunned or not, he needs an heir and that means getting himself a wife. Braving society, he enters Almack’s, the very heart of the marriage mart. And there he meets the one woman who braves the censure of everyone who matters by speaking to him openly and claiming a purely fabricated acquaintance with him… A spinster courting scandal… Miss Mathilda Featherington is all the things society despises in a woman. She is plain, she is plump, she is poor and she is unmarried. In short, they would pity her if they were not so utterly confounded by the fact that she doesn’t have any desire to change anything about herself. Except her circumstances have altered, and rather than just being poor, now her entire family faces the possibility of debtor’s prison if she does not find a husband who possesses both a fortune and a generous nature. But neither of those things enters her mind when she sees the darkly handsome Marquess. Instead, she acts purely on impulse and makes a muddle of everything. Banished to a country house party to avert scandal after her impetuousness at Almack’s, Mathilda has been instructed by her aunt, in no uncertain terms, that she is to flirt shamelessly and make a match with Sir Wilbur Martens, a grotesque man more than a decade older than her father. But Mathilda’s mother has other plans… and they include the Marquess. But Mrs. Featherington isn’t the only one who is meddling. Amrbose’s aunts, Athena and Minerva, have conducted a love spell on his behalf… and muddled it horribly. Mathilda is supposed to make a match with Sir Wilbur. Miss Abbingford is determined to make a match with the Marquess. The aunts have no notion which of the young ladies is the soulmate they conjured for their nephew. But by fate, destiny, magic or a matchmaking mama, Ambrose and Mathilda only have eyes for one another…




The Enticement of an Earl


Book Description

Spencer, Lord Wolverston and newly named Earl of Kinraven, has found peace in the wilds of Scotland. Free from the torment of seeing the woman he desires above all things but can never have, he’s slowly finding his footing in the world again as he attempts to restore the impoverished estate. But that new found peace comes crashing down around him when the source of his misery arrives on his doorstep, half frozen and injured from a carriage accident. With no other option, he opens his home to her, knowing that his heart will soon follow, whether he wishes it or not. Miss Larissa Walters has fled London, seeking out the bastion of safety and security that has always been Lord Wolverston. Spencer saved her once before and she’s counting on him to do so again when an old threat returns. But as she convalesces within the dark and gloomy walls of Kinraven, she soon realizes that she isn’t the only one in danger. There are dark forces at work at Kinraven. An ages old curse that has systematically destroyed every heir to the earldom has taken hold of Spencer. In order to save him, she’ll have to conquer the thing she fears most… love.




A Heart So Wicked


Book Description

One youthful indiscretion has left Kit Wexford with a reputation in tatters and an unfortunate nickname—Wicked Wexford. But it was her father’s financial ruin that altered her life irrevocably and saw her scrubbing floors in her cousin’s country home. Treated worse than the servants, she tolerates the lowering existence because to do otherwise would see her brother and herself in the workhouse. But when a stranger arrives in the small village of Lofton, claiming to be the long lost heir to the late Lord Hadley, things take a turn from bad to simply strange. Malcolm Bryant never wanted to be a Lord Anything. As an American, the rules of English high society escape him. What hasn’t escaped him are the numerous restrictions enumerated by the solicitors on the bride he must choose in order to maintain control of the late Lord Hadley’s fortune. She must be of good family. She must have local collections. She must be gently bred. They never said she had to be chaste. And after one brief, charged encounter with Miss Katherine Wexford, he knows that no one else will do. Ruined and impoverished or not, he’ll have her as his wife. Then he’ll show her just how glorious it can be to be wicked… and wanton.




A Love So Dark


Book Description

Having no fortune, a negligible reputation, and an appearance that could only be described as plain, Miss Olympia Daventry has few prospects. Unless, of course, she elects to remain in her aunt's home dodging her uncle's amourous advances and his sermons, both of which are dished out in equal measure. Out of desperation, she accepts an offer of marriage from a man she has never met. Married by proxy, she travels to his home and at her first sight of it, begins to wonder if perhaps she has not made a terrible mistake. Dark, ominous, foreboding—that description fits both Darkwood Hall and her new husband, Lord Albus Griffin, Viscount Darke. Griffin had vowed never to marry, but the terms of his meddling aunt's will have left him no other option if he intends to preserve Darkwood Hall and the secrets it holds. But he'd instructed his solicitor to secure a wife for him that would never tempt him to consummate their union. And yet Olympia tempts him at every turn. She incites in him such lust and desire, such possessiveness, that he fears the madness that threatens all the men of his line has finally claimed him. But there are other dangers lurking within the walls of Darkwood Hall, secrets and plots, enemies that will stop at nothing to destroy them. Tempted, torn, and tormented by wanting what he should not let himself have, Griffin is lost... but for once he is not alone.




Veil of Shadows


Book Description

Newly married, Adelaide Llewellyn, is struggling to find her place in her distant husband's life and in his ancestral home of Cysgod Lys. Surrounded by bitter enemies, lies and the dark secrets that have haunted his family for generations, there is much to be feared. But the danger she faces is as much from the living as the dead. There are dark and unnatural things lurking within the walls of Cysgod Lys and on the moor that flanks it. They've made their presence and their power known to her. But Adelaide will not be ruled by fear and she will not simply give in to it. She means to fight for her home and for her husband, no matter what may come.




The Haunting of a Duke


Book Description

Communing with spirits has been both gift and curse to Emme Walters. Now it's made her a killer's target. Emme knows why the Dowager Duchess of Briarleigh invited her to a house party--to investigate whether the duke, Rhys Brammel, murdered his wife years ago. But Emme never imagined she would fall in love with the brooding duke. Branded by society as a possible killer, Rhys is suspicious of Emme and her alleged "gift." Then a late night encounter creates awareness of her other, more attractive, aspects. When Emme's life is threatened, Rhys becomes her protector. Emme and Rhys find passion and peril as they join forces to solve the mysteries at Briarleigh. She made him believe in spirits, but can she make him believe in love?




The Redemption of a Rogue


Book Description

Lord Michael Sutherland, Viscount Ellersleigh, is infamous amongst the ton for his powers of seduction and his prowess as a lover. Running from his own ennui and a lover who fancies herself his future wife, Michael retreats to the country and a crumbling, haunted castle won in a game of chance... a castle occupied by an innocent and oh so tempting young woman, Miss Abbigail Barrows. But country life proves to be anything but quiet. At a debauched house party, Michael finds himself confronted with an unfortunate quandary, marry Abbigail, an innocent, or hang for murder. Residing at Blagdon Hall, Michael's faced with the dilemmas of seducing his new wife, who seems to be impervious to his charm, and unraveling the mystery of Blagdon Hall's resident ghost and the nefarious goings on at the neighboring estate.




Worth the Wait


Book Description

An impoverished spinster, Miss Augusta Penworth is not living the life she had once envisioned for herself. Beset by a series of tragedies that altered the trajectory of her life beyond measure, she struggles to get by, sharing a small house with another gently bred woman in similar circumstances. When Hugh Elliott, Lord Elwynn, comes crashing back into her life, reminding her of the hopes and dreams she’d once had for her future, Augusta is torn. She wants to believe that she can still claim the life and the love that she’d once been promised. But fear is an ugly thing, and when it’s accompanied by severely wounded pride, it can be insurmountable. Recently widowed after twelve long years in a miserably unhappy marriage that he’d never wanted, Hugh is determined to no longer live a life based solely on duty. He wants the things he’d allowed societal and familial pressures to deny him… the happiness of being with the one and only woman he’s ever loved But Augusta has little trust of him and with good reason. He broke her heart and left her humiliated in the eyes of their peers. If he cannot achieve the Herculean task of convincing her to forgive him and risk her heart on him once more, will they live out the remainder of their lives wondering what might have been?




The Beast of Bath


Book Description

Lord Victor Mayhew, Viscount Norcross, lives in the shadows, hiding his scarred face from those who would fear him... or worse, pity him. He's become accustomed to the dark, and to the aching loneliness that is his only and constant companion. But while traversing the city in the dark of night, he encounters a beautiful woman who is running for her life. Lady Thessaly Shade has discovered that the prettiest of faces can hide the ugliest of hearts. While Lord Norcross keeps his face carefully concealed from her, he cannot hide the fact that he is a man of honor, a man for whom the word gentleman is a way of life and not merely an honorary title. With no way to repay him for his kindness, for his courage in aiding her at great risk to himself, Thessaly bargains with the only thing she possesses of value... herself. Can she convince him to trust her, to believe that she can see beyond the scars he bears to the man he is? Or will he push her away out of fear and retreat into the loneliness that he knows so well? The Beast of Bath is a 30,000 word novella previously published in the Wicked Fairytales Anthology.




A Passion So Strong


Book Description

When an old acquaintance asks Lord Sebastian Strong to look into the strange goings on at a remote family property, he agrees, naturally…. for a price. After all, as a younger son, he has to make his own way in the world. If that means convincing a gaggle of spinsters in the throes of senility that their ancestral home isn’t haunted, he’s game for it. But when he arrives at Evenwold Manor, the woman who greets him looks like no spinster he’s ever encountered. And the ghosts prove a great deal more real than he ever imagined. But if investigating the haunting gives him an excuse to remain in her presence, he’ll do it happily and for as long as he is able. Lady Anne Everleigh had more problems than she knew what to do with. Between her aunts dabbling in what they liked to call the craft, and a neighbor who was a bit too zealous in his pursuit of her and his interest in the reported treasures hidden at Evenwold, she was forced to seek outside assistance. When she asked her nephew for help, she’d assumed he’d have a talk with the Squire and put him in his place. Clearly, they’d prioritized her list of problems differently as he’d sent a man to investigate the growing ghost problem at Evenwold. No, not a man. A rogue. A charming, impossibly handsome and sinfully tempting rogue. In short, he’d created an entirely new problem for her. With her lecherous neighbor, her craft-dabbling aunts who are busily playing mystic and matchmaker by equal turns, she finds herself thrown together with Sebastian again and again. Even though she fears he will break her heart, she succumbs to temptation… but is it lust or love? And what will happen once he has the answers he came for?