Amy Sandas' bold and sexy Fallen Ladies series continues July 4th with her new release, Lord of Lies. Read on for an excerpt!
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He was home for only a few short
minutes—not even long enough to shed the guise of Robert French—before there
was a sharp knock at the front door. Morley was still taking care of the
carriage and horses so wasn’t available to answer.
With a
growl at being disturbed so blasted early in the day after being up all night,
Dell lumbered from his study where he had been organizing a plan for his next
steps in the Chadwick abduction. He opened the door just as the caller was
about to knock again.
The
disturbing slate-gray gaze of the precocious Miss Chadwick widened with a start
before she lowered her arm.
Dell’s
immediate instinctive response was to slam the door shut. This woman triggered
far too many distractions in his mind, as well as his body. She set him on
edge, made him feel less in control.
He didn’t
slam the door because his next thought was the realization that such a reaction
would only pique her curiosity even more. He would need to employ another
tactic to get rid of her.
Altering
his voice to the smooth, unassuming, lilting tones of Robert French, Dell
asked, “Can I help you, miss?”
She
tilted her head beneath the wide fall of her cloak hood, and her striking eyes
narrowed dangerously. He was suddenly intensely aware of his appearance.
French’s look often drew interested gazes from bold young women. Women who
understood his jaunty swagger and the overt sensuality in his movement and
expression.
Dell felt
Portia Chadwick’s gaze like a stream of concentrated interest shooting straight
to the center of his chest.
Then she
smiled.
His body
instantly reacted.
What the
hell?
Dell
straightened his spine and tried to look down his—or rather French’s—nose at
her. Not that he thought any kind of intimidation would work on the chit, but
he needed some way to distract from his unwelcome and wholly disturbing
reaction.
“I
believe you can,” she answered before she boldly strode across the threshold.
At any
other time and with anyone else, Dell would never have allowed a person to just
enter his home in such a way. But his current physical sensitivity to this
woman had him stepping back on instinct to avoid direct contact, which gave her
just enough room to sweep the rest of the way into the house.
Damn and
blast.
Closing
the door with a hard click, he turned to face her and saw that she had already
crossed the small hall to the parlor. Dell gritted his teeth so hard his jaw
ached. Following her into the front room, he watched with a further tightening
in his loins as she swept her voluminous cloak from her shoulders to toss it
carelessly to the sofa.
She was
still clothed in the same evening gown from the night before. Dell couldn’t
stop his gaze from dropping briefly down her narrow back to the suggestive
curve of her hips and buttocks before she spun around again to face him.
“I do not
believe it is proper manners to so rudely force your way into someone’s home,”
he said almost plaintively. “Especially when they are not at home.”
She
laughed then, a full-bodied sound accompanied by a knowing flash in her eyes.
She arched her winged black brows and placed her hands on her hips. “Do not
bother with the theatrics. I know it is you, Mr. Turner,” she declared.
How the
hell had she known?
The first
time anyone had ever seen through one of his disguises, and it had to be she.
Dell
considered denying it, but figured the truth would likely get her out of there
faster.
“Fine,”
he said in his natural voice, which carried more than a hint of his annoyance.
“Mind telling me what the hell you are doing back here? I told you I would let
you know when I learned something.”
“And did
you? Learn something?” she asked, her tone hopeful.
“Not
yet,” he replied stiffly, expecting her to press him further or demand he do
more.
“Well,
the situation has changed.”
Dell
narrowed his gaze. “How?”
“My
sister returned home safely less than two hours ago.”
It was
not what he’d expected to hear. But it would do. “You have come to pay the
remainder of my fee, then?”
She
tipped her head, allowing the black ringlets falling from her coiffure to
gently graze her collarbone. “Not exactly.” Turning away, she strolled toward
the front window.
“Then
what? Exactly?” he asked, fighting the inexplicable desire to follow her
across the room.
She
glanced back over her shoulder with a challenging light in her gaze. “You were
hired to find my sister and bring her home. Since she obviously managed to do
that on her own, I have decided to give you another chance to earn your full
fee.”
Crossing
his arms over his chest, Dell asked, “What would you have me do now?”
###
“You do
strange things to me, Dell Turner. Tell me I am not alone in what I feel.”
His voice was
low and rough. His eyes burned. “You are not alone,” he said.
Portia Chadwick
longs for a life of adventure. When a dangerous moneylender kidnaps her sister,
she dares to seek help from a man known only as Nightshade. Soon she finds
herself charging headfirst into his world of intrigue and danger—and unexpected
passion.
Dell Turner grew
up in London’s back alleys and gin lanes. Vowing to escape his low beginnings,
he hires himself out to society’s elite. When he accepts a job from a beautiful
debutante, he doesn’t anticipate her relentless determination to join his mad
occupation…or her unnerving ability to inspire emotions he thought long buried.
She’s as dangerous to him as his world is to her, and yet Dell can’t bring
himself to turn Portia away—even if it means risking her life.
USA Today Bestselling author Amy Sandas’s love of romance began one summer when she stumbled
across one of her mother’s Barbara Cartland books. Her affinity for writing
began with sappy preteen poems and led to a liberal arts degree from the
University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She lives with her husband and children
near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Find Amy Online:
Website: http://www.amysandas.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmySandas
Twitter: @AmySandas
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