Once
More my Darling Rogue
The
Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James # 2
By: Lorraine Heath
Releasing August 26th, 2014
Avon
Blurb
From New York Times bestselling author Lorraine Heath, comes the
second book in a brand new series, The Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James,
featuring three eligible bachelors...and the scoundrels that reside within
each.
Born to
the street but raised within the aristocracy, Drake Darling can't escape his
sordid beginnings. Not when Lady Ophelia Lyttleton snubs him at every turn, a
constant reminder he's not truly one of them. But after rescuing her from a
mysterious drowning, he realizes she doesn't remember who she is. With plans to
bring her to heel, he insists she's his housekeeper—never expecting to fall for
the charming beauty.
While
Ophelia might not recall her life before Drake, she has little doubt she
belongs with him. The desire she feels for her dark, brooding employer can't be
denied, regardless of consequences. So when Ophelia's memory returns, she is
devastated by the depth of his betrayal. Now Drake must risk everything to
prove she can trust this rogue with her heart once more.
EXCERPT
Irritated with himself for being drawn to the
sound, he glanced back over his shoulder to spy her flirting outrageously with
the Duke of Avendale and Viscount Langdon. Their families were well-respected, powerful, and wealthy. He was not surprised
to see two other ladies in the group. The gents were sought-after, but just as
he tended to avoid social affairs, so did they. Marriage was so far in their
distant future that they wouldn’t be able to see it with a spyglass. They were
here only because they were close to both Grace and Lovingdon. But now that the
happy couple had departed, he suspected Avendale and Langdon would be headed
elsewhere for their entertainment.
Unlike Lady O they would invite him to join
them. Ophelia’s laughter reached him again, only this time when the sound went
silent, her gaze landed on him like a huge stone, then dipped to the champagne,
and her lips tipped upward in triumph, just before she wrinkled her nose as
though she smelled something quite unpleasant. Her face settling once more into
deceptive loveliness, she shifted her gaze back to Avendale, summarily
dismissing Drake in the process.
Unfortunately for her, he was no longer quite
so easily dismissed.
Ophelia knew a quick spurt of panic. Darling
strode toward her with purpose in his step, his large hands—a workman’s
hands—dwarfing the flute he carried. His expression shouted that he was tossing
down the gauntlet and she feared she might have misjudged his mood tonight,
that managing him might be more challenging than she’d expected, but manage him
she would. She would not be cowed, not by him, not by any other man for that
matter.
He was a commoner who came from common
beginnings. He might wear the outer trappings of a gentleman, but she had no
doubt that deep down he was a scoundrel, with a scoundrel’s ways, and a
penchant toward sinful behavior.
She didn’t know why that thought caused her to
grow uncomfortably warm. It was the crowded room, the gaslit chandeliers, the
layers of petticoats, and the tight corset. She certainly wasn’t imagining
those hands exploring her body. She was not of the streets. She was a lady. And
ladies did not contemplate such things.
But as he neared, something within the black
depths of his eyes twinkled as though he knew precisely where her errant
thoughts had journeyed and was more than willing to serve as her companion on a
sojourn into wickedness. He was not handsome, at least not classically so. His
features were rugged, craggy, as though shaped by an angry god. His nose was
too broad, his brow too wide. His jaw too square. She could see the beginning
of shadow, bristles that hadn’t the decency to wait until later to appear. Why
was she wasting her time cataloguing each and every inch of him when she had
lords aplenty willing to give her attention?
Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2014/08/once-more-my-darling-rogue-scandalous.html
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Author Info
LORRAINE
HEATH always dreamed of being a writer. After graduating from the University of
Texas, she wrote training manuals and computer code, but something was always
missing. After reading a romance novel, she not only became hooked on the
genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and
rogues. She’s been writing about them ever since. Her work has been recognized
with numerous industry awards, including RWA’s RITA® and a Romantic Times
Career Achievement Award. Her novels have appeared on the USA Today and New
York Times best-seller lists.
Author Links
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Really loved this excerpt as well! It old me something I didn't know before, that Ophelia was really attracted to Drake all along, but snubbed him anyway. Whoa. Poor Drake was damned if she did and damned if she didn't. Hmm. Ophelia seems to be a very calculating woman . . . jdh2690@gmail.com
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