Unraveling the Earl, Book 3 in the Idyllwild series:
The Earl of Hastings’s reputation as London’s greatest gift to the ladies has taken on a life of its own, one he is only too happy to live up to in one Mayfair bedchamber after another. Until he encounters a lady more interested in poking around his country estate than sampling his lauded charms.
Georgiana Buchanan is possessed of murky morals, skewed notions of right and wrong, a talent for dancing around the truth, and a penchant for crashing weddings, funerals and charity balls.
When Georgie catches Henry’s roving eye, she turns the tables on the arrogant scoundrel, introducing him to a world of sensual delights and unraveling his vaunted control before fleeing into the night.
Henry is determined to make the elusive Georgiana his mistress while the lady wants only to use his desire to further her own schemes. When they find themselves marooned at Idyllwild during a summer storm, they will both discover they’ve gotten more than they bargained for.
EXCERPT –
Georgie was giddy with nerves.
In truth, she’d been swamped by the damn fidgets since she’d
awoken to find the handsome earl curled around her, one hand resting on her
hip, the other tangled in her hair, his breath warm on her nape.
It wasn’t waking beside him that had set her nerves reeling.
It was the ridiculous notion that she was precisely where she belonged that had
set her off.
It was in that moment, as she’d battled the urge to run from
the certain knowledge that this man, this beautiful, charming, kind man, had
the power to muck up her carefully laid plans, that the answer to her latest
dilemma had come to her out of the clear blue, or rather cloudy gray, sky.
Now, as she looked down into Henry’s expectant face, she
found herself quite unable to deliver the speech she’d prepared while she’d
washed her undergarments, prepared a light repast and waited for him to awaken
from his slumber.
“I don’t know quite where to begin,” she admitted, shifting
her weight to her good leg.
“Perhaps you might consider beginning at the beginning,” he
suggested with a crooked smile.
“Life is so simple for you, isn’t it?” she asked. “You
always know exactly who you are and what you are about.”
His hands parted the silk of her pilfered robe and settled
on her hips, his thumbs stroking the knobby bones. Such a simple touch, and one
she suspected he bestowed with no thought whatsoever, yet his hands on her,
just there, made her feel delicate. Dainty and frail and oh so feminine.
“I have not known what I was about since I approached you on
the street after my mother’s funeral.” Henry’s voice was low, hardly more than
a whisper, and filled with befuddled amusement.
“What a lovely thing to say,” she replied, her twitching
nerves soothed by the admission. “And a perfect place to start.”
Georgie spun about, the hem of his lordship’s robe nearly
tripping her. “We’ll start at your mother’s funeral and work our way back.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll only be a moment,” she answered over her shoulder as
opened the top drawer of the dresser. “I put it in here when I returned from
fixing us dinner, a dinner you have barely touched I might add. Eat, Lord
Hastings.”
“You are by far the bossiest mistress I’ve ever had.”
“You did say a mistress must have a care for her master’s
comfort and well-being.” On the top of a stack of brightly colored knitted
sweaters sat the faded blue velvet she’d carried with her as she’d crisscrossed
the country chasing down clues that had only led to more clues, until finally
she’d found the first real answer.
“So long as you do not forget who is master in this
arrangement.”
“As if I could.” Turning with the worn velvet pressed to her
chest, she watched her new master tucking into Mrs. Porter’s corned beef, a
mountain of potatoes piled on his plate. “That’s better. I should hate for you
to faint above me, or beneath me if you should decide to introduce me to this
system of yours.”
“I rather like you spread out before me,” Henry replied with
a comical leer. “Like a banquet of all my favorite foods. I’ve only to choose
which dish to begin with. Hmm, shall I start with fresh berries or leave them
for desert? Perhaps I’ll whet my appetite with a nibble of your long legs,
followed by a dip into your honeypot.”
“What nonsense,” Georgie replied. “Although, I must admit
that if your foolproof system begins with a dip into the honeypot it is no
wonder you have the ladies lined up to have a go at you.”
“I never should have told you about my system,” he grumbled,
dropping his head over his plate, but not before she saw the flush that slashed
across his cheeks.
“Too true.” Taking the second chair, she pushed aside the
platter of beef and set the bundle in its place. “I am unlikely to cease
teasing you anytime soon. It is simply not in my nature to let go of such a
tasty morsel.”
BUY LINKS:
Where to find Lynne:
Website: http://www.lynnebarron.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lynnebarron06
