Hi, all! Please welcome my Romance Gem friend Kathy Wheeler with her latest book, BEDEVILED BY THE BARONESS.
What a gorgeous cover!
Blurb~
A
scandalous masquerade, a missing heir, and a baroness who refuses to play by
the rules
London, 1823 —
When widowed Baroness Lady Rose Stanford crashes a notorious masquerade in
search of a titled husband, she doesn't expect to kiss a mysterious stranger—or
get pulled into a dangerous game of blackmail and murder.
Emerson Whitmore, a self-made merchant, wants nothing to do with the peerage
until a cousin’s suspicious disappearance and a damning note thrust him into
aristocratic intrigue and into the path of the most irritating and desirable
woman he...wishes he'd never met.
Sparks fly and secrets unravel as Rose and Emerson join forces to uncover a
killer, protect vulnerable young women, and navigate a society where
appearances deceive and love may be the ultimate scandal.
Excerpt~
Eyes of moss flashed fire, and a hand splayed across a dainty bosom that warranted further inspection. “What are you looking for?” Her voice held a small tremor.
He considered her question, her demeanor, the upper crest diction that did not belong with the riot of curls or the scullery maid’s costume she wore. “I’m being blackmailed.”
She gasped. “By Shufflebottom?” An adorable scowl compressed her full lips into a straight line, making her chin appear more pointed as that was all that was visible beneath her diamond-tipped mask. “That dandified churl.”
“You know him, then?” Of course she did. She and Shufflebottom ran in the same circles. It was the accent, he decided. Glancing about, he spotted a tray of spirits and sauntered over to pour out two small glasses of brandy. He brought one to his nose and sniffed. Nothing but the best in the house of a notorious marquis.
He held up the glass. “Shall we indulge in his hospitality?”
She eyed him with obvious suspicion. Smart girl. Lady, he inwardly corrected. He wasn’t of the peerage after all. Another thud sounded—she’d dropped what Emerson could only assume were shoes, though he hesitated to grant them the dignity of the term. She glided in his direction. “Thank you.” It was said grudgingly enough to have him biting back a smile.
Her appearance put a damper on his search, and he likely wouldn’t have another such opportunity.
She took a large swallow of the brandy and let out a coughing fit that had her eyes watering. “I thought this was Madeira,” she choked out.
“In a brandy glass? No.” He sipped his. “Definitely brandy. Were the hounds after you?”
“Er, no.” She pulled a small, laced handkerchief from a hidden pocket of her frock.
Emerson took her glass and set it on the desk, then the hankie, noting the embroidered initials of RS and dabbed at the tears trickling from behind her mask. “Now, what has you so flustered?”
“The fop was after me.”
His fingers stopped, poised as if encased in marble…or seized by rigor mortis. “Shufflebottom is on his way…in here?”
“No, thank the heavens. I lost him in the crowd.” Her voice fascinated him. Modulated, educated. And, sadly, definitely nobility.
Emerson pocketed the handkerchief and let out a breath. With no ties to the beau monde, he had no entry into many of the upper echelon’s residences. Yet perhaps that wasn’t quite so true any longer. If Ben did happen to become earl—
Impossible. As the bastard son of Mr. Jaxon Massey, Emerson would still have no reason to rub elbows with lofty lords. He needed another way in. This enticing creature opened an interesting prospect.
The masquerade event had allowed Emerson to avoid dealing with the aristocracy. The nobs were a fickle, irresponsible lot who typically put the screws to the lower-class populous. Hence the case of the Marquis of Shufflebottom.
For the second time in as many minutes, the door flew back.
In a most discourteous move his father would yank his ear for, Emerson quickly snagged his RS lady’s maid, tugging her into his chest, and covered her mouth with his. He dove his gloved hand into the mass of hair he couldn’t feel but was certain would haunt his dreams for the foreseeable future.
Her lips stilled beneath his.
“What the devil is going on here?” Shufflebottom’s voice grated like rusted iron.
The full mouth under Emerson’s went instantly compliant, and her fingers stole beneath his domino, clutching at him. Emerson, true to the gentleman he was not, swept his tongue into the sweetest mouth he’d ever tasted. But she stiffened as if she’d never been kissed. He stroked with an ever growing need that fired his blood to near anarchy over his own body.
Slowly, Emerson pulled away, meeting her stunned, wide-eyed gaze. Her kiss was as innocent as that of a virgin, but her eyes spoke of a different kind of experience. He wanted to rip away her jeweled-tipped mask. See if her skin was as soft as her lips. See her cheeks flushed with a blush.
Whoo! Hot excerpt! Here's where you can purchase BEDEVILED BY THE BARONESS:
Amazon KU: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FBB2M9YH/
Books-2-Read (libraries): https://books2read.com/bedeviledbythebaroness
Kathy L Wheeler graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a BA in Management Information Systems and Vocal Music minor.
Kathy loves the NFL, NBA, musical theater, reading, writing and karaoke. She is the Ethic’s Director of the Regency Fiction Writers and a Guide in the Pen to Paper, a fantastic three-year-old program for aspiring romance authors.
She writes historical and contemporary romances that are a little dark, a little suspenseful, a little bit humorous, that are always compelling and will steal your breath.
She lives with her musically talented husband in the Pacific Northwest. She has one grown daughter (who has two adorable boys), and a neurotic dog, Angel who lives up to her name… mostly!
Social Media Links:
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Thanks for being here, Kathy! Thanks for reading, guests! And have a marvelous week!
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