Smitten by Books

TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL
(Secrets & Scandals, Book 3)
Author: Darcy Burke
Publisher: Intrepid Reads
Rel Date: July 5, 2012
Pages: 346
Digital Price: $3.99
Print Price: $12.99

~~~

A lady on the brink of disaster

Lady Philippa Latham is determined to avoid scandal at all costs. When her mother’s outrageous behavior threatens their entire family’s reputation, Philippa attempts to curtail her activities. Unwittingly, she follows her  to a party no unmarried Society girl would risk attending. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Philippa is “rescued” by England’s most notorious scoundrel, which sets them both on a path to public and personal ruin…

A scoundrel in need of seduction

Lord Ambrose Sevrin is famous for having ruined his brother’s fiancé and refusing to marry her. Dangerously attractive, he is an intriguing enigma to London’s elite. Only, Philippa thinks she’s met the true Ambrose—a gentleman who would fight to defend her and help her secure a husband before it’s too late. But he can’t fall victim to Philippa’s charms. He won’t tolerate redemption—or love—for his crimes are far worse than anyone can imagine.

One lucky commenter will win a paperback ARC of To Seduce a Scoundrel (US and Canada residents only).

~*~*~

Ambrose and Philippa are trapped in a closet after Philippa follows Ambrose from a ballroom to speak with him about a note he just gave her…

Ambrose listened intently for any sound from the corridor. He held his breath waiting to see if they would be discovered. After all their near misses at Lockwood House to be found here in an indefensibly incriminating position…

Philippa exhaled, and it sounded like a cannon blast. He brought his gloved finger to her mouth and pressed it against her lips. Now her breath sucked in, albeit much more quietly. He tried not to think of the heat of her mouth seeping through his glove or the gust of her breath against his finger. And he fought the urge to slide that finger into her mouth in the faint hope she might suckle it.

Finally, muted voices came from outside the door. He couldn’t hear what they said, but only because his senses were full of Philippa—her lilac-honey scent, the warmth of her body so close to his, the sound of her soft breathing, quickening with each beat of her heart, signaling that her desire—like his—was climbing.

The voices continued, but he was having a hard time concentrating on anything but Philippa’s proximity. Because of the tight space, he stood so close to her that if he just inched forward—and as he thought it, he did it—her breasts would be pressed against him.

He closed his eyes in ecstasy. This was the closest he’d been to a woman in five years. His previous kisses with Philippa notwithstanding.

Instead of retreating as he might have expected, she leaned into him. And then she somehow read his mind—at least partially. She pressed her lips to his finger.

He stifled a groan as he cupped the side of her face and slid his palm down to her collarbone. Her heart beat strong and fast there, and the hot silk of her flesh burned through his glove.

Kissing her was out of the question. It would only lead to God-knew-what, and he couldn’t go there with her. But that didn’t stop him from lowering his head and inhaling the scent of her hair. He brushed his cheek against hers and bit his tongue lest it dart out and trace a path to her ear, down her neck, then lower to the edge of her bodice.

She nudged her cheek against him and breathed a single word, “Ambrose.”

He was a mass of dry, brittle wood, and she was the flame that would burn him to the ground.

Which was what made him step back. Not far, because the closet simply wouldn’t allow it.

He picked up the sound of fading footsteps in the corridor and took that to mean those outside had left. He allowed himself to exhale and so did she, their breath warming the already steamy interior of their confined space.

With each breath he took, reason returned. And anger—at himself, but he’d never been very good at directing it.

“Philippa, you shouldn’t have followed me.” Though he whispered, he injected a firm dose of urgency.

“I’m to just let you abandon me?”

He couldn’t let her get to him. He’d had his fill of lowering his defenses around beautiful, alluring females. Or rather, one beautiful, alluring female. “I’m not abandoning you. You don’t need me to help you find a husband.”

She was quiet, which allowed him to be painfully aware of her proximity again, of the heat emanating from her delicious body. And also of the distance that really stretched between them, regardless of how close they now stood. He could dream of her the rest of his days, but he could never, ever have her.

“You should go,” he said, while the dark recesses of his mind thought of how he could raise her skirts, lift her against the wall, and slide into her.

Her hand found his cheek in the darkness and stroked his jawline. “’Tis a pity things aren’t different. If you weren’t who you are…”

He grabbed her hand and pressed a hard kiss to her gloved palm. “Go. And if I had to pick one of your suitors right now, I’d choose Allred. From what I can discern, his reputation is sterling.”

“Are you giving me permission to kiss him now?”

Jealousy cut through him. “Yes.” He forced the word through the tight muscles of his throat.

The space around him moved, and he felt her lips against the side of his mouth. He held her close a moment and spoke softly against her ear. “But don’t be cruel. Don’t kiss him if you don’t plan to marry him. He’ll spend the rest of his life cursing his loss.”