“Indeed,” she murmured for lack of anything more appropriate to say.
Tilting her chin up, he kissed her again, long and deep, until a series of flutters built in her toes and he started to harden inside her.
They joined again, slowly this time, each exploring the other’s body. When they were done, they dozed on the grass, naked under the moon—only waking and darting back into the abbey long after all the lights inside had been extinguished.
While this journey had not gone according to plan, perhaps it would not turn out so badly for Naomi after all. Maybe, someday, he would come to love her as she had always loved him.
The wicked scoundrel.
About the Author
Catherine Gayle has been an avid reader of romance novels (and almost anything else she can legally get her hands on) for as long as she can remember. Her mother might say it started in the womb. When she is not writing or reading, she can often be found buried beneath her sleeping cat or chasing the Nephew Monster.
Catherine would love to hear from her readers. You can send her an email at [email protected].
Other Catherine Gayle titles coming soon:
Merely a Miss
A Lord Rotheby’s Influence novel
© 2011 Catherine Gayle
Miss Jane Matthews feels completely out of place amongst the finery of the ton. She’s the daughter of a country vicar, for goodness sake, and nearly a spinster to boot. Frankly, she would prefer to stay that way. How can a lady of Quality start up her own modiste shop, after all? But when her distant cousin—the Dowager Duchess of Somerton, of all people—offers to sponsor her for a Season in London, she agrees, but only so she can take the opportunity to search for a storefront for her business. Perhaps, in that regard, the Season won’t all be in vain.
The widower of a loveless marriage, Peter Hardwicke, the Duke of Somerton, has already done his duty and provided an heir for his dukedom, so he sees no reason whatsoever to remarry. Even if, heaven forbid, something should happen to his son, he still has three younger brothers who are each quite capable of inheriting. Taking a wife would only mean adding a new responsibility to his already too-full schedule. He’s more than busy enough keeping his mother, siblings, and children in line—not to mention sorting out the myriad problems plaguing one of his estates.
But when Lord Utley, one of Peter’s childhood friends and a man who has been on the wrong side of Peter’s ire for many years now, takes an unlikely interest in Jane, he has to intervene. Peter will be damned if he’ll allow Utley to ruin yet another life. But will rescuing Jane from Utley’s clutches land Peter with another loveless marriage?
Look for Merely a Miss in Summer, 2011.
Pariah
An Old Maids’ Club novel
After selling his major’s commission in the Dragoons, Lord Roman Vanderbilt wants nothing more than a sedate life in the country, acting as steward over his brother’s estate. If seventeen years in the military had not been enough, the vast casualties suffered by his men at Waterloo certainly made his decision clear. But leave it to Miss Bethanne Shelton, the generally shunned, enticingly pixie-ish caregiver to both the village’s senile old biddy and a rambunctious young boy, to forcefully remove all hopes of a quiet life from his mind. Timid and yet brave, secretive and yet loving, Bethanne presents Roman with a series of contradictions he can only hope to solve before he loses her to another.
Look for Pariah in late 2011.
Shelved
An Old Maids’ Club novel
Miss Josephine Faulkner refuses to come in second to anyone—not even to a husband. Oh, sure, Duncan Ramsey, the Earl of Leith, has been owner of her heart since she was a girl, chasing after him and her older brother when they tried to leave her behind. And while it is true she once gave herself to Duncan completely, when she was only offered marriage in return (and therefore, second class status within the relationship), she told him in no uncertain terms where he could put his blasted chivalry. Now he needs an heir to prevent his ne’er-do-well cousin from one day inheriting his father’s marquessate, but having sulked over the mistakes he’s made with Jo for over a decade, he can’t imagine anyone else being suited for the job. Somehow he must convince her that a life at his side will be more worthwhile than a life of stubborn independence.
Look for Shelved in 2012.
Other titles available from
Catherine Gayle
LORD ROTHEBY’S INFLUENCE SERIES
Twice a Rake
Saving Grace
THE OLD MAIDS’ CLUB TRILOGY
Wallflower
WANTON WIVES
Of Love and Lust
One Lonely Night
A Perfect Pearl
Leg-Shackled
Available Now:
A Summons From the Castle
Regency Christmas Summons Collection 3
© 2011 Catherine Gayle, Suzie Grant, Christi Caldwell
In CATHERINE GAYLE’s An Unintended Journey, Abby Goddard’s life is going along just swimmingly, apart from the disappearance of her life’s love—Wesley Cavendish, a man well above her station. Just before Christmas, Grandmama dies after revealing the identity of Abby’s grandfather. The Duke of Danby, no less. Now the entire family will travel to Yorkshire to confront Danby, hoping to gain a dowry for Abby. But then Wesley reemerges, sparking a hope Abby thought long destroyed. * Shall the prodigal son’s sole inheritance be an unsightly gash? Wesley Cavendish aspires to the political realm, despite his father’s near-murderous opposition…not to mention his opposition to Abby Goddard. But since Father died, will the new Earl of Fordingham rescind Father’s disgraceful allegations? Fordingham thwarts Wesley at every turn, threatening marriage to a prominent Tory family—which precludes Abby—to put an end to Wesley’s Whig involvement…unless Wesley can find a loophole.
In SUZIE GRANT’s Caribbean Jewel, blackmailed by a British Naval Commander, Captain Randall Whitton, a smuggler with a penchant for gold is rescued by Jewel Derington, a feisty plantation owner and the very woman who betrayed him in the jungles of Barbados. Escaping danger has never been so thrilling. Together they are drawn into a political game of winner takes all from which only his grandfather, the Duke of Danby, can rescue them.
* Fascinated by the glitter of his Caribbean Jewel, Randall's lust for gold soon fades. His quest to tame this fiery treasure catapults them both into an adventure where the stakes are higher and the prize greater than either of them have ever dared dream.
In CHRISTI CALDWELL’s A Scandal for Christmas, for Lady Alexandra being the source of a cold, calculated wager is bad enough....but when it is waged by Nathaniel Michael Winters, 5th Earl of Pembroke, the man she's in love with, it results in a broken heart, the scandal of the season, and a summons from her grandfather--the Duke of Danby. To escape Society's gossip, she hurries to her meeting with the duke , determined to put memories of the earl far behind. Except the duke has other plans for Alexandra....plans which include the 5th Earl of Pembroke!
The Betting Season
An anthology of Regency novellas
In BY ANY OTHER NAME by Ava Stone: Lord Cleasby bets Mr. Potsdon five hundred pounds that Lord St. Austell will bed Lady Philippa Casemore before the end of the season. ~April 19, 1813
Lady Philippa Casemore caused quite a scene at her very first ball of her very first season. She even landed herself, somehow, on the pages of the infamous betting book at White’s gentlemen’s club. Unfortunately, she doesn’t remember one moment of the night in question. Not the music. Not the notorious rake she’d dragged into the middle of the dance floor. Not the flask of opium-laced brandy she’d downed without realizing its contents…
Jason York, the wicked Earl of St. Austell, can’t quite forget the lady who stole his breath away the previous night. Of course, his broken nose, courtesy of the girl’s brother, did have a way of making an impression. When he stumbles into Lady Philippa the next day, his ego is more than bruised when she doesn’t seem
to recall him at all, and a scheme to make certain she never forgets him again quickly forms in his mind.
In FLIGHT OF FANCY by Catherine Gayle: Lord Falkland bets Lord Jefferson Blount two hundred fifty pounds that Lord Haworth will ensure the ruination of Lady Georgianna Bexley-Smythe by 15 May unless the Marquess of Stalbridge returns to Town and settles his debts before that date. ~19 April, 1813
Cedric Loring, the Earl of Montague, has been an honorary member of the Bexley-Smythe family for years. He’s always had a special, if sometimes strained, bond with Georgie. But when her name ends up in the betting book at White’s before she’s even made her debut, he knows no one can protect her quite like he can. If only she’d stop chasing after the very gentleman who could single-handedly see to her ruin.
Lady Georgianna Bexley-Smythe has the uncanny ability to remember nearly everything she’s ever read, and thus knows everything about almost everything. But as knowledge and experience are not interchangeable, she intends to make her first Season one of adventure. What could be more adventurous than seeing London from Lord Haworth’s gas balloon? Now she must avoid Monty long enough to make Haworth’s acquaintance and beg an airborne adventure.
In LANDING A LAIRD by Jane Charles: Mr. Fiske bets Lord Alston three hundred pounds that Lord Lydell will allow encourage be compromised by Lady Moira Kirkwood and hauled be off to Scotland before the end of the season. ~ April 19, 1813
Heiress Lady Moira Kirkwood will do anything it takes to marry a laird to take her north - far, far away from London and her domineering mother. Unfortunately, a pair of gentlemen overhear her jest about Scotland and compromising a fellow if she has to. Before the sun has risen the next day, Moira’s name and a scandalous wager have found themselves inside the infamous betting book at White’s.
One penniless gentleman after another begs Gideon Baxter, Viscount Ainsely, for his assistance in wooing Lady Moira. Unfortunately, Gideon would like to woo the charming lady himself. If only she cared more for him than for the location of his estate, he’d could be assured of where her true feelings lie.
In THE MARRIAGE TRAP by Jerrica Knight-Catania: Rowan Findley bets Lord Swaffham 200 guineas that he cannot bed Miss Patience Findley without finding himself leg-shackled to her within the month…
When Miss Patience Findley discovers, at her first ball of her first Season, just how much her father’s scandal has affected her chances of marriage, she resigns herself to being alone and dying a spinster. That is, until she hears that her friends’ names have landed in the betting book at White’s. In a moment of desperation, she asks her reprobate cousin to place a bet on her behalf, in the hopes of trapping an unsuspecting gentleman into marriage.
Tristan Wallford, Lord Swaffham, loves a good challenge. So when his friend, Rowan Findley, claims that his cousin Patience cannot be cured of her melancholy state, Tristan lays a bet that he will be the one to cure her. He could certainly use the money, after all. But as the game begins, Tristan begins to realize that not only does Miss Findley not need curing, but she might be worth trapping for himself.
Pariah
An Old Maids’ Club novel
After selling his major’s commission in the Dragoons, Lord Roman Sullivan wants nothing more than a calm, sedate life in the country where he’s agreed to act as steward over his father’s estate. Society is no place for a man who can’t sleep without fear of attacking an innocent in the night, after all. But upon his arrival, madness lands in his path in the form of a secret-keeping pixie of a lady, a precocious boy, a lady in the throes of dementia, and a band of rabidly loyal servants, who combine to capture both his attention and what’s left of his heart in one fell swoop.
Bethanne Shelton keeps a great many secrets, most of which are not hers to reveal. Keeping them close to her chest is the one sure way to make certain her life remains as normal as possible. Even her family can’t discover the truth, lest Finn be taken away from her. In order to protect him, she ignores the whispers of pariah and worse. But her Aunt Rosaline’s health is rapidly declining, and Roman is the only one able to calm her. He’s getting too close, and if he unveils Bethanne’s mysteries, she’ll lose her family. One thing is certain: no matter what happens, she is bound to lose her heart.
Look for Pariah in Spring, 2012.
Shelved
An Old Maids’ Club novel
Miss Josephine Faulkner refuses to come in second to anyone—not even to a husband. Oh, sure, Duncan Ramsey, the Earl of Leith, has been owner of her heart since she was a girl, chasing after him and her older brother when they tried to leave her behind. And while it is true she once gave herself to Duncan completely, when she was only offered marriage in return (and therefore, second class status within the relationship), she told him in no uncertain terms where he could put his blasted chivalry. Now he needs an heir to prevent his ne’er-do-well cousin from one day inheriting his father’s marquessate, but having sulked over the mistakes he’s made with Jo for over a decade, he can’t imagine anyone else being suited for the job. Somehow he must convince her that a life at his side will be more worthwhile than a life of stubborn independence.
Look for Shelved in late 2012.
Other titles available from
Catherine Gayle
LORD ROTHEBY’S INFLUENCE SERIES
Twice a Rake
Saving Grace
Merely a Miss
The Old maids’ club trilogy
Wallflower
Pariah
Wanton wives: an anthology of erotic regency short stories
Of Love and Lust
One Lonely Night
A Perfect Pearl
Leg-Shackled
Uninhibited (Regency Erotica) Page 3
