Lady Ruthless (Notorious Ladies of London Book 1)
Page 29
The door opened, revealing the Duchess of Westmorland, who was herself heavy with child. Westmorland was at her side.
Sin rushed forward. “How is she? How is the babe?”
The duchess smiled. “They are both well.”
Relief hit him.
Thank God.
“You have a son,” Westmorland added. “Congratulations, Sinclair.”
His relationship with Callie’s brother had improved over the last few months. Sin appreciated Westmorland’s protectiveness over Callie. Westmorland appreciated that Sin would do everything in his power to keep Callie happy.
The words echoed now.
A son.
He was a father.
He scarcely heard Decker congratulating him. Blood was roaring in his ears, and for a moment, he feared he would swoon like a milksop. But Sin gathered himself and focused on the duchess, who had been in the birthing room.
“May I see them now?” he rasped.
“Of course.” The duchess smiled. “Go.”
Sin did not need to be told twice. He was up the stairs in a blur. Jogging down the hall. Crossing over the threshold.
Drinking in the most beautiful sight in the world.
Callie looked tired but glorious, her dark hair tamed into a neat braid, a swaddled bundle nestled in her arms. He scarcely took note of Lady Jo, quietly excusing herself from the chamber. The doctor was already gone.
“Come, my love,” Callie said softly, “meet your son.”
He did not require further invitation. Sin’s strides ate up the distance between them, until he was at her side, gazing down at the perfect, pink face of their son. Awe and love hit him with so much force, his knees buckled. He sat on the bed at Callie’s side, reaching out with a trembling hand to gently touch the fine, dark hairs on the babe’s head.
“He is perfect,” he murmured, turning his attention back to his wife. “Just like his mama.”
“He is handsome,” Callie said. “Just like his papa.”
Sin stroked her cheek, filled with wonder. “How are you, sweet?”
“Happy.” She turned her head and pressed a kiss to his palm. “Happy beyond words.”
Sin could not resist covering her lips with his. “Thank you for loving me and for giving me a son, my darling wife. I could not be more content.”
Then, he kissed their son’s smooth little brow.
Callie caressed Sin’s cheek, love shining in her eyes. “Nor could I.”
Who would have thought this fiery, daring minx—a woman he had once considered his nemesis—would be the one to conquer his heart and make him whole again?
Not him.
But Sin was bloody well glad she had.
The End
Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Sin and Callie’s story! I hope you enjoyed this first book in my new Notorious Ladies of London series, all about daring ladies who know what they want and aren’t afraid to get it.
Please consider leaving an honest review of Lady Ruthless. Reviews are greatly appreciated! If you’d like to keep up to date with my latest releases and series news, sign up for my newsletter here or follow me on Amazon or BookBub. Join my reader’s group on Facebook for bonus content, early excerpts, giveaways, and more.
If you’d like a preview of Lady Wallflower, Book Two in the Notorious Ladies of London series, featuring Callie’s friend Lady Jo Danvers, handsome businessman Elijah Decker, and a very naughty list, do read on.
P.S. If you’re looking for the Duke and Duchess of Westmorland’s love story, you can find it in Fearless Duke.
Until next time,
Scarlett
Lady Wallflower
Notorious Ladies of London Book Two
By
Scarlett Scott
Lady Jo Danvers has declared war on her humdrum life. Armed with a list of ways to be wicked, she will step out of her role as never-been-kissed wallflower and experience passion. With the right gentleman, of course. She just has to find him.
Mr. Elijah Decker, the handsome businessman she cannot stop thinking about, is definitely no gentleman. And he is decidedly all wrong. Unfortunately for Jo, she has unwittingly given him her list.
When Decker discovers Jo’s list mistakenly tucked between the pages of a pamphlet for the Lady’s Suffrage Society, he is intrigued. And after she realizes her error and storms his office demanding he return it, Decker agrees on one condition: that she accept his aid in crossing off each scandalous act.
What begins as a lark quickly sizzles into something deeper and unexpected. But Decker’s dark side and perilous secrets may tear them apart before Jo’s sinful quest is complete…
Chapter One
London, 1885
Decker stared at the list on the desk before him.
He had read the flowery script at least half a dozen times since finding it tucked between the pages of a pamphlet he had been tasked with printing for the Lady’s Suffrage Society.
The words taunted him.
Tempted him.
Reading them made his cock hard, partly because he had never been meant to see them. Partly because of the woman who had written them. Quiet, shy Lady Jo Danvers, who loved to frown at him. Who looked at him as if he were a footpad about to filch her reticule. Who had delivered her pamphlet to his offices buttoned to the throat, not a hair out of place, looking very much like a governess he longed to defile.
Damn it, he had to stop thinking about her. Had to stop perusing the list. And he would, Decker promised himself. Soon. But first, he was going to read it again.
Ways to be Wicked
1. Kiss a man until you are breathless.
2. Arrange for an assignation. Perhaps with Lord Q-?
3. Get caught in the rain with a gentleman. (This will necessitate the removal of wet garments. Choose said gentleman wisely.)
4. Sneak into a gentleman’s bedchamber in the midst of the night.
5. Go to a gentleman’s private apartments.
6. Spend a night in a gentleman’s bed.
7. Make love in the outdoors.
8. Ask
Bloody hell. The items on her list were delicious enough to incite his lust and his interest in equal, ballocks-tightening measure. But that incomplete number eight—only just begun, as if she had stopped in medias res, as if she had more wonderfully sinful items to add to her list—made his prick twitch every time. He had tortured himself with it. So many possibilities.
What did she want to ask? And who did she want to pose the question to? Was there a number nine? What else would she add to her list?
Most importantly, who the devil was Lord Q-?
That question bothered him more than it ought to. Decker told himself it hardly mattered. Lady Jo was not the sort of woman with whom he dallied. First, she was a lady. Second, she was an innocent.
Or was she?
The list before him mocked.
It hardly seemed the composition of a virginal miss. But then, how the devil would Decker know what a virginal miss would write? He had not been a virgin in years, and he had never been a damned miss. Moreover, he had not bedded an innocent in…well, ever. His predilections tended to be far more depraved than a virginal miss could satisfy.
But oh, how wonderfully wicked it would be to debauch Lady Jo.
Curse it, his trousers were too tight, drawing against his erection each time he shifted in his chair to ease his discomfort. The spell of yearning Lady Jo’s wicked little list cast upon him was heavy and thick, unbreakable. He was going to have to take himself in hand if he was going to get anything accomplished today.
There was only one answer to his current predicament.
He had to rid himself of the list.
Remove the temptation.
Return it to its rightful owner, and then forget he had ever seen it.
Right. That last part was never bloody well happening, was it?
On a sigh, he composed a terse
note to Lady Jo Danvers.
I believe I have something of yours.
D.
The note was in Jo’s reticule as she waited for the hulking Scotsman who served as Mr. Elijah Decker’s aide-de-camp to announce her. Seven words. Signed with his initial. She had instantly known who had sent her the message. And she had also known what he had in his possession. What she had inadvertently given him.
Her cheeks were hot.
Misery churned in her stomach.
Her list had been missing for three days. She had searched for it everywhere. Initially, she had believed she had somehow misplaced it, shuffling it with some of her correspondence. But when a thorough investigation had failed to produce the list, she feared her older brother Julian, the Earl of Ravenscroft, had taken it. However, after his protective, brotherly wrath had not been unleashed upon her, she had reached another, far more troubling conclusion.
She had unintentionally mixed her list into the pages of her pamphlet for the Lady’s Suffrage Society. And she had given it to the odious, sinfully handsome, utterly self-absorbed rake who owned the publisher that was now printing all the society’s pamphlets.
Those seven words written in his arrogant hand, burning a veritable hole of shame through her reticule, confirmed it. Of all the people to whom she could have unintentionally given her list, why, oh why did it have to be him?
She detested him and men of his ilk.
Mr. Elijah Decker was rather like a whore. A gentleman whore.
Only, he was no gentleman.
“What is it, Macfie?” growled Mr. Decker from somewhere within his office, sounding irritated. “I thought I told you not to interrupt me for the next bloody hour.”
“Forgive me, sir, but you have a visitor,” Mr. Macfie offered. “Lady Josephine Danvers.”
Jo clutched her reticule so tightly her knuckles ached. Less than a minute to attempt to compose herself before she had to face him. She inhaled. Told herself she would be firm. That she would not show him even a modicum of embarrassment. She would demand he return the list. She would require his silence.
Mr. Macfie turned to her. “He is ready for you now, milady.”
She thanked him and reluctantly moved into Mr. Decker’s lair. Mr. Macfie snapped the door closed with more force than necessary, making Jo jump.
Mr. Decker rose to his full, imposing height, his impossibly blue stare upon her. “Forgive Macfie. He does not know his own strength.”
She stared at Mr. Decker, trying to make sense of what he had just said. She blinked. No words were forthcoming. Her heart was pounding so loudly, she was certain Mr. Decker could hear it.
“The slamming of the door, my lady,” Mr. Decker elaborated, raising a knowing brow.
Her ears felt as if they were on fire. “Of course. Mr. Macfie is forgiven. You, however, are not. Where is my list?”
Clasping his hands behind his back, Mr. Decker sauntered toward her. “I do not recall asking for your forgiveness, my dear.”
She stiffened. “I am not your dear, and you failed to answer my question. Where is my list?”
He stopped before her, insufferably handsome. “Which list are you referring to, Lady Jo?”
The blighter.
He was toying with her. She would wager her dowry upon it.
“You know very well,” she charged.
“Hmm.” He tapped the fullness of his lower lip with his forefinger, as if he were thinking. “I think you may have to give me a hint. What did it say, this list of yours?”
Her cheeks were scalding. “You know what it says.”
“Do I?” He grinned, like the devil he was.
She had no doubt he had read every word she had written. Every shocking thing she had drafted thus far after seizing upon her plan to live her life and experience true passion the way everyone else around her was. Her sister was blissfully married. Her dearest friend was happily wed and wildly in love.
And yet, Jo had never even been kissed.
“Yes,” she hissed. “You do.”
“I am afraid my memory is dreadfully faulty. Remind me, my lady.” His voice was low. Teasing. Taunting.
Daring.
He did not think she had the audacity to say it, she realized.
Jo kept her gaze trained unwaveringly upon him. “Ways…”
She faltered.
“Ways,” he prompted, his stare dipping to her lips.
“Ways to be wicked,” she blurted.
“Oh, yes. That list. Now I recall.” The grin he gave her was sin in its purest, most tempting form.
Curse him.
And curse the curious flutter that started in her belly and slid lower, pooling between her thighs.
Jo was doomed.
Want more? Get Lady Wallflower here!
Don’t miss Scarlett’s other romances!
(Listed by Series)
Complete Book List
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
Heart’s Temptation
A Mad Passion (Book One)
Rebel Love (Book Two)
Reckless Need (Book Three)
Sweet Scandal (Book Four)
Restless Rake (Book Five)
Darling Duke (Book Six)
The Night Before Scandal (Book Seven)
Wicked Husbands
Her Errant Earl (Book One)
Her Lovestruck Lord (Book Two)
Her Reformed Rake (Book Three)
Her Deceptive Duke (Book Four)
Her Missing Marquess (Book Five)
Her Virtuous Viscount (Book Six)
League of Dukes
Nobody’s Duke (Book One)
Heartless Duke (Book Two)
Dangerous Duke (Book Three)
Shameless Duke (Book Four)
Scandalous Duke (Book Five)
Fearless Duke (Book Six)
Notorious Ladies of London
Lady Ruthless (Book One)
Lady Wallflower (Book Two)
Sins and Scoundrels
Duke of Depravity (Book One)
Prince of Persuasion (Book Two)
Marquess of Mayhem (Book Three)
Earl of Every Sin (Book Four)
Duke of Debauchery (Book Five)
The Wicked Winters
Wicked in Winter (Book One)
Wedded in Winter (Book Two)
Wanton in Winter (Book Three)
Willful in Winter (Book Four)
Wagered in Winter (Book Five)
Wild in Winter (Book Six)
Wishes in Winter (Book 3.5)
Stand-alone Novella
Lord of Pirates
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Love’s Second Chance
Reprieve (Book One)
Perfect Persuasion (Book Two)
Win My Love (Book Three)
Coastal Heat
Loved Up (Book One)
About the Author
USA Today and Amazon bestselling author Scarlett Scott writes steamy Victorian and Regency romance with strong, intelligent heroines and sexy alpha heroes. She lives in Pennsylvania with her Canadian husband, adorable identical twins, and one TV-loving dog.
A self-professed literary junkie and nerd, she loves reading anything, but especially romance novels, poetry, and Middle English verse. Catch up with her on her website www.scarlettscottauthor.com. Hearing from readers never fails to make her day.
Scarlett’s complete book list and information about upcoming releases can be found at www.scarlettscottauthor.com.
Connect with Scarlett! You can find her here:
Join Scarlett Scott’s reader’s group on Facebook for early excerpts, giveaways, and a whole lot of fun!
Sign up for her newsletter here.
Follow Scarlett on Amazon
Follow Scarlett on BookBub
www.instagram.com/scarlettscottauthor
www.twitter.com/scarscoromance
www.pinterest.com/scarlettscott
www.facebook.com/AuthorScarlettScott
&n
bsp; Join the Historical Harlots on Facebook
Lady Ruthless
Notorious Ladies of London Book 1
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2020 by Scarlett Scott
Published by Happily Ever After Books, LLC
Kindle Edition
Edited by Grace Bradley
Cover Design by Wicked Smart Designs
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded, or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is punishable by law.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events, or locales, is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
For more information, contact author Scarlett Scott.
www.scarlettscottauthor.com