by Bec McMaster
Capturing her fingertips, he drew her into his arms, setting his glass down on the nearest table. The swish of her green skirts pressed against his thighs. "You look beautiful tonight," he told her, turning serious again.
"And you're trying to distract me."
"You accuse me of being unromantic," he quipped back. "Can't I compliment my wife?"
Firm fingers took her champagne glass and set it aside too. Then his hands cupped her face and drew her closer. Her entire body pressed against his, and Ingrid breathed in the subtle scent of his aftershave.
"Of course you can," she whispered. "But don't think I'll forget that you're hiding something."
Byrnes smiled, his pale eyes growing lazy. "Always a challenge, Ingrid. Obviously I'm not trying hard enough."
The kiss took her breath away as he caught her hands and wrapped them around his waist. Then his own hands captured her face and he drank in the taste of her breath, every soft gasp... turning her into a molten puddle of quivering need.
Yes, romance definitely seemed like a suitable distraction.
Ingrid slid her hands inside his coat and pressed him back against the desk. Byrnes caught her wrists. "Ah, ah, ah." He murmured, withdrawing from her. "You are not going to ravish me on Lynch's desk."
She bit her lip, her gaze lifting to his. "Do you think he'd notice?"
"Undoubtedly." Byrnes put a finger to her lips. "Later. You're not going to distract me from my purpose."
Ingrid bit his finger. "I could."
There was that smile, there and then gone again. "This is important."
Ingrid rested her hip on the desk and folded her palms in her lap. "You have ten seconds to convince me it's interesting. Then I want my present." A darting glance toward his erection told him precisely what she meant by that.
"Maybe this is your present," he replied, leaning his hands on either side of her hips and pressing closer.
"Continue."
"You know I've been distracted lately."
Ingrid hesitated. Of course she'd noticed, though she'd thought it the residual effects of his mother's passing last year. "Ye-es...."
"I've been working on a gift for you," he said, and the laughter vanished from his face, leaving him darkly serious.
Once upon a time, she would have thought that she'd done something wrong when he looked like that. She understood him now, however. That closed-off expression and the tight way he pronounced his words meant that he was emotional and trying to rein it in.
"A gift?" she teased, to lighten the mood.
"It's been perplexing me since the day we married. I wanted to do something for you, but it hasn't been as easy as I'd hoped it would be. In my arrogance I assumed I would be able to present you with this gift for our anniversary. Let's just say, it took a little longer than expected. Come." He took her fingers and drew her to the polished walnut secretary, where he gestured her into the seat. There was a creamy envelope on the secretary, as well as a box somewhat larger than a book. It smelled like paper and ink and the faint chemical tang of photographs.
"What is it?"
"Not a puppy," he replied promptly. "Or a diamond ring. Or all of the other foolish ideas Rosa presented me with. I wanted to do something special for you."
Ingrid looked up and he brushed his mouth against her cheek. "It's the reason I disappeared for two weeks last month, darling. I didn't go to Edinburgh with Garrett for that Ripper case. I lied about that, but I hope you'll forgive me."
"Byrnes." Her voice lowered, her heart starting a rapid pitter-pat. She didn't know why, but she was suddenly nervous. As was he. She could see it in the tense line of his body. "I thought we promised not to lie to each other."
"I didn't want to get your hopes up." Then he let out an exasperated breath. "I didn't want to get my hopes up. Do you know how frustrating this case has been? I honestly didn't expect this lead to go anywhere, as all the others haven't. And if I'm being honest, this was a promise I made a long time ago to you."
"Case?" Her spine straightened. "You were working a case without me? And what promise?"
"Bloody hell, Ingrid. Just open the envelope."
Shooting him a sidelong glance under her lashes that promised future retribution, she obliged. A pair of first class tickets aboard a steamer fell into her hand. "Oslo? But why...?" And then she stopped speaking. She was fairly certain she also stopped breathing. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears.
Byrnes pushed the package toward her with a faint, nervous smile. He rested his hip on the desk. "I found them for you."
"Who?" she whispered, but she knew.
"Your family, Ingrid. I found them."
The world fell apart. Tears blurred her vision, and she froze, unable to so much as speak.
Byrnes's hand clenched around hers comfortingly. "Your legal name isn't Ingrid, which has been the bother all along. It's actually Britta Ingrid Apslund. Your Aunt Kristina, however, decided you were most certainly not a Britta when you were a one-year-old. They called you Ingrid from that moment until your fourth year, when you were taken by the English raiders. It's all there in the package. I have photographs of your family. I have your birth documents, your... your bill of sale. I even met your mother. She's still alive, after all this time, and looks remarkably like you. You have aunts, uncles, sisters, nephews and nieces—"
Ingrid couldn't bear to hear anymore. All this time.... With trembling hands, she opened the box and lifted a pile of photographs out. The top one showed a smiling woman resting a baby on her hip whilst another child clung to her skirts. The man beside the woman was tall, with dark hair and light-colored eyes that—even through the sepia portrait—she knew were bronze. The image seemed to suddenly open up a previously locked box in her memory. She could almost hear his voice in her mind, reading to her before bed. A deep, patient voice, and her favorite book, The Snow Queen.
With a gasp, she clapped a hand to her lips, but her tears were more difficult to contain. "My father."
"Yes." Byrnes kissed her forehead. His voice lowered. "He was killed by the hunting party that took you. Your mother searched for you for years, but there was nothing to find. The English raiders were good at their job, and some of them were even rogue blue bloods. They didn't leave any scent, or any trail. She never knew what had happened to you, but she never gave up hoping."
She couldn't stop herself from crying harder.
"Ingrid?" Byrnes gathered her into his arms, where she sobbed against his chest. "You're starting to make me nervous. You're happy about this, yes?"
In response, she simply nodded wetly against his shoulder.
"There's nothing I wouldn't do to make you happy, darling." His strong arms drew her tight into a hug that shielded her from the world. "I would even resort to flowers and poetry if I thought that would put a smile on your face."
She couldn't help laughing at the thought. Dashing the tears from her eyes, she pushed away from him just enough to try and gather herself. "I should make you write me a poem, just to see if you would."
He grimaced. "I'd pay Garrett to do it. He's better at that sort of thing than I am."
"I don't want empty words, Caleb." Ingrid tugged at his lapels, trying to compose herself. "Just you. Always you. You always know exactly what I need."
Gruff, and slightly embarrassed, he couldn't quite hide his pleasure as he cleared his throat. "I love you, Ingrid. They're the only words that I know, and they're not empty." Pressing her hand to his chest, he gave a faint smile. "They fill me up, in here. I never knew there was so much emptiness inside until I met you, but you fill me up. You make every day a revelation."
Ingrid gave a hiccupping laugh that was filled with more tears. Her family.... She still couldn't believe it. "Thank you."
"I thought we could take an extended honeymoon," he suggested, offering her his handkerchief. "Since we missed out on our first one, thanks to that debacle at Malloryn's wedding."
"A honeymoon?"
Fingers tiptoed d
own her bodice, pausing at the lace along her décolletage. "We leave in two days time. So you'll have to pack. But that's unimportant. I believe you were saying something about another type of present?"
Ingrid curled her fist in his collar. "Come here," she growled, and hauled him against her for a kiss.
Lynch's desk be damned.
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BEFORE YOU LEAVE LONDON...
IF YOU ENJOYED MISSION: Improper, then get ready for The Mech Who Loved Me! Book two in the Blue Blood Conspiracy series, it features Kincaid and Ava, and continues the mystery of figuring out just who is the figurehead behind the dhampir and SOG. If you want to know more about its release date, cover reveals, and pre-order links click here.
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IF YOU'D LIKE to receive notification of future Bec McMaster titles, giveaways, and exclusive first looks at new covers, sign up for my newsletter.
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CAN'T WAIT for more blue blood action and romance? Or did you miss the first arc of the series, London Steampunk? Check out the whole series. I recommend starting with Kiss Of Steel. Not only is it the first book, but it also features a cocky, bad boy anti-hero who captured my heart from the very first moment he came onscreen. There's humor, heroes-to-die-for, dangerous plots, sexy corsets, kick-bustle heroines, duels, steamy kisses (not-just-kisses), and vampires.
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DON'T FORGET to keep an eye out for new releases. Hexbound, the second book in the Dark Arts series is out in October 2016, and features the reclusive and scarred assassin, Adrian Bishop, and a thief who just might be able to help him recover the Chalice she stole from him. Then in December, The Last True Hero, continues the Burned Lands series, with the story of what happened to Adam McClain.
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THANK YOU FOR READING MISSION: Improper! I hope you enjoyed it. Please consider leaving a review online, to help others find my books. Read on for more information on the Blue Blood Conspiracy series.
THE MECH WHO LOVED ME
COMING 2017
The Sons of Gilead are rising, threatening the very heart of the Empire: the Queen herself. Only a secret handful of people dare to stop them, though they may be risking life and limb–and even their hearts–in the process.
Freed from the grips of a madman, Miss Ava McLaren has had a difficult time fitting back into the life of a gently bred young lady. Stricken by the craving virus, she found solace in the laboratories of the Nighthawks trying to create a synthetic solution for blood, until one day a strange missive arrives, asking for her help in thwarting a plot against the Queen.
Thrown into the Company of Rogues, Ava finds herself intimidated by the dangerous men and women who form the core of the group, particularly the brutish mech, Kincaid. The man's a devilishly handsome rake who barely notices that she's even female. Indeed, he considers her blue blood status a personal insult and makes it clear he'll never trust her.
Until an assassination attempt proves that Ava's experiments just might have caught the attention of the Sons of Gilead. Kincaid's the only one who can protect her from the dangerous anarchists–and together they are forced to discover just why Ava is suddenly the most sought-after bluestocking in London...
ALSO AVAILABLE:
LONDON STEAMPUNK SERIES
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Kiss Of Steel
Heart Of Iron
My Lady Quicksilver
Forged By Desire
Of Silk And Steam
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Novellas in same series:
Tarnished Knight
The Curious Case Of The Clockwork Menace
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LONDON STEAMPUNK: THE BLUE BLOOD CONSPIRACY
Mission: Improper
The Mech Who Loved Me (Coming 2017)
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DARK ARTS SERIES
Shadowbound
Hexbound (Oct 2016)
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BURNED LANDS SERIES
Nobody's Hero
The Last True Hero (Dec 2016)
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SHORT STORIES
The Many Lives Of Hadley Monroe
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bec McMaster is the award-winning author of the London Steampunk series. When not poring over travel brochures, playing netball, or cooking things that are very likely bad for her, Bec spends most of her time in front of the computer. A member of RWA, she writes sexy, dark paranormals, and adventurous steampunk romances, and grew up with her nose in a book. Following a life-long love affair with fantasy, she discovered romance novels as a 16 year-old, and hasn't looked back.
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In 2012, Sourcebooks released her debut award-winning novel, Kiss of Steel, the first in the London Steampunk series, followed by: Heart of Iron, My Lady Quicksilver, Forged By Desire, and Of Silk And Steam. Two novellas - Tarnished Knight and The Curious Case Of The Clockwork Menace - fleshed out the series. She has been nominated for RT Reviews Best Steampunk Romances for Heart of Iron (2013), won RT Reviews Best Steampunk Romance with Of Silk And Steam (2015), and Forged By Desire was nominated for a RITA award in 2015.
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In 2016, she debuted the Dark Arts series with Shadowbound, and the second London Steampunk: The Blueblood Conspiracy series begins in July 2016 with Mission: Improper.
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For news on new releases, cover reveals, giveaways, and special promotions, join her mailing list.
@BecMcMaster
BecMcMaster
www.becmcmaster.com
[email protected]
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The storyline in Mission: Improper first began to rear its head in My Lady Quicksilver (book three in London Steampunk). We were rapidly heading toward the revolution, but what happened next? After all, there were a lot of threads to tie up, a few characters who needed to find their HEA, and just how well was the Queen going to rule now that she was out from under the grip of her tyrannical husband? One of the things I liked exploring in this book is the fact that not everything is perfect. We like to pretend that when we overthrow the villains, the world is suddenly sunshine and roses. But mistakes get made, and sometimes those changes don't just happen in the blink of an eye. London is now changing, but slowly, my friends. Slowly. And we've got a bit of a ways to go yet.
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I enjoyed every second of writing this novel, but as with every project I take on, I couldn't have done it without a lot of help from these amazing people:
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I owe huge thanks to Jennie Kew and Kylie Griffin for the beta read–who else highlights every cat reference in somebody's manuscript *grin*–to Olivia from Hot Tree Edits for all the editorial efforts on this project, and my wonderful cover artists at Damonza.com for that glorious cover. Special thanks go to my very own beta hero, Byron–who encourages and supports me every step of the way–and to the Central Victorian Writers Group, for all of the tea and chocolates consumed at our meetings/brainstorming sessions.
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And to everyone who read/loved/reviewed/ or talked about this book, you guys are awesome! And yes, Charlie is coming! He just has a little bit of growing up to do. I hope you enjoyed Ingrid and Byrnes's HEA!
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
MISSION: IMPROPER
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Epilogue
THE MECH WHO LOVED ME
ALSO AVAILABLE:
About the Author
Acknowledgments
