by KJ Charles
“Practice from a lifetime of dishonesty?”
“That will doubtless help.” He took Alec’s chin, tilting his head up. “This is ridiculous. I’ve been thinking about fucking you every night for a month. I planned to make up for that unspeakable last time inch by inch over your skin, to render you so helplessly mine you’d need reminding to breathe. And now you’re here, and I want to do nothing but tell you how beautiful you are.”
“You could do both.”
“I probably could.” Jerry’s eyes narrowed in a familiar way that made Alec’s skin tingle. “Or I could pull myself together—at your expense, needless to say. It may take some time. Do you have anywhere you need to be tonight?”
“No.”
“Will you stay here?”
“Can I?” Alec asked. The thought was astonishing. “I mean, is it safe?”
“Entirely. Stay with me, sleep with me, in every sense. I’m Jeremy here, by the way, Jeremy Brant.”
“Jeremy. Right.”
“I do realise there are inconveniences to a lover whose name changes quite so frequently,” Jerry said, with a hint of apology.
“Oh, well. I knew you were a Lilywhite Boy when I got into this.”
“I really don’t think it works as a singular. The point about the lily-white boys in the song is that there’s two of them, no?” He reached for Alec’s necktie, tugging it undone.
Alec tipped his head back to give access. “Two, two, the lily-white boys, clothèd all in green-O...”
“One is one and all alone,” Jerry sang in a surprisingly deep baritone, fingers dancing down Alec’s buttons. “And nevermore shall be so.”
“It’s ‘ever more’, isn’t it?”
Jerry leaned forward, brushing a gentle kiss over Alec’s lips. “Certainly not.”
“Oh.” Alec could feel himself going pink. “But you can’t just change a Christmas carol to suit yourself.”
“Suit us. And I can do any damn thing I please.” Jerry tugged his shirt-tails free and winked at him. “Watch me.”
A murdered man.
A stolen necklace.
An old flame in deep trouble.
Susan Lazarus returns in Gilded Cage, coming soon.
Author’s Note
Duncan Hamilton’s book Harry the Valet is a fascinating account of a jewel thief in late Victorian England, and includes the story of the ghastly Duke and Duchess of Sutherland, who inspired the Ilvars. Yes, they were that bad.
Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary by Anita Anand is an excellent biography of Princess Sophia Duleep Singh and her family.
Susan Lazarus and Greta, Countess of Moreton first appear in my Sins of the Cities trilogy, set twenty years earlier. Justin Lazarus’s story is told in An Unnatural Vice.
Acknowledgements
My early readers were invaluable—May Peterson, Kris Ripper, and Moog Florin. Thank you all. As always, big love to my agent, Courtney Miller-Callihan, and to the KJ Charles Chat group whose enthusiastic baying for Victorian jewel thieves and Susan Lazarus, Lady Detective kept me going.
Massive thanks to Veronica Vega for editing, Vic Grey for the stunning cover art, and Lennan Adams for the design.
For more Victorian shenanigans by KJ Charles...
Sins of the Cities
London 1873. As one of the worst fogs of the nineteenth century closes in on the city, long-buried crimes are crawling into the light. Clem Talleyfer is an unassuming lodging-house keeper; Nathaniel Roy is a lawyer turned journalist who likes nothing more than a crusade; Mark Braglewicz is a private enquiry agent. And all three friends are about to find themselves dragged into an aristocratic family secret that turns deadly.
An Unseen Attraction (Sins of the Cities #1)
Lodging-house keeper Clem Talleyfer prefers a quiet life. He’s happy with his hobbies, his work—and especially with his lodger, taxidermist Rowley Green, who becomes a friend over long fireside evenings together. If only neat, precise, irresistible Mr. Green were interested in more than friendship.
Rowley just wants to be left alone—at least until he meets Clem, with his odd, charming ways and his glorious eyes. Two quiet men, lodging in the same house, coming to an understanding—it could be perfect. Then the brutally murdered corpse of another lodger is dumped on their doorstep and their peaceful life is shattered.
Now Clem and Rowley find themselves caught up in a mystery, threatened on all sides by violent men, with a deadly London fog closing in on them. If they’re to see their way through, the pair must learn to share their secrets—and their hearts.
“both an intriguing and engrossing story and a tender romance between two well-drawn protagonists whose unique personality traits inform their emotional and sexual relationships.”—All About Romance
“A plot that’s unabashed pulp, made poignant by its effects on the two bruised souls at its center.”—Publishers Weekly starred review
“I never thought taxidermy could be this sexy.”—Aliette de Bodard
An Unnatural Vice (Sins of the Cities #2)
Crusading journalist Nathaniel Roy is determined to expose spiritualists who exploit the grief of bereaved and vulnerable people. First on his list is the so-called Seer of London, Justin Lazarus. Nathaniel expects him to be a cheap, heartless fraud. He doesn’t expect to meet a man with a sinful smile and the eyes of a fallen angel—or that a shameless swindler will spark his desires for the first time in years.
Justin feels no remorse for the lies he spins during his séances. His gullible clients bore him, but hostile, disbelieving, utterly irresistible Nathaniel is a fascinating challenge. And as their battle of wills and wits heats up, Justin can’t stop thinking about the man who’s determined to ruin him.
But Justin and Nathaniel are linked by more than their fast-growing obsession with one another. They are both caught up in an aristocratic family’s secrets, and Justin holds information that could be lethal. As killers, fanatics, and fog close in, Nathaniel is the only man Justin can trust—and, perhaps, the only man he could love.
“A great story that’s excellently written and researched; characters who are well-drawn and appealing; a book that stimulates intellectually as well as emotionally... An Unnatural Vice has it all and is easily one of the best books I’ve read so far this year.”—Romantic Historical Reviews
“fierce and frantic enemies-to-lovers romance ... a powerful and fascinating conflict.”—Romantic Times, Top Pick
“the romance shines while still slowly and steadily advancing the larger story. Though Nathaniel and Justin are attracted to one another from the very start (their chemistry is scorching), their bitterness and mutual animosity is a thing to behold.”—All About Romance
“Hot hate-sex that gradually develops into cross-class understanding and respect—now that’s a romance writing achievement that you don’t see every day.” —Romance Novels for Feminists
An Unsuitable Heir (Sins of the Cities #3)
On the trail of an aristocrat’s secret son, enquiry agent Mark Braglewicz finds his quarry in a music hall, performing as a trapeze artist with his twin sister. Graceful, beautiful, elusive, and strong, Pen Starling is like nobody Mark’s ever met—and everything he’s ever wanted. But the long-haired acrobat has an earldom and a fortune to claim.
Pen doesn’t want to live as any sort of man, least of all a nobleman. The thought of being wealthy, titled, and always in the public eye is horrifying. He likes his life now—his days on the trapeze, his nights with Mark. And he won’t be pushed into taking a title that would destroy his soul.
But there’s a killer stalking London’s foggy streets, and more lives than just Pen’s are at risk. Mark decides he must force the reluctant heir from music hall to manor house, to save Pen’s neck. Betrayed by the one man he thought he could trust, Pen never wants to see his lover again. But when the killer comes after him, Pen must find a way to forgive—or he might not live long enough for Mark to make amends.
“I love
the way KJ Charles has incorporated the elements of Victorian popular fiction into her plotlines; the writing is sublime”—All About Romance
“With a lively cast and a tangled, entertainingly pulpy plot, Charles delivers a sensitive, powerful romance full of humor, humanity, and suspense.”—Publishers Weekly starred review
For more books by KJ Charles go to
http://kjcharleswriter.com/books/
About the Author
KJ Charles is a RITA®-nominated writer and freelance editor. She lives in London with her husband, two kids, an out-of-control garden, and a cat with murder management issues.
KJ writes mostly historical romance, mostly queer, sometimes with fantasy or horror in there. She is represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan at Handspun Literary.
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Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this book, reviews are very welcome.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. Aside from brief quotations for media coverage and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form without the author’s permission. Thank you for supporting authors and a diverse, creative culture by purchasing this book and complying with copyright laws.
Published by KJC Books
Copyright © 2019 by KJ Charles
Edited by Veronica Vega
Cover art by Vic Grey
Cover design by Lexiconic Design
ISBN: 978-1-912688-07-4
Also available in paperback
ISBN: 978-1-912688-08-1
