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Pride & Passion #1
Scorned, left destitute and desperate, by her late husband's will.
'To Charlotte, Viscountess Ogden, my wife, the sum of one hundred pounds for services rendered...'
The new viscount’s lost love.
Betrayed by his cousin. Spurned by the lady. He is bitter over the past. Yet honor demands that he provide for his cousin's widow.
Lady Ogden makes a dangerous mistake.
She wakens the fury - and hot passion - of the new lord. He gives her one choice - to become his unwilling mistress.
Disclaimer - Not for the fainthearted. Lots of hot, explicit sex.
He regarded her in stony silence. His lips were tightly compressed. The control he exerted over himself was patent. She did not allow her gaze to drop, but she could not stop the way her hands twisted in her lap. Behind her, she heard the loud ticking away of the mantel clock. Her heart beat time more rapidly than the clock. It seemed a lifetime before he spoke and his grating reply astonished her.
“If you had delivered an heir, by law you would have been granted tenure at Delincourt and a stipend.”
Lady Ogden felt the sudden, tight constriction under her breastbone. It was a dulled pain now but still capable of hurt. She would not deign to let him see how his words wounded. “I failed in my duty.”
“Is there any chance you might be breeding?”
A flush sprang into her cheeks. She tightened her clasped fingers until her knuckles turned white. She couldn’t imagine what conceivable business it could be of his – but of course! In a flash, she understood. He’d still be the heir presumptive if she was with child, and not entitled to the chair in which he was now sitting. For a wild moment, she thought of lying, of saying that there was a chance of it, if only to gain some time in hopes of making another way for herself; but she could not sacrifice her honor, after all. It was the only thing left to her besides her tattered pride. Her husband had not lain with her in the several weeks before the accident, and as for the last time... She lifted her chin. “None, my lord.”
“Then there is nothing to be done for you.”
The viscount’s flat statement fell harshly on her ears. Whatever fragile hope she had nourished withered. In dull despair, she looked at his angered, set face. The slow tick of the clock sounded unbearably loud. Some odd quality gathered in his expression, suddenly frightening her. His hard gaze bored into her own. He spoke slowly, very deliberately. “Unless, my lady, you were brought to bed of a child within the year of your mourning.”
Lady Ogden stared into his unreadable eyes. But I have just informed him -Then - when the incredible import dawned on her - she went hot and weak. The echo of his words taunted her through the chambers of her astonished mind. The air shuttled in and out of her lungs in rapid, shallow breaths. She wondered why she did not faint. But he waited, still watching her. Falcon's cruel eyes. Hating him, hating herself, she was sickeningly aware of the traitorous tempo of her heartbeat. She made herself answer him. "Y-yes, that is true."
"Then you know what you must do."
Vengeance. Dark desire. A steamy, seductive passion.
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'To Charlotte, Viscountess Ogden, my wife, the sum of one hundred pounds for services rendered...'
The new viscount’s lost love.
Betrayed by his cousin. Spurned by the lady. He is bitter over the past. Yet honor demands that he provide for his cousin's widow.
Lady Ogden makes a dangerous mistake.
She wakens the fury - and hot passion - of the new lord. He gives her one choice - to become his unwilling mistress.
Disclaimer - Not for the fainthearted. Lots of hot, explicit sex.
He regarded her in stony silence. His lips were tightly compressed. The control he exerted over himself was patent. She did not allow her gaze to drop, but she could not stop the way her hands twisted in her lap. Behind her, she heard the loud ticking away of the mantel clock. Her heart beat time more rapidly than the clock. It seemed a lifetime before he spoke and his grating reply astonished her.
“If you had delivered an heir, by law you would have been granted tenure at Delincourt and a stipend.”
Lady Ogden felt the sudden, tight constriction under her breastbone. It was a dulled pain now but still capable of hurt. She would not deign to let him see how his words wounded. “I failed in my duty.”
“Is there any chance you might be breeding?”
A flush sprang into her cheeks. She tightened her clasped fingers until her knuckles turned white. She couldn’t imagine what conceivable business it could be of his – but of course! In a flash, she understood. He’d still be the heir presumptive if she was with child, and not entitled to the chair in which he was now sitting. For a wild moment, she thought of lying, of saying that there was a chance of it, if only to gain some time in hopes of making another way for herself; but she could not sacrifice her honor, after all. It was the only thing left to her besides her tattered pride. Her husband had not lain with her in the several weeks before the accident, and as for the last time... She lifted her chin. “None, my lord.”
“Then there is nothing to be done for you.”
The viscount’s flat statement fell harshly on her ears. Whatever fragile hope she had nourished withered. In dull despair, she looked at his angered, set face. The slow tick of the clock sounded unbearably loud. Some odd quality gathered in his expression, suddenly frightening her. His hard gaze bored into her own. He spoke slowly, very deliberately. “Unless, my lady, you were brought to bed of a child within the year of your mourning.”
Lady Ogden stared into his unreadable eyes. But I have just informed him -Then - when the incredible import dawned on her - she went hot and weak. The echo of his words taunted her through the chambers of her astonished mind. The air shuttled in and out of her lungs in rapid, shallow breaths. She wondered why she did not faint. But he waited, still watching her. Falcon's cruel eyes. Hating him, hating herself, she was sickeningly aware of the traitorous tempo of her heartbeat. She made herself answer him. "Y-yes, that is true."
"Then you know what you must do."
Vengeance. Dark desire. A steamy, seductive passion.
Scroll up now! Buy with 1-Click!Leave a review! Your opinion matters!
210 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 3, 2020
3 people are currently reading
1 person want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 31, 2020
In all honesty I should not like this, I don’t particularly like erotica but it was more of a HR with very steamy scenes (some disturbing), the story was unusual and I couldn’t put it down so OK read. Especially the first half of the book sucked me in. It reminded me in the beginning of my favorite Austen, Persuasion, except here the heroine rejected the hero and married another and then the captain returned when the husband died. And the ugly business begins and any similarities to Austen are gone:-.
Charlotte is a viscountess, a recent widow who is left penniless and homeless. She begs the new viscount, Vincent, for help and he makes her strike a bargain. His motives are revenge for her turning down his proposal some years ago.
The shocking actions in the first chapters, the things Vincent does, how he hurts her and how cold and unfeeling he is after and all just because she said no to him, stay with the reader throughout the book and make everything from then on confusing. He is strong and considerate and protective but then we remember the bargain he keeps over her head and we remember how they sealed that bargain and how he seemingly only cares for taking advantage of her and it just doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t fit his character, the things he puts her through, and then, the things he said and threaten her with towards the end - when he only wants to marry her - it is so stupid.
Except for Vincent the hero, the characters were either good or bad, very one dimensional saints or sinners. The writing was ok, a bit too detailed, or slow, the dialogue was very theatrical at times, and the bedroom talk (he spoke dirty to her) was not sexy at all but funny and I don’t suppose it was meant to be, it reads rather silly but what do I know, maybe they talked dirty like this in those times (“My thick tool throbs with the force of my desire. I ache to explore your hot honeyed depths”).
Charlotte is a viscountess, a recent widow who is left penniless and homeless. She begs the new viscount, Vincent, for help and he makes her strike a bargain. His motives are revenge for her turning down his proposal some years ago.
The shocking actions in the first chapters, the things Vincent does, how he hurts her and how cold and unfeeling he is after and all just because she said no to him, stay with the reader throughout the book and make everything from then on confusing. He is strong and considerate and protective but then we remember the bargain he keeps over her head and we remember how they sealed that bargain and how he seemingly only cares for taking advantage of her and it just doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t fit his character, the things he puts her through, and then, the things he said and threaten her with towards the end - when he only wants to marry her - it is so stupid.
Except for Vincent the hero, the characters were either good or bad, very one dimensional saints or sinners. The writing was ok, a bit too detailed, or slow, the dialogue was very theatrical at times, and the bedroom talk (he spoke dirty to her) was not sexy at all but funny and I don’t suppose it was meant to be, it reads rather silly but what do I know, maybe they talked dirty like this in those times (“My thick tool throbs with the force of my desire. I ache to explore your hot honeyed depths”).
Displaying 1 of 1 review