A Rivalry of Hearts (Fae Flings and Corset Strings, #1)

by Tessonja Odette

To us, she mutters, “Ignore him. His personality is twisted.”

“Daph? Oh, you mean Daffy Dear.” Daphne bares her teeth and then faces us once more with a roll of her small black eyes.

“Monty is the kind of person you would absolutely pay to see get struck down by lightning, but…you’d also sort of be sad if they died. Like, I’d laugh if he got hit by a train, but I’d still weep over his remains. You know?”

“This is fun,” Monty says. “This is a bad idea,” mutters Daphne.

How the hell did flirting with Edwina end in a bet where I’m supposed to sleep with someone who isn’t her?

Did she not understand that when I dared her to seduce someone tonight, I meant me? I made it so obvious. Didn’t I? Not that I want to sleep with her. Of course I don’t. I don’t even like the woman.

She’s a nuisance with a temper and my rival in securing the contract I desperately need. That isn’t to say I don’t enjoy her company. More than anything, I like how much she hates me. Which is why I d...

But no. Instead of reading the subtext of my clear flirtations, she took my bait, added coal and fire to it, and sent it back to me. Of course I had to respond in kind. Add more coal. Add more fire. Again and ...

The impish grin she makes when she finds them and replaces them has my lips curling in turn. Not because she’s cute.

There’s nothing cute about that foolish smile or her round flushed cheeks. Or that tangled auburn hair that she managed to pin in what looks like a bird’s nest on one side of her head.

Or the way she swings her legs on her too-high stool, humming a ...

With Monty flitting about the room like a butterfly, someone had to stay sober and keep an eye on Edwina, lest she leave with one of the men. For the sake of sabotage, of course. Not for her protection.

No decent person would try to bed a drunkard who no longer had the means to consent.

THIS

Pureblood fae like me can’t lie. Unless you’re an actor playing a role.

I may be eager to win—desperate, more like—but I’d prefer to do so with my dignity intact.

a fae male with a mane of golden hair and a feline nose—leans down and whispers something in her ear. She laughs, then lets out a startled squeal. “Oh, you have a taaaail!”

I’d tell myself this is about sabotage, but it’s more than that. Edwina was nowhere close to being in her right mind. If that fae with the lion’s tail seeks to take advantage of an almost unconscious woman… Rage boils my blood.

He flicks it up to brush her neck. She cringes away, hands raised to block him. “Nope, nope. Not as sexy as I thought.”

With a grumbling sigh, I kneel before her and heft her against my chest. She complies with my efforts and winds her arms around my neck, letting me secure her in place. She’s as light as a petal. “No, I don’t want to fly,” she mumbles into my shoulder as I carry her down the hall.

Oh, right, the nest of tangles and pins she constructed. “You’re making it worse,” I say and plant myself at the edge of her mattress. Then, gingerly, I seek out one pin at a time and tug it free from her hair.

<3

“You’re not William,” she says, eyes closed. “I’m not?” “No. You’re being nice to me.

“He’s not better than you.” “He is. Everyone loves him. Men. Women. I lied when I said he’s probably a lousy lover. I bet he’s a god in bed. I bet his throbbing member would put the duke’s to shame.”

I stifle my urge to laugh. Burying my mirth, I step away from her bed. “Get some sleep, Miss Danforth.” I make to turn around, but something snatches the leg of my trousers. Glancing down, I find Edwina’s fingers pinched around the fabric near my calf.

“Can I tell you a secret, Monty?” I work my jaw side to side. “Save your...

“I lied,” she rushes to say, “to Jolene. I don’t have a spectacular sex life. I…I hardly have one at all.” I crouch beside her bed once more. “You we...

“I don’t do the things I write about.” Her voice warbles with emotion. “I only imagine them. My imagination is very i...

“But in real life…I’m a fraud. I’m faking it.” Her words resonate deep in my chest. I lean closer, lower my voice, and confess that which ve...

That’s when I see the wingback chair angled toward the stove. And the silhouette of the male figure that slumbers in it. Pulling my blankets over my chest, I erupt with a shriek.

My own nakedness takes on new meaning. “No!” I shout. “Weenie,” he hisses, “quiet down. You’ll wake the whole inn.”

“No!” I repeat, even louder this time. I pull my blanket up to my chin. “No, no, no. Don’t tell me…” He gives me a withering look. “Is your imagination running wild?”

“Ah, the mortification sets in.” Wicked mirth laces his voice.

“I barely touched you. My worst offense was loosening your corset so you could remove it yourself. Then I spent the next half hour scrubbing vomit from your blouse.

I slept in the chair to ensure you didn’t hurl again and choke to death on your stomach’s contents.” I blink at him. He did all that? For me? Suspicion dampens my surprise.

He glares down at me as he approaches the bed like a predator cornering his prey. My senses are all mixed up because a strange thrill flutters through me.

“Oh, Weenie,” he says, voice so soft and deep it makes me shudder, “if we’d been together last night in the way you’re imagining, we’d have done more than remove our tops, and I would be in bed beside you, not in a chair.

You wouldn’t have to ask what we’d done because every inch of your body would remember. You’d still be quaking from the pleasure I gave you. You’d be slick both from our expenditure and your want for more.”

My cheeks blaze with my humiliation. Why was I snuggling with his waistcoat?

He doesn’t look back at me as he sweeps out of my room, his shirt and waistcoat in hand, but my gaze certainly lingers on his wide bare back before my door slams shut.

Mmm love a broad back

an indigo-and-silver brocade

ooo sounds gorgeous

My eyes go wide. Is she suggesting Monty scuffled with a male who’d tried to take advantage of me?

“Don’t give Monty all the credit,” Daphne says from the luggage rack. “I bit the bastard’s ankles.” She sounds way too pleased about that.

I may not have the desire for a whirlwind romance, but I could experience the mind-blowing lovemaking part, couldn’t I?

Love, courtship, and physical intimacy have always been more interesting on the page than in reality.

Jolene drops my arm and immediately sets to fanning herself with her hand. “Oh. Oh, this is too much.”

“Tell me about it,” Daphne says, emerging behind us. She scampers to me and takes refuge in the shade my skirts provide. “At least you can remove your warm layers. I’m stuck in this fur coat.”

thought occurs to me. “Do you not have a seelie form? Are you unable to shift into a humanoid body?” She doesn’t answer right away, and when she does, her voice is...

William meets my eyes, a wry smile on his lips. “Feeling a little hot, Weenie?”

If she can wear a flimsy top with such confidence, surely I can too? My breasts, being far less impressive than the fae woman’s, wouldn’t even stand out that much.

He sucks in a breath as his gaze falls on me for the first time since we set off for the coach. His posture goes rigid as his eyes fall on the expanse of skin I’ve exposed above the neck of my chemise, then trail over my bare shoulders.

Everything inside me begs to curl forward and shrink from his scrutiny. Before I can do anything, his blue irises flick back to mine, his cheeks flushing pink.