Victorian Era Romance (1853)
Solstice Publishing (February 13, 2013)
Fara Bellamont has been back in society for a year after leaving Cluny Abbey, where her uncle sent her long ago. When he chooses a suitor for her for marriage, she fears that she will be forced to marry a stranger and live a miserable life.
But, Fara finds herself thrust into an adventure of a lifetime when unforeseen circumstances cause her to place her trust in a strange man for protection. His intervention not only saves her, but puts her in an even more compromising position.
Grant Hill, a trading captain, is enchanted by the young heiress not only because of her beauty, but because she is hardly conventional. Underneath her ladylike exterior lies a tigress. Grant cannot help but offer his protection as she is in need and he is far from immune from her charms.
Fara just never bargained on the passion that she feels for Grant Hill. As events unfold, she must decide whether her desires and the dictates of her heart should trump the rules of society.
She heard footsteps behind her and she turned, lashing out with her fingernails. She gasped as she saw him howl in pain, lowering his head to reveal red claw marks over the bridge of his nose. Then the man she'd first wounded came at her, tackling her.
The impact jarred her and she went down. “No!” Her escape was not to be.
She rolled to the ground in a maze of skirts and a heavy thigh was thrown across her knees, leaving her immobile. She squeezed her eyes tight. His touch on her face and breasts was repulsive. Tears threatened to overcome her and they ran like tracks into her hair. “Please,” she whispered.
“Ah, gentlemen, what have we here?” An unfamiliar voice sounded and Fara lifted her head weakly to see a new face, a different man. She wondered if he was an ordinary spectator. He didn't look ordinary. He was big, intimidating but not frighteningly so. There was something about him she wanted to trust. She thought it might be his eyes, thought she detected a hint of concern as he glanced at her briefly. But, of course, she might be wrong. She had been before.
The man who pinned her disengaged himself and got to his feet. He looked down at her uneasily. “To your feet, chère,” he ordered.
She dizzily stood in response and he clutched her to his side as if to claim her as his possession.
The stranger frowned. “She's quite a catch, gentlemen. Are you sure she's not off limits?”
The man at her side stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“She appears to be a lady.”
Hope sprang from inside her. The man was no innocent bystander. He was a man with a purpose, but deep down she knew he could not be with these rogues.
“And if she is, Monsieur?”
“Then I would be curious as to why a lady is here with the two of you.”
The one called Bernard replied derisively, “Perhaps we are just too irresistible.”
The man laughed. “Hardly.” He sighed as her captor chose to resume his place behind her and blocked all attempts of escape with an arm across her chest. “Release her, gentlemen. Let's settle this in a civilized manner, shall we?”
The man who held her grunted. “Why don't you go about your business, Monsieur? A simple matter like this shouldn't interest you.”
“A woman's reputation may be at stake. Of course I'm interested.”
“We could share her, Monsieur.”
His gaze swept over her body and shivered. Why, surely he would not take them seriously...he couldn't take the offer. For God's sake, he was her only hope.
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Website: Marie Lavender, Romance Writer
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