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FIRST KISS from Meet the Earl at Midnight
by Gina Conkle
by Gina Conkle
He tapped two fingers to the bench. “I need you here every day without interruption.”With him standing so close and irked, she wasn’t put off by his bristling irritation. She found him quite appealing this way. A smile flirted across her lips.
“I could say the same about you, my lord.” She let her voice drop, a lure for him to flirt back with her.
“Ah, Lydia,” he said and shook his head, but there was no bite to him.
She leaned closer, liking the smell of his soap. “Can’t blame a girl for trying?”
His knuckles grazed her cheek, her lips, and she captured his warm hand and kissed his knuckles. She burned those copies in thin hope to slow him down, but that was a weak gamble on her part. He knew how quickly she worked.
The other bolder effort was what truly scared her. Her stomach fluttered unpleasantly when that deception came to mind; instead, she shoved it away, ignoring it. Part of her wanted to explode and tell him and part of her was scared at what would happen. She held his hand to her cheek and shut her eyes, not able to bear the honesty that always shone from his.
He brushed back strands of hair that fell about her face from the wind. The way he touched her, she could be a fragile treasure that he adored and would keep forever.
“And so the red hooded hoyden of Wickersham tames the Greenwich beast,” he said dropping a kiss on her forehead, her hairline and skimming her temple. “Or the phantom…not sure which name I like most today.”
“Jest if you must,” she said, letting her lips skim his cheek. “But people hold misconceptions about you because you fail to show your face in public. No one will ever know the truth.”
He pulled away but not with anger. He stood too close for that and for the first time, something like consideration for that argument reflected in his eyes. What was it about intimacy that tore down barriers erected to others in life? The good people of Greenwich Park had laid out their arguments in the same vein to him these past three years since he was first scarred. She knew as much since all and sundry told her as did Edward. The he looked at her with a satisfied smile.
“You know the truth about me.” And he kissed her lips, a soft touch that feathered her. “That’s good enough for me.” He pulled away again and his gold-tipped lashes hovered over topaz brown eyes. “You really don’t see my scars when you look at me do you?”
That startled her. She reached up and stroked the cheek, knotted and shiny; her fingers skimmed lower to his shirt’s neckline where dark-edged scars showed. Lydia’s hand slipped just inside the linen fabric to explore enticing flesh.
“I see a great deal but not scars,” she said, her voice throaty and low.
The scandalous idea of sketching him in the nude made her blush, but he didn’t notice. She held that secret idea to herself…
ABOUT THE BOOK: Meet the Earl at Midnight
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It's going to take a Beast to tame this Beauty
The Enigma Earl. The Lord Phantom. That's what the gossip pages call Lord Sandford, a mysterious nobleman who doesn't show his face in London Society. With a reputation like that, it's no wonder that Lydia Montgomery is horrified to be dragged from bed and packed off to live with him to save her mother from penury.
While Lydia has received all of the training a lady should endure, she's decidedly un-ladylike. She despises her corset and isn't interested in marriage; in fact, she would prefer to remain single so that she can spend her time improving her art. But if she wants a chance at happiness, she'll have to set aside her fear of Lord Sandford and discover the man hiding behind the beast.
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BARNES AND NOBLEAbout the book: Norse Jewel
Stolen by marauding Danes, Helena's desperate to escape their camp. She wants to return home, but the wolf-eyed Viking who bought her has his own plans. Wearied of the sword, Hakan wants a quiet farmer's life, yet peace eludes the chieftain. His once tranquil homeland's in turmoil, and his new Frankish thrall vexes him for her freedom. Even worse, the fair maid lures him with laughter and smiles. Betrayal has left the warrior cold to other women, but one hot summer changes everything. Hakan's icy heart thaws to his clever thrall. Helena weaves happiness into his hard life, and she soon questions her own desires. But, shadows of deceit spread across the kingdom, reaching Hakan's farm. Old loyalties call on the Viking to wield his sword again, but at what cost? Before summer ends, master and thrall must answer the hardest question...How much would you pay for love?
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Gina’s a lover of history, books and romance, which makes the perfect recipe for historical romance writer. Her passion for castles and old places (the older and moldier the better!) means interesting family vacations. Good thing her husband and two sons share similar passions, except for romance…that’s where she gets the eye roll. When not visiting fascinating places, she can be found in southern California delving into the latest adventures of organic gardening and serving as chief taxi driver.
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Website: www.ginaconkle.com
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