Leslie Hachtel is always up to something hot. Thanks for handing the baton over to me, Leslie!

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I have been super busy writing the third and final book in the Forever Bride’s series. Desperate Bride is a great story that is really turned out even better than I expected. It won’t be out until September 2017 but here’s the beginning! Please keep in mind this is not yet edited.

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Chapter 1

Head bent over his desk, Thomas Wheel had spent over an hour reading a document regarding a piece of property he wished to purchase. The property was exactly what he needed for a farming project he longed to try but the owner’s demands were outrageous. He did not hear his butler enter the study until he cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Yes, what is it Crowly?”

The butler was tall and wide and nearly filled the doorway. “Sir, I know you said that you didn’t wish to be disturbed, but you have a visitor.”

Thomas pulled the watch from his pocket. “At this late hour? Send whoever it is away. It’s too late for callers.”

Crowly shuffled his feet but did not leave.

“Is there a problem, Crowly?”

“Well, sir, you see, the visitor is a young woman of apparent good breeding. She arrived in a hack and I am reluctant to put her back out on the street.”

Thomas stood. “She is alone.”

“It would seem so, Sir.”

“Who is it?”

“The lady refused to provide a card and wishes to speak to you rather urgently.”

He pulled his jacket from the back of his chair and dressed himself. “I suppose you had better let the mystery lady in.”

“Yes. Thank you, sir.” Crowly relaxed.

Within seconds, a woman, draped in a black cape with a hood hiding her face, entered the study.

Thomas stood behind his desk and waited for her to speak.

She just stood there silently. Keeping her head down, she toyed with the tie at the neck and kept her face hidden.

“How may I help you?”

Her head came up quickly and her hood fell away. There, standing in his study, was Lady Dorothea Flammel. The amber in her blond hair came to life in the firelight.

Thomas gripped the back of his chair for balance. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but in his wildest dreams he never thought to see Dory in his home. Well, maybe in his dreams but never in reality.

Compared to the burly butler, she looked lost in the doorway. Her green eyes were ringed red as if she’d been crying.

He crossed the room quickly, but when she backed away from him, he stopped. “Lady Flammel, what is wrong? Is it Markus?”

Markus Flammel, Dory’s older brother and one of Thomas’ closest friends, lost his wife during childbirth a year before. The child had lived but the loss of Emma had sent Markus into a desperate depression.

“No. It’s not Markus. He is in the country as far as I know.” She silently stared at her feet.

“Perhaps you would like to sit,” he suggested.

She looked up, her hand shook as she reached for the doorknob. The tightness around her eyes eased, she nodded and stepped away from the exit..

He offered her the chair in front of his desk.

She skirted away from him to reach the seat. He rounded the desk and sat in his office chair.

The silence in the room grew uncomfortable. Thomas cleared his throat.

Usually calm and confident, Dory jumped.

“Lady Flammel?”

“Yes?”

Most women found his smile engaging, but when he smiled at her, she looked at him as if he had bared his teeth for the kill.

He leaned forward resting his arms on the desk. “I can only assume that you have come to me for some reason. You risk quite a lot coming to a bachelor’s home, in the middle of the night, in a hack and all alone. You must permit me my curiosity at such an unorthodox act.”

She sighed. “Perhaps it was a mistake.”

“Was it?” he asked.

She looked at him. He had watched her play the pianoforte dozens of times over the past few years. She was an artist of the highest order. Her emotion when she played was enthralling but away from her instrument she always seemed so calm and controlled. Here in his study, she was near tears. He wanted to go to her but he didn’t wish to scare her. His imposing height often intimidated the fairer sex and that was the last thing he wanted.

“I’m in trouble,” she finally said.

Anger seared through Thomas. “Who was it? I will cut out his innards.” He pounded his fist on the desk.

She flinched then waved her hand dismissively. “Not that kind of trouble, Mr. Wheel.”

His fury seeped away. Watching her from the shadows for years, her music had drawn him in but her full eyelashes and deep green eyes kept him mesmerized. For a long time, he had yearned to touch the soft skin of her cheek and kiss those delicate ears. It was never going to be possible, of course. She was the daughter of an earl. She would marry a man of her own station, not Mr. Wheel of Surry.

“Perhaps you should just tell me why you are here since you have made the trip. I will help you in any way I am able. I assure you that your presence here will never be disclosed. My staff is very discreet.”

“I suppose as you are a bachelor, they would have to be.” Along with her deep frown, there was a bitter twist in her voice.

He didn’t comment though her distaste wasn’t lost on him.

She took a deep breath, making her full bosom rise.

Distracted for a moment, he steeled himself and watched her eyes which he found equally intriguing.

She cleared her throat daintily. “I am in need of a husband and I have decided that, if you wouldn’t mind, you and I would suit very nicely.”

It took a full count for her words to penetrate his mind. “Perhaps earlier you didn’t understand my anger.” Anger rose again in his gut. He didn’t want to frighten her. “It would seem that I must be blunt. Are you with child?”

She picked up her chin. “I understood you just fine, Mr. Wheel. I am not with child nor have I been ruined. I just need to marry immediately.”

 

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I hope you enjoyed this little sneak peak at Desperate Bride. You can read the first in series Tainted Bride on September 27 of this year. Preorder NOW!

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Make sure you keep on hopping over to the fabulously talented Xio Axelrod’s blog.

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Only trust can save her….

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Sailing to London, Sophia Braighton only hopes to escape certain ruin. But when she arrives, her Great Aunt Daphne has other plans for the American-born beauty. Determined to marry off her niece to a man of means, she propels Sophia into London society, not knowing that the young woman’s trust in men is shattered. In fact, Sophia never expects to ever feel anything for a man. Then again, she never expects to find herself in the company of the dashing Earl of Marlton….

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From the moment he sees Sophia, Daniel Fallon feels alive in a way he has not since his broken engagement. Though the vulnerable beauty shies from the passion burning bright between them, Daniel is determined to court her and make her his bride. And when he learns of the painful secret she harbors, he is equally determined to take revenge on the man responsible. But will the quest destroy him—and his future with his beloved?