E-Book Overview
New York Times Bestselling author Barbara Dawson Smith returns with another enchanting, unforgettable novel featuring the beloved Kenyon family...One Wild NightI have always taken pride in my bad reputation. Polite society viewed me as depraved and utterly dissolute, for I was a disciple of passion. Pleasure was my hallmark, women my pastime. That is, before the incomparable Lady Charlotte Quinton disrupted my life--again.Due to a scandal of her own making, she had been banished from home for five years. Apparently she decided that a life of boring respectability was the key to her happiness. We might have continued down our divergent paths if not for a vicious attack on our families.Tracking a dangerous criminal occupied my time, but the tart-tongued spinster Lady Charlotte occupied my mind--and my desires. Certainly no other woman in London was immune to my charms. Yet the more Charlotte spurned me, the more I vowed to have her. After all, I can resist anything but temptation... --The Memoirs of A Rake by Brand Villiers, fifth Earl of Faversham
E-Book Content
Font Arial Font Color black w hite Font Size 12 Background Color One Wild Night I have always taken pride in my bad reputation. Polite society viewed me as depraved and utterly dissolute, for I was a disciple of passion. Pleasure was my hallmark, women my pastime, that is, before the incomparable Lady Charlotte Quinton disrupted my life-again. Due to a scandal of her own making, she had been banished from home for five years. Apparently she decided that a life of boring respectability was the key to her happiness. We might have continued down our divergent paths if not for a vicious attack on our families. Tracking a dangerous criminal occupied my time, but the tart-tongued spinster Lady Charlotte occupied my mind—and my desires. Certainly no other woman in London was immune to my charms. Yet the more Charlotte spurned me, the more I vowed to have her. After all, I can resist anything but temptation… —The Memoirs of a Rake by Brand Villiers, fifth Earl of Faversham His gaze was directed at her mouth… Dear God, he was thinking about kissing her. But with any luck, he was also remembering how she’d wounded his masculine pride. Your powers of seduction are vastly exaggerated, she had told him. If he ever guessed what a lie that had been, she would be lost. Already, a dazed anticipation threatened to rob her of sanity. With bone-melting strokes, Brand massaged her shoulders. His husky tone deepening, he murmured, “You’re really far too tense, Charlotte. I believe it’s time I did something about that.” He brought his hands up to cradle her cheeks. And then he kissed her. A sweet kiss unlike the angry one in the coach. A gentle kiss that melted her resistance like hot wax. His fingertips stroked her face, traced the whorls of her ear, played with the fine hairs at the nape of her neck. Utterly entranced, she was only half-aware of the small, needy sounds coming from her throat. Any hope she’d had of hiding her longing for him vanished into a blur of sensation and pleasure. A deep, drowning pleasure that went on and on. St. Martin’s Paperbacks Titles by Barbara Dawson Smith With All My Heart Tempt Me Twice Romancing the Rogue Seduced by a Scoundrel Too Wicked to Love Once Upon a Scandal Never a Lady A Glimpse of Heaven St. Martin’s Paperbacks Contents Family Tree: Lucy Family Tree: Olivia & Enid Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Prologue London, January 1816 It began as any typical evening in the city. Brand Villiers, fifth Earl of Faversham, lounged in a private parlor at an exclusive brothel, a beautiful doxy on his lap, an excellent set of cards in his hand, and a glass of fine Bordeaux wine at his side.