Publication Date: June 25, 2018
Genres: Adult, Entangled: Amara, Historical, Romance

If Mary Babington-Smith knows nothing else, it’s that Lord Edwin Sutton kissed her. Regardless of who-kissed-whom, with the deed witnessed, they have no choice but to carry on with a temporary, fake, engagement. When Edwin sweetens the deal, offering Mary the money she needs to pursue her independence if she can play the lovesick fiancée for two weeks, Mary rises to the challenge. In two weeks, she’ll have everything she wants, and this time she’ll be the one to walk out of his life.

Despite Sutton’s argumentative, self-assured nature, when Mary glimpses a sliver of the boy he used to be, she vows to peel away every layer of armor he uses to shield his emotions. Somewhere underneath that worldly exterior is the kind-hearted man she once loved, but in order to find him, she’ll have to give him the power to hurt her…and he’s already broken her trust once.

Excerpt

He grabbed onto my hand and yanked me into the hall.

“Come back here, you rascals!”

I stampeded after Edwin. He ducked into the threshold of a sitting room, the closest one to the front door, and drew me in after him. Precious little space remained in the doorway, with the two of us pressed together. I peered around the corner in time to spot Nancy’s ample form enter the hallway, her shoulders drawn to her ears in exasperation. I ducked my head back.

“Those are for later…” Her voice trailed off as she heaved a sigh. “You two haven’t changed since you were children.”

I met Edwin’s twinkling gaze. The brown in his irises swallowed up the green as his pupils dilated. We burst into laughter. I pressed my hand against my mouth, trying to stifle it in case Nancy still patrolled the corridor. Edwin didn’t bother. His smile grew, wide and genuine. My heartbeat stuttered. I hadn’t seen that smile since we were children. Even then, it was rare. Teasing it out was like a treasure.

He offered me one of the turnovers. I juggled it between my hands as I bit into it. Hot, but oh, so delicious. I moaned with delight. Flavors burst over my tongue, apple mixed with cinnamon and a darker spice like nutmeg. I polished it off in record time, licking the grease from my fingers as Edwin finished his.

When I tilted my face up to meet his, a frown teased at his lips. I pursed my lips. “What?”

“You have something…” His gaze latched onto my mouth. Wait, no, beside my mouth. He lifted his thumb and wiped off a smutch of filling that hadn’t made its way onto my tongue.

He was one to talk. He had crumbs framing both corners of his lips.

The rough pad of his thumb caressed the side of my mouth. He held it, and the filling, in front of my lips, offering it to me. When I parted my lips and he obediently slipped his thumb inside. I licked off the filling. The burst of flavor coupled with the salty taste of his skin made me squirm in place. His eyes shone like black pools, his pupils swallowed his irises. I sucked on his thumb as he drew it away. His lips parted.

Whether I leaned up or he leaned down, it didn’t matter. The next instant, our lips met. His palm cradled my cheek. The other pressed me close against him. He lifted me, fitting me against him as he languidly explored my mouth. His hand dropped down to cup my bottom. Possessive. I twined my arms around his neck.

The kiss grew heated, urgent. He reversed our positions, pressing me against the open door. I clutched at his head, unwilling to let him break contact between us. The points of contact between us glowed as if on fire. I returned the kiss fiercely.

Someone rapped on the front door. We froze. Edwin lifted his head, staring down at me. He looked a bit bewildered, as if wondering at the madness that had overtaken us. Truthfully, I wondered, too.

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About the Author

Harmony Williams has been living vicariously in Regency-era England since she discovered Jane Austen. Since time machines don’t yet exist, she’s had to make do with books—fictional and non-fictional. On the rare occasions she doesn’t have her nose stuck in a book, she likes to drink tea and spend time with her 90-lb lapdog. A feminist, she writes stories about strong women and the men who support them as equals.

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