Lost in a Royal Kiss Page 9

  “You impugn my character, Miss St. Clare.”

  “I’m sure I don’t.” She twisted around to face him, a pleasantly physical maneuver that Anthony thoroughly enjoyed. With her hands folded and resting on his chest, she tipped her head back to meet his gaze. In the night-shrouded bedroom, her blue eyes looked fathomless.

  “Does this mean what I think it means?” she asked solemnly.

  “That I still wish to marry you? What else could it mean?”

  She ignored the obvious answer to that one. “Naturally, I’m grateful—”

  He nipped her plump upper lip. “Grateful, are you? Is that all?”

  She let out an aggrieved sigh. “Oh, very well. I’m ecstatic about it. What woman wouldn’t be overjoyed at the idea of marriage to the esteemed Sir Anthony Tait?”

  “Linnet,” he growled in a warning voice.

  “Don’t be an idiot, Anthony. I’ve course I want to marry you. I’m madly in love with you, although I must be the idiot for admitting that so freely to you.”

  “Why would you think that, my sweet? You must know I return the feeling.”

  Even though he could only see the outline of her features, he could sense the earnestness in her gaze. “You do? You truly love me madly?”

  He pressed a brief, gentle kiss to her mouth. “Yes, Linnet. That and more. Frankly, I feel like my life would be a disaster without you, although that hardly makes any sense given the troubles you’ve gotten me into lately. And, by the by, if you breathe a word to anyone at Court that you’ve reduced me to a lovesick fool, I will lock you in a room and throw away the key.”

  She gave a delicious little wriggle. “How splendid. But I will keep your secret in the strictest confidence. You may rely on me, my dear sir.”

  “I do, my love. All jesting aside, I cannot imagine life without you.”

  Linnet rested her forehead on his chest. “I’m so very glad you feel that way.” Emotion rippled through the simple, heartfelt words, making her voice quaver.

  The only answer he could make was to pull her more deeply into his embrace. Anthony wasn’t prone to excessive sentiment, but he didn’t trust himself to speak. So, he simply held her, relishing the feel of her luscious curves against him and thanking God he’d been blessed with so precious a gift. He’d always known that Linnet was an intelligent and capable woman, but these last few days had shown him how truly magnificent she was. He’d seen her generous and loving heart, and her inexhaustible courage when protecting those most in need. She’d risked her reputation and her family’s good name to help Dominic and Chloe, and she’d done it without a second thought or a moment’s worry.

  It made him realize once and for all how empty his life would be without her. She was worth any trouble or sacrifice, even though she would surely turn his well-ordered life upside down, imposing her unique stamp upon it. But from that disorder their new life would emerge, one that he couldn’t wait to begin.

  When she went stiff in his arms a few moments later, he could practically hear the wheels turning in her brain. He stroked a soothing hand over her plush bottom. “What troubles you, love?”

  She tensed at his caress, then settled. “I hate to put a fly in the ointment, but we haven’t discussed what to do about Mamma and the children. You know the queen does not want her to leave, and Amelia and Peter are not old enough to be on their own. Besides, the longer Mamma remains at Court, the larger her annuity will be when she finally does leave her position.” Her frustrated sigh stirred the hairs on his chest. “I’m sorry, but we can’t marry just yet. I simply can’t leave the children, no matter how much I love you.”

  He rested his chin on top of her head, pretending to ponder her words. “Hmm. That is quite the dilemma. Whatever shall we do about it, I wonder?”

  “Don’t you dare make fun of me,” she said, poking him in the ribs. “This is serious.”

  He laughed. “Linnet, my love, I know what your family means to you, and I know how seriously you take your responsibilities. It was wrong of me to ask you to disregard them. I won’t make that mistake again.”

  “I truly appreciate that sentiment, Anthony, but you do understand what this means, don’t you? I simply don’t know when the situation will change enough to allow us to marry.”

  “Well, I suppose we’ll just have to have Amelia and Peter live with us until your mamma is ready to leave Court. Although we’ll have to find a bigger house. I don’t think my town house in Kensington is quite up to the challenge.”

  Her head jerked up, knocking him on the chin. A moment later, she’d pushed him onto his back, and he went willingly, enjoying the feel of her climbing on top of him.

  Linnet straddled him, her palms firmly planted on his shoulders. “Do you really mean it? You already have Dominic to worry about. Are you sure you want my brother and sister, too?”

  Anthony let his hands drift over her waist and down to her hips. In the faint light of a summer’s dawn approaching through the window, he could see the outline of her body, the plump, perfect curves contrasting with the tension in her limbs.

  “Peter, I believe, will be a good influence on Dominic, and they can keep each other company. As for Amelia, I will leave the handling of young ladies up to you.”

  She tilted her head down to peer at him. Her nightcap slipped, and her hair tumbled out in a glorious spill over her full breasts, clearly outlined through the thin night rail. Anthony reached up and cupped her, gently rubbing his palm across the burgeoning tip of her nipple.

  “Amelia’s coming out next year,” she managed in a breathless voice. “That’s bound to be a lot of bother and commotion.”

  “I have every confidence you’ll manage the situation with your usual terrifying efficiency,” he said absently as he brought both hands up to play with her breasts. “Just consider how you’ve managed me.”

  She leaned down to brush a hot, tempting kiss across his lips. “I managed you, did I?” she said with a throaty laugh. “I’ll show you managing, Sir Anthony.”

  A few minutes later and with her usual aplomb, Linnet managed him exceedingly well.

  Epilogue

  February 14, 1787

  Rome

  Dear Chloe,

  We leave Rome within the hour. I promise to write again soon, but it might be some days before I’m able to post a letter. Once we are settled in Naples I can resume our regular correspondence. Sir Anthony has a great deal of government business to conduct with King Ferdinand, so I expect we’ll remain in that fabled city for some time. I’m looking forward to seeing Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii, and will write full accounts of my visits to both.

  Sir Anthony and Lady Tait send you their best love, and again repeat their condolences on the death of your most worthy father. I hate that I cannot be there to offer you comfort. I know your father’s death was a terrible shock, and I would never have agreed to leave England with Sir Anthony and his wife if I had known Mr. Steele was so ill.

  I’m sorry to hear of your uncle’s wretched behavior, and I hate for your sake that he is such a strict, unforgiving man. Truly, Chloe, the man sounds a complete bounder. But once the baby comes, I hope to persuade Sir Anthony to allow you to live with us. We will travel to Yorkshire to visit you when we return to England, which should be by the end of May. Lady Tait is eager to see you, so I do not think Sir Anthony will raise any objections.

  Take care of yourself, my best of friends. I promise we will be together again before the summer is out.

  Yours forever,

  Dominic

  March 10, 1787

  South Kilvington, Yorkshire

  Dear Dominic,

  I am writing to tell you that the baby has finally come. He was born on March 6th, after an arduous labor of some hours, and he is a boy. I am as well as can be expected after such an experience, but the baby is thriving. I know I should resent him, but I cannot, despite what my uncle says. It is no fault of his that he has come into the world without a father to love and protect
him, is it? I am calling him Griffin. Uncle Bartholomew says that is a pagan name and is quite put out that I have chosen it, but I think my little boy will need a strong name to see him through the many trials I fear await him.

  My uncle speaks of sending me away for a time—to atone for my sins and to allow for the scandal to fade—but he refuses to say when or where. Dominic, I admit that I dread the impending separation from my son. I always knew I would not be allowed to keep him, but now that he is here I cannot bear the thought of giving him up. Who will love him as much as I do? Certainly not Uncle Bartholomew, who can barely bring himself to look at my poor, sweet baby. My hope is that Sir Anthony and Lady Tait will be able to do something for Griffin, so that he will be cared for with the love he deserves.

  I can admit to you that I am frightened, since I do not know what will happen to me. I should have more courage, but I think all my courage left England with you. It is selfish to miss you so much, especially since you are having such grand adventures, but I long for the day you will return to England. Since Papa’s death, you are my only true friend. After little Griffin, I love you more than anything. My fondest dream is that someday we might all be together, and that the world will finally leave us alone.

  I must go, for my uncle is calling for me. This, perhaps, is the discussion I have been dreading. I can only hope that wherever he sends me, I will be allowed to write to you.

  Until we are together again, I am ever

  your most devoted and loving friend,

  Chloe

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for reading Lost in a Royal Kiss, the start of my new, four-book series, The Renegade Royals. I enjoyed introducing you to Dominic Hunter, whose own story will continue in Books One and Two and conclude in December 2014, in a novella entitled Tall, Dark, and Royal.

  The Renegade Royals now jumps ahead to 1814. Dominic is England’s chief spymaster and confidant to the Court of St. James. But despite his high position in society, he never forgot the abuse and the scorn meted out to him by the princes, or the shame of never truly belonging to the world he lived in. And it angers him that the princes are rakes and reprobates, often neglecting the illegitimate children they fathered.

  So Dominic developed a second mission in life: he will track down those children who are Royal in everything but name, and help them find their rightful places in the world of the English ton.

  Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard, Book One, introduces the first of the Renegade Royals—Captain Aden St. George, the illegitimate son of the Prince Regent. Aden is one of Dominic’s spies, and a man intent on keeping clear of emotional entanglements. But when Dominic orders him to rescue Lady Vivien Shaw, a young woman kidnapped by a mysterious gang, Aden finds his ability to maintain his detachment jeopardized by the witty and intelligent Vivien. Love and seduction can be a dangerous game, as Aden is about to find out! Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard will be released in January 2014.

  Book Two is Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom. The hero is Griffin Steele, whose mother and father are Chloe and Prince Ernest, from Lost in a Royal Kiss. Now the notorious owner of several gaming hells, Griffin is a dangerous and powerful man. But when a mysterious baby is left on his doorstep, he needs Dominic’s help. Unfortunately, the prim, disapproving nurse that Dominic sends is not the kind of assistance Griffin envisioned. But underneath Justine Bright-more’s starched exterior hides a passionate woman, one Griffin is determined to reveal—whether Justine wants him to, or not! Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom will be released in April 2014.

  Tall, Dark, and Royal is the story of Dominic Hunter and his lost love, Chloe Steele. She disappeared from his life years ago, and now that he has found her again Dominic is determined to never let her go. Tall, Dark, and Royal will be released in December 2014.

  Books Three and Four in The Renegade Royals are as yet untitled, but they’re scheduled for release in January and April of 2015. What I can tell you is that the heroes will be the same kind of strong, sometimes stubborn alpha males who meet their matches in the women who love them. I’ll be updating my website with news of The Renegade Royals over the coming months, so be sure to stop by. You can find me at www.vanessakellyauthor.com.

  Happy reading!

  Best,

  Vanessa

  In this witty, sensual new series,

  Vanessa Kelly introduces the Renegade Royals,

  illegitimate sons of the Royal Princes who are finding

  their rightful places in society . . .

  Accomplished spy Aden St. George prefers to stay away from the frivolous ton, especially after the way his mother was used by the Prince Regent. But his latest mission compels him to guard unconventional, vibrant Lady Vivien Shaw. Rescuing her from kidnappers was easy. Resisting her beauty is not. Duty demands he keep an eye on her—and naturally, his lips soon follow. For someone who views entanglements as a weakness, this is pure, delicious folly . . .

  Though grateful for Aden’s help, Vivien has secrets she must keep hidden. Yet with her abductors still at large, she needs Aden’s protection almost as much as she craves his touch . . .

  Please turn the page for an exciting sneak peek of

  SECRETS FOR SEDUCING A ROYAL BODYGUARD,

  coming in January 2014!

  Smuggling tunnels near the Kentish Coast

  October 1814

  Aden St. George managed to avoid having to kill the guard stationed outside his quarry’s cryptlike cell, although the thug outside the caves hadn’t been so lucky. Still, that bastard had tried to knife him in the gut so Aden could hardly be faulted for returning the favor. And knowing what he did about the men who’d kidnapped Lady Vivien Shaw, he wouldn’t waste his fitful conscience on that brutal but necessary act. Killing was not a favorite pastime, but only rarely did it disturb his sleep.

  Tonight’s rescue mission carried no inconvenient opportunities for remorse since a woman’s life and innocence hung in the balance. True, the gossips whispered that Lady Vivien’s innocence was an open question, but what would happen to her if Aden failed wasn’t. Without his intervention she would disappear into a nightmarish life, forever beyond the protection of her family and friends.

  Even if she’d simply been the victim of a kidnapping for ransom, as her wealthy brother suspected, her reputation at the very least was at stake—especially if rumors of her disappearance started to circulate throughout the ton. More importantly, Aden hoped he wasn’t already too late to ensure she continued her easy, privileged life, and that her brutish guards hadn’t already used her as their plaything.

  As he eased the guard’s beefy, foul-smelling form to the floor, Aden cast a swift glance down the dimly lit corridor. All was silent, as it should be if he’d done his job correctly. He normally felt little pride in his abilities, but he could at least acknowledge a grim satisfaction that his last disastrous mission in France hadn’t affected his instincts or his lethally honed skills.

  Shrugging away any residual tension, he extracted his pick locks from the inner pocket of his coat and went to work on the sturdy oak door separating him from his objective. Although no sound emanated from behind the rough-hewn panels, he was certain Lady Vivien was there. Three other tunnels ran up from the coast into the smugglers’ lair, but only this corridor boasted a table, lamp, and chair for the guard by the door. An assessing glance down the other tunnels had convinced him the majority of the gang was elsewhere, probably in a room with a fireplace and more creature comforts than those in this dank corner. But clearly the bastards thought one of the rooms obviously used for storing contraband was quite good enough for a gently bred lady.

  Aden forced down the flare of rage that a woman like Lady Vivien—or any woman—would be stowed like a cask of brandy in a moldering hole carved from dirt and rock. But he could hardly spare to indulge in that kind of emotion. Emotion was an insidious enemy that clouded the judgment, as it had only a few weeks ago in Paris. He couldn’t afford it, not when the lady�
�s life was at stake.

  The lock snicked and the tumblers slid open. Aden slipped quietly past the door, ignoring the choking miasma of mold and dust that assailed his nostrils. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the murky depths of the room, illuminated by a single candle standing on a crate, burned down to a nub. Ghosting forward, he made out a pallet shoved against the sloping, roughly carved wall of the room.

  A slight form lay motionless under a dark cloak.

  Silent, he gazed down at Lady Vivien, sister to the Earl of Blake and one of the most acclaimed young women of the ton though she was a dab little thing to be the recipient of so much admiration and gossip. But even in the dim light cast by the candle, though disheveled and dirty, her beauty shone clear to Aden in the cast of her elegant features. Hair the color of golden honey wound down from her ruined coiffure and tumbled around her shoulders. Her velvet evening cloak, woefully inadequate to ward off the chill from the room’s moisture-slicked walls, had slipped from her shoulders to puddle about her waist, revealing creamy skin and gently sloping breasts that rose and fell in the rapid, shallow breathing of her disturbed sleep. A ridiculously delicate dress, all white lace and yellow silk, had silly little sleeves that exposed most of her arms and shoulders, and her pale breasts gently swelled from the wispy bodice of her gown.

  Aden crouched beside her pallet, noting the dirt smudges on her pale arms and shoulders, and grimy marks of filthy hands streaking mud across the bodice of her gown. She’d clearly been manhandled, and anger again lanced through his gut like a poison-tipped blade. He feared he was too late to save her from a lifetime of remembered horror and degradation, just as he’d been too late to save John Williamson from a pointless death in a French inn not two weeks ago.