Title: Dare to Love a Spy
Author: Debra Elizabeth
Genre: Regency Romance
Book Blurb:
Miss Hannah Richardson is enjoying a Season in London. She's not looking for a husband, at least not this Season. She wants to enjoy herself before settling down to married life. All that changes, however, when she sees the Duke of Wetherby. He's tall, dark and impossibly handsome and someone Hannah wants to get to know better.
Camden Darkin, the Duke of Wetherby, is not fond of attending soirees, dinners or balls, but his latest mission for the Crown demands he mingle with the ton. He has vowed not to marry because of his dangerous work and the constant bevy of beauties anxious mothers throw into his path is not tempting him in the least. That is, until he meets Hannah Richardson, a young woman unlike any other he's ever met. Can he learn to love or will his hardened heart rob him of the very thing he needs the most.
Excerpt
The Season thus far had been exciting, most especially because Hannah wasn’t on the hunt for a husband like many of the other young ladies who were attending their first Season. Her parents were not pushing for her to marry. She had time to find a husband, although she would like to experience the excitement of the hunt, especially after watching her brother, Ethan, marry Miss Emily Stanton and her cousin, Colby Tisbury, marry Lady Isabel Knott, all within the last two years. She craved that drama, that rush of tantalizing feelings of impending romance, of flinging oneself into the pool of suitors and being the one to decide which young man would sweep her off her feet. The Season was one enjoyable party after another.
The Season thus far had been exciting, most especially because Hannah wasn’t on the hunt for a husband like many of the other young ladies who were attending their first Season. Her parents were not pushing for her to marry. She had time to find a husband, although she would like to experience the excitement of the hunt, especially after watching her brother, Ethan, marry Miss Emily Stanton and her cousin, Colby Tisbury, marry Lady Isabel Knott, all within the last two years. She craved that drama, that rush of tantalizing feelings of impending romance, of flinging oneself into the pool of suitors and being the one to decide which young man would sweep her off her feet. The Season was one enjoyable party after another.
Tonight, Hannah’s aunt was hosting a dinner party followed by dancing. She was trying hard to remember to address her as Lady Tisbury in public and not revert to the more familiar moniker of Aunt Mary. Tonight’s affair was as lavish as ever, and she was enjoying it immensely.
“It’s so lovely here,” she murmured as she stepped off the balcony and wandered down the path. She breathed deep inhaling the exotic smells of the gardens. Her aunt had hired the best and most experienced gardener in London, and no other gardens rivaled the Tisbury Gardens, especially with its many varieties of roses. Hannah bent over one of the more fragrant roses and let the fragrance envelop her. When she straightened, she thought she heard voices scattered on the breeze. She looked farther down the path, but the shadows were deep and no one was in sight.
“Who’s there?” she whispered. Perhaps it was a couple seeking privacy. She knew she shouldn’t go snooping, but the thought of seeing who was meeting in secret spurred her down the path.
She looked left and right, but there was no one around. She sighed. There would be no spying on illicit love tonight and it was time to return to the ballroom before her own reputation was compromised. Before she could take another step, an arm circled around her waist and a hand tightened around her throat tugging back against a broad, hard chest.
“Oh!” she cried out in surprise as her heart hammered in fright. A cold, quiet terror unfurled in her chest. She had never been handled so roughly in her life. Who would dare do such a thing, and especially in her aunt’s gardens? What was the meaning of this? Was she going to be harmed?
“You must be careful not to walk alone at night, Miss Richardson,” a deep, husky voice whispered in her ear.
“What do you want? Unhand me at once,” she demanded, her rising indignation overtaking her original scare.
“To pass along a warning, that’s all. Heed my advice,” he said, his hot breath on her neck sending unexpected shivers down her spine.
“How dare you put your hands upon my person?” she asked, trying to dislodge the arm around her waist.
In an instant, the pressure was gone, and she felt adrift with the mystery man gone. Hannah whirled around to confront the scoundrel who had accosted her, but there was no one there.
“Well, I never,” she said, putting her hands on her hips and stomping her foot. The encounter had unsettled her more than she wanted to admit, but if she was completely honest, that deep voice had resonated within her and she was more than a little curious about whom the owner could be. She was being foolish, of course, and shook her head free of such thoughts. A gentleman should never put his hands on a lady like that, and yet, it had been thrilling all the same.
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Author Biography:
Debra Elizabeth is the romance pen name for fantasy author Debra L. Martin. She has been writing all kinds of stories since her teens and decided to finally publish her romance stories under a pen name so as not to confuse her fantasy fans. She publishes epic and urban fantasy with her co-author and brother, David W. Small and blogs regularly at Two Ends of the Pen.
Debra lives in New England with her husband and one exhausted kitty.
Social Media Links:
Blog: http://twoendsofthepen.blogspot.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DebraElizabethRomance/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dlmartin6 Romance Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Debra-Elizabeth/e/B005XYN2YE