Title: Lord Ashley’s Beautiful Alibi
Author: Cerise DeLand
Genre: Historical Romance
Book Blurb:
He pretended he was her lover. She became his alibi…and his only love.
Augustine Bolton lives amid the social whirl and treachery of the stylish court of Josephine and Napoleon Bonaparte. When Gus’s dearest friend, Amber, disappears, Gus must find her before the deputy chief of police finds Amber and carts her off to his bed—or to la Force.
But Gus’s means are few and her own duties as an agent in Amber’s network mean she is also suspect. Gus needs help.
Kane Whittington is just the man for the job.
He has worked for London merchant-cum-spymaster Scarlett Hawthorne for years and welcomes Scarlett’s call to build a large espionage network in Europe. His first task is to find the missing head of Scarlett’s espionage network.
The best person to help him is the lady’s best friend whom he’s never met. But when he sets eyes on ravishing Augustine Bolton in Josephine’s salon, Kane recognizes the black-haired beauty as the one he kissed years ago on the road to Malmaison during a botched abduction of Bonaparte.
Kane must persuade the beautiful Gus to allow him to help her. He suggests the cover for their escapade is simple: They show the gossipy Parisian court they enjoy a mad love affair. Thus, Gus gains an ally—and Kane acquires an alibi.
But Gus’s ally is a darling man whose kindness thrills her. His alibi is a brave, beautiful woman he cannot give up. Can they find a way to fulfill their missions—and join together to claim their love for a lifetime?
Excerpt:
“Augustine?” Her aunt Cecily swung round and beckoned her onward through the throng in Josephine’s salon. “Come here, please.”
She did her aunt’s bidding, spun, and faced none other than the man of the Malmaison road. She caught her breath. He lived! She had thought him captured, dead with the others who attempted to take Bonaparte that morning. But he’d survived. And my, my, he was captivating. Big. Huge. She had felt his power when he’d taken her in his arms. But she had not recalled the details, only the impression of his magnificence.
Now he stood before her and she could absorb all of his grandeur. Six feet six, at least, towering over her and looking like a giant animal about to eat her for breakfast. She swallowed hard on the pool of desire in her mouth. Her body remembered his lips, his kiss. As if…as if the rest of him were not a feast for a female’s fantasies.
His shoulders were a wall. His ice-gray eyes absorbed every tiny feature of her face. He remembered her, and she could do naught but give him a small wink to warn him against revealing all about her that he recalled of that morning.
So she smiled prettily. Why not? She would have him for breakfast. The rake.
Aunt Cecily did the honors, the lady’s green eyes flashing when she noticed Gus appreciating him. “Do allow me to introduce to you the gentleman who heads the trade negotiations for the British. The Earl of Ashley. Newly dubbed, is that not so, my lord?” Her aunt batted her long, painted lashes at the giant who had once held Gus—handled her, to be precise—and then kissed her. Twice. The scoundrel. Now he was here, his cologne a smooth blend of good soap and lime. The fragrance filled her nostrils and had her pressing her thighs together at his intoxicating proximity.
“How do you do, my Lord Ashley?” She did her demure bow, offering her hand, her expression as placid as her years of practice allowed.
The delicious giant bowed over her fingertips, not quite as elegantly as he had two years ago in the forest, but he would do. His height would certainly enthrall. He could protect a woman from heaven’s wrath. His hair would also do. Pure onyx. Gleaming in the golden candlelight, his mane was worthy of her caress. If he were lucky. Which he was not. Although to be honest, the frosty hue of his eyes enticed her to wager against herself how long it would take her to melt the ice she saw there.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Bookub - https://www.bookbub.com/books/lord-ashley-s-beautiful-alibi-scarlett-affairs-book-1-by-cerise-deland
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Author Biography:
Cerise DeLand loves to write about dashing heroes and the sassy women they adore. Whether she’s penning historical romances or contemporaries, she’s praised for her poetic elegance and accuracy of detail.
An award-winning author of more than 60 novels, she’s been published since 1990 by Pocket Books, St. Martin’s Press, Kensington and independent presses. Her books have been monthly selections of the Doubleday Book Club, Rhapsody Book Club and the Mystery Guild. Plus she’s won countless 4, 4.5 and 5 star rave reviews from Romantic Times, Affair de Coeur, Publishers Weekly and more.
To research, she’ll dive into the oldest texts and dustiest library shelves. She’ll also travel abroad, trusty notebook and pen in hand, to visit the chateaux and country homes she loves to people with her own imaginary characters.
And at home every day? She loves to cook, hates to dust, lives to travel and go to Jazz class once a week!
Social Media Links:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CeriseDeLandAuthor/
Website - http://cerisedeland.com
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cerisedeland/