Title: The Devil’s Game (Hasting Sisters #1)
Author: Sandra Sookoo
Genre: historical romance, Regency romance
Book Blurb:
He’s heat and sin. She’s ice and proper. Between them, a storm of passion is brewing.
On the shelf Miss Amelia Hasting has no time for frivolity. Companion to a willful nineteen-year-old nouveau riche heiress seeking a match with a titled gentleman, Mia’s only task is steering her charge away from rogues and scoundrels, but when it’s her peace of mind that is threatened by an overly handsome and very wicked viscount, she must do something, and fast, to keep both herself and her charge out of his bed, even if she’s curiously tempted by him.
Rakish Nicholas Devlin, Viscount Wycliffe, is suffering from ennui. Now that the war is over and there’s no need for his smuggling services, he requires a fortune, which means sacrificing himself to parson’s mousetrap with a young woman who has more bosom than brains. Despite his protests, when he meets a stubborn, companion indifferent to his charm, he forgets the heiress into order to knock Amelia from her icy pedestal and discover her fire.
Though Mia’s protective of her charge, it’s obvious his attention has been on her all along. The more she fights the forbidden attraction, the more he teases. Knowing he’s met his match in all the ways that matter, forced proximity ensures Nicholas’ seduction attempts with the fascinating companion, thinking his insistent pursuit will wane once he beds her, yet that act only brings more complications for the enemies to lovers. Passion grows, threatening to shatter them both, unless they accept the truth—they’re in love…
…despite the scandal that will surely follow.
Excerpt:
“You deliberately thwarted me from talking to the chit or even asking her to dance.” Banked fury growled through the viscount’s voice.
“It is what I’m being paid for.” Mia ignored the awareness that prickled along her skin. It was nothing but the emotions of the moment and would fade. “Perhaps we should move to a more private spot if you wish to continue this discussion.”
“Agreed.” Though he narrowed his eyes, there was no mistaking the ire in those dark brown depths. As one, they moved to the side of the room out of the foot traffic and dancing. “You have no right to keep me away from the girl.”
“No, I don’t, but I do have a responsibility toward her to protect her from men of your ilk.” Though they stood at a wall without the benefit of privacy, the crowds ensured they were jostled together. When his scent wafted to her nose, she was unexpectedly adrift on how delicious that was, like the air in winter just before the snow flew. Very crisp and clean with the veriest hint of mint.
“Men of my ilk?” he asked in a deceptively low voice. “What do you know of me, Miss Hasting?”
“I know enough that you are hunting an heiress and have no intentions of entering into a romance with Miss Featheringham.”
“There is no crime in it.”
“Perhaps not, but Millie deserves more from life than you, a man who will no doubt get her with child and then consign her to your country estate while you remain in Town, resuming your detestable life and forgetting you are wed.” As hot anger rose in her chest, she crossed her arms beneath her breasts. It didn’t escape her notice that his gaze dropped briefly to her décolletage. She lowered her voice but gave no quarter. “So I will not allow you near my charge, and will do whatever it takes to keep you from defiling or even marrying her.”
“Ah, there are the dragon’s claws,” he shot off in an equally low voice. Though annoyance still clung to him like a garment, his expression softened. “However, I’m not afraid of the chit’s companion. You are merely an obstacle to my goal.” The viscount took a step toward her, which compelled Mia to retreat until the wall at her back prevented further movement.
“You can try, but I’m just as determined to keep you away.” Oh, he would be a challenge, but her sisters had tried her patience all her life, and he couldn’t be worse than them.
“You are quite an interesting person, Miss Hasting.” The man shifted his focus, and his whole demeanor changed. Gone was the annoyance to be replaced with overt charm and a grin that would have most women ready to swoon. “Perhaps if you were a few years younger, I’d try my fortune in pursuing you to dance with me.”
“Ah, so then you assume I’ll let down my guard if you ply me with flattery and flirting.” She tsked her tongue and gave her head a shake. “I’m made of sterner stuff, my lord.”
“So I can see.” Slowly, oh so slowly, he raked his dark gaze up and down her body, and she swore she could feel that regard as if he’d physically caressed her. No one in the room seemed to pay them mind. “No longer young or with prospects, I’d imagine, but I wouldn’t mind having you in my bed, teaching you a few things. At least then you won’t die an innocent.”
Such gall of the man! “You assume I have never been married, then.”
“Have you?” When she didn’t answer, for he didn’t need to know anything about her, one of his black eyebrows—with a slight point at the arch—rose, and in that moment, he resembled the very devil. “I wonder if you’d scream when you hit release?”
Despite the gooseflesh that raced over her skin, the man had gone too far! “You overstep, my lord.” Without thinking, she raised a hand and then quickly slapped his face. The sound of a kid glove hitting flesh was drowned out by the dance going on behind them, the buzz of conversation and laughter, as well as the vibrant notes coming from the pianoforte.
“Oh, my dear Miss Hasting, I have only just started.” Shock etched through his expression as his eyes darkened to almost black as he held a hand to his reddening cheek. “You have won this round, but make no mistake, dragon. I know what I want, and your charge is an heiress with a king’s ransom for a dowry.” He leaned so close there was a hint of mint in the air as if he’d brushed his teeth before arriving at the rout. “I always get whatever—and whomever—I want.”
Mia trembled where she stood, whether from his proximity or from reaction, she couldn’t say. “Everyone is disappointed at some point in their life, Lord Wycliffe. Perhaps your reckoning has come, and you should adjust your attitude accordingly.” Her hands shook so badly she fisted them in her skirting. “I bid you good evening, but it is time you went on your way.”
“For now.” With a nod and a lingering glance at her, he executed a mocking half-bow from the waist, then he easily slipped from the room. Seconds later, the man he’d arrived with followed.
Oh, dear heavens! It wasn’t often a man burrowed beneath her skin to make her heated and angry, but this one had, and she wouldn’t let it happen again. At least she had a purpose now, and that was to protect the flirting, far too impressionable and naïve Millie. The girl would not be the viscount’s latest conquest, and neither did she deserve a life sentence leg-shackled to the man without love. If he thinks he’s clever, I am more so, and he will not win.
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
It’s the first in a brand new series and it’s the first Hasting sister who takes a paid position to help her family, but that thought doesn’t go according to plan. Kisses, steam, and scheming abound.
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Author Biography:
Sandra Sookoo is a USA Today bestselling author who firmly believes every person deserves acceptance and a happy ending. That is why her characters are not in the usual style and oftentimes struggle with things out of the norm. She’s written for publication since 2008. Most days you can find her creating scandal and mischief in the Regency-era, serendipity and happenstance in the Victorian era, or historical romantic suspense complete with mystery and intrigue. Reading is a lot like eating chocolates—you can’t just have one book. Give her the chance with one book and you’ll be hooked.
When she’s not wearing out computer keyboards or mice, Sandra spends time with her real-life Prince Charming in Central Indiana where she also runs a gourmet cookie business and makes moments count with the man because the key to life is laughter. Inspired to storytelling by Walt Disney since the age of ten, when her soul gets bogged down and her imagination flags, a trip to Walt Disney World is in order. Nothing fills the well and fuels her dreams more than the land of eternal happy endings, hope and love stories.
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