HAPPY RELEASE DAY!

A Countess of Convenience releases today

so happy reading to all those who have either pre-ordered the book, or who are downloading it or plan to download it! You can do that here if you haven’t already.

It’s part of a new series–Captivating Countesses–and although it’s a spin-off series of The House of Pleasure, and will have some characters from that series make “guest appearances,” the new series is a bit different and has its own character. The focus is definitely on the heroines’ journey’s to happiness (although each one has a dashing hero who makes her life complete).

To celebrate my release, below I’ve got a little giveaway going on this week (thru Sunday), so read on!

BLURB:

Following a tragic accident, an unconscious Judith Harper is returned to her childhood home to die. Miraculously, she awakens but to a horribly changed world in which she finds her husband dead and her world upended.

Judith must regain her strength, not only to reclaim her life but also to right a terrible wrong–a feat which may require her to marry again, and quickly. But not only is Judith not ready for another husband, a marriage before her year of mourning is up will ruin her in London society. 

Still, if she hopes to have her life back, she may have to risk the scandal and make a marriage of convenience…but to whom?

John, Lord Haxby has loved Judith since childhood, and because of that he stood aside while she married another eight years ago. Now she is free of her odious husband, he hopes he can persuade her that he is the only man who can make her truly happy. However, he discovers Judith is more than interested in Lord Farringdon, the man who saved her life. Can he stand aside once more and watch the love of his life make a grave mistake, or will he step up and show the woman he loves he is not a convenient solution to her problem, but the perfect one?

EXCERPT:

The white garment that he had rightly deemed a nightgown, and which on another woman would’ve been unremarkable, seemed almost indecent on Judith. The rounded neckline showed the tops of her breasts, unfettered by a corset, and through the thin cotton material, he could see a hint of her darker nipples.

John swallowed hard and licked his lips, parched even though he’d just taken a large swallow of brandy.

Her hips swelled where she sat in the chair, her gown lying bunched between her legs, outlining the shape of her thighs…bringing to mind what lay beneath that thin fabric at their apex. John had to suppress a groan. Thank goodness the garment flowed over her legs so he could see no further—until he came to her bare ankles and small feet. All the brandy in the world would not erase the sight of her thus. “Judith.” His voice seemed to come from a long way away. “Why have you come here?”

“To apologize to you, John.”

Perhaps his faculties had gone missing. “Apologize for what, my dear?”

“For…for…” Judith seldom had trouble expressing herself. The transgression of which she spoke, therefore, must be grave indeed to bring out a stammer. “For teasing you earlier.”

Of all the things that might’ve come from her lips, those words were the last ones he’d have imagined. “Teasing me?”

“When I asked if there was something I could do for you.” Her voice had dropped so he could scarcely hear her.

“Ah.” As if the fire suddenly blazed anew, sweat popped out on John’s brow and his cock surged forward as if eager to answer the question. “I believe I take your meaning. Think nothing of it, my dear.”

By God, he wished he could think of anything else. Her low, sultry voice, coupled with the image of her seated in that chair, now seared on the inside of his eyelids, wreaked havoc in his breeches.

“But I shouldn’t have flirted like that, John.” She stared directly into his eyes. “We have already discussed the…possible necessity of our marrying. In asking that, I may have given you an erroneous idea about my…feelings for you.” Abruptly, she dropped her gaze.

Of course, he’d assumed she’d meant an amorous tryst but had known the offer had come from her nervousness or a need for some kind of physical contact. But since she’d brought the subject up… “Then why did you ask, Judith?”

Her tiny gasp filled him with his usual protective instincts, and it was on the tip of his tongue to tell her not to worry, it was all forgotten. Yet something held him back, some part of him that wanted desperately to hear her answer.

“Because I wanted to know what it would be like to kiss you.”

A Countess of Convenience is available currently on Amazon and Smashwords and later on     B & N, Kobo, and Apple.

I hope you enjoy Judith’s story and at the end of the book you’ll get a sneak peek at book 2, Almost a Countess, which is Dora’s story. It’s on pre-order now on Amazon here, if you’d like to have it at the ready in your reader.

And now for the little giveaway:

A $20 Amazon gift card to one random commenter who tells me how you best like to celebrate events (like this book launch!). The giveaway will close at midnight EDT on Sunday, April 4 and the winner will be announced on my blog on Monday, April 5.

Happy Release Day, Everyone!