Jenna Jaxon Romance--because passion is timeless.

Sweet Saturday Sample–4/28 Only Marriage Will Do

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome back to Sweet Saturday Sample! All excerpts here are rated PG-13 or milder. Today I’m continuing to post from the second book in my House of Pleasure series, Only Marriage Will Do, set in Georgian London.

I’m still editing this Saturday, but I’ll be taking breaks this week to hop to your blogs.

Seems to be a little mystery afoot here. Amiable has stepped in to rescue a damsel in distress and to his amazement the damsel–who he’s never seen before–is calling him husband and introducing him as the Earl of Manning (who, if you may recall, is Katarina’s brother from Only Scandal Will Do and a friend of Amiable’s). Amiable is a tad confused, but gamely carries on with the subterfuge. He too is interested in why her suitor claims she is his wife and seeks a more thorough explanation.

“And now, miraculously, twelve or so months later, you manage to appear in England with this unsubstantiated tale of a marriage?”

“I managed to get passage on an Irish ship leaving Paris and from Dublin I made my way to London.”

“Your timing is exquisite, Philippe. Duncan has just left for Italy and will not return for some months.” Juliet glared at the Frenchman with disdain.

“This need not concern the marquess. I can arrange for your marriage to this gentleman,” St. Cyr waved his hand at Amiable dismissively, “to be annulled and then we can. . .”

“I am afraid that is out of the question, St. Cyr,” Amiable broke in. “Disabuse yourself of the idea that I will have my marriage to Juliet annulled, with or without her brother’s consent. She is my wife and there’s an end to it. You have upset her enough for one day and I will thank you to leave.” Amiable tried hard to keep a civil tone when he really wanted to take the young fop by the seat of his satin breeches and throw him out the front door.

“Juliet, ma chere,” St. Cyr reverted to his native French. “You cannot have a serious regard for this monstrous oaf?” His eyes raked Amiable’s form contemptuously. “He is a barbarian compared to me, my dear. I can make you forget him, forget any of his crude gestures. Do you remember our embrace? At the King’s Christmas court ball? Such a quaint custom of the mistletoe. You seemed to long for more than just my tongue that night, my sweet.”

“Philippe!” Juliet stared at him in horror, blushing until her face matched the hue of her dress.

“I fear you did not heed my words earlier, St. Cyr.” Amiable’s flawless French did not disguise his deadly tone. His hand dipped until it rested on the hilt of his sword. “You have just besmirched the honor of my wife and I will have satisfaction of you.”

“Jack, no!” Juliet tugged on his arm, tried to pull him away from the confrontation that was a hair’s breadth away from exploding in the reception room. She managed to move Amiable to a corner of the room where she spoke to him quietly. “Please do not engage him, sir. We can hardly have a scene here without. . . without. . .” Distressed eyes met his. “You have no true reason to challenge him.”

Amiable gazed into her frightened eyes and lifted his hand to caress her cheek. “There you are wrong, my dear. It is any gentleman’s duty to defend a lady’s honor.” He smiled at her then turned back to St. Cyr.

“May I suggest, my lord, that you apologize immediately unless you are willing to meet me tomorrow morning? I will be much obliged to cut that offensive tongue from your mouth.” Amiable glowed inwardly in anticipation of such a meeting.

St. Cyr seemed to pale a trifle as he glanced from Amiable to Juliet. “Forgive me, ma chere,” he finally addressed Juliet, “for recalling our past intimacies. They should have remained in the memories of just we two.” At this Amiable bowed slightly, acknowledging the apology.

“I have no such memories, Philippe,” Juliet returned, also speaking in French. “Nor do I want anything else from you except to be left alone.”

“Oh, but that is impossible, ma chere. We are man and wife and I will not leave you alone in the care of another man. I insist that you accompany me back to my hotel.”

Stricken, Juliet looked from St. Cyr to Amiable, panic rising in her eyes. “If you do not leave, Philippe, I will send to Bow Street for one of the Runners to come and arrest you! There are laws in England that prevent men from forcing women to marry them. Especially,” she added lamely, clearly as an afterthought, “when they are already married.”

“But you are already married to me, Juliet,” St. Cyr said softly, a cruel smile playing over his lips as he devoured her with his eyes. He looked triumphantly at Amiable. “And only to me.”

So who is Juliet really married to?

Hope you enjoyed a little more of Only Marriage Will Do. Stop by SSS tomorrow for more from Only Scandal Will Do. And today be sure to click here to visit more Sweet Samples.

Posted in On Sweet Saturday Sample, On Works in Progress, Only Marriage Will Do | Tagged blog hops, Georgian historical romance, historical romance, Jenna Jaxon, Only Marriage Will Do, Sweet Saturday Sample | 15 Comments

Tell A Story Bloghop April 27-29

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

Once upon a time…Ooops, wrong story!

But the one I’m going to tell you is just as good. Maybe even a little more fun. Welcome to the Tell A Story Blog Hop. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do. The participants in the blog hop will a post either a short story, flash fiction story or a piece of their writing journey.

For a grand prize we are giving away a $30.00 Amazon gift card!!! All you have to do is hop through each blog site by clicking on the picture above, leave a comment with your email address, and be entered to win! The more sites you visit the more chances you have to win!

As a special treat I am offering one lucky commenter a $10.00 Amazon gift card!! Just leave me a comment with your EMAIL address and I will draw one random commenter at the end of the blog hop. Plus three commenters will receive a book of their choice from my four published works. Also to be drawn at random.

So I’m going to tell you part of a story that’s set to be published by Lyrical Press sometime this summer, my historical romance novel Only Scandal Will Do. Kat and Duncan have just formally met, though they met somewhat less formally in an earlier scene–in a brothel. And Duncan is trying his best to apologize.

“I cannot find the words to tell you how deeply I regret I was not a better man that night.” He paused, and she held still and waited. “What I tried to do was madness, without thought, without honor. I do not even have an excuse other than my base desires, and that your abundant charms overwhelmed me.” His face was shadowy in the scarce light of the sickle moon, but he sounded contrite. “I have no right to ask for your forgiveness. I have no right to expect it. But I would ask you to allow me to attempt to remedy the situation.”

Kat shook her head slowly. “What on earth do you believe you could do, Lord Dalbury, that could even come close to a remedy for the terror and humiliation you put me through? Do you think now that I have met you, heard your feeble attempts at an apology, and rejected them, the memory of that night will magically disappear?” She fought to control her anger, though she yearned to blast him with it. “What magic potion would you have me take that would erase the memory of you pinning me to the bed? Because if you have such an elixir, then yes, I will gladly take it from you and obliterate you absolutely and irrevocably.”

He stood silent at her words, then said simply, “I have only myself to offer, my lady.”

“You would have me kill you, my lord? In that, too, I agree I would oblige you, but not at the cost of my own life. I understand the English law punishes those who do murder quite severely.” Kat was astonished when he lurched backward, as from a blow.

“No, my lady, I would not have you kill me,” he said, sounding grimly amused, “though indeed that would probably give you most satisfaction.” Then, “I meant I would have you marry me.”

His words surprised a laugh out of her. “Marry you?” The laughter grew. “I see, my lord, you think me both a whore and a fool.”

“I think you are neither, Lady Katarina.”

“Then you are the fool to believe I would put such a man as you in control of every aspect of my life.” That he thought she would even entertain the suggestion was insulting.

The pale moonlight shadowed his face, but she could read displeasure there just the same. “You judge me solely on one act that, I assure you, was grossly out of character for me. You cannot possibly know what kind of husband I would be.”

“And never will, Lord Dalbury. I can swear to you that I would not marry you if I were in Hell and you were my only hope of Heaven.”

He inclined his head toward her, a faint smile touching his lips. “I believe you made a similar claim about dancing with me, Lady Katarina. Yet we have indeed enjoyed a dance together despite your words.” His tone was soft, the sensuous, cajoling one he had used to seduce her that night in the House of Pleasure.

Kat trembled, recalling the incredible sensations of his hands, his mouth on her body. Damn. He could not do this to her again. Not just with his voice.

“Is there nothing that would entice you to leave your Hell for my Heaven?”

She struggled to answer, opened her lips to deny it, only to find her mouth completely sealed by his.

What do you think? Heaven or Hell for Lady Katarina?

I hope you enjoyed this little journey back to 18th century England. I love to hear from my readers so leave me a comment and be sure to leave your email for a chance to win! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

1.	Allison Merritt	2.	Romance With A Bite
3.	Lisa Kumar	4.	Eliza Lloyd
5.	Lacey Wolfe	6.	Ella Jade
7.	Tamaria Soana	8.	Theresa Stillwagon
9.	Bella Street Writes	10.	Further Explorations
11.	Ahmad Darkside’s Musings	12.	Anne Glynn’s smut
13.	Books Are Cool	14.	The Dark Lake Book Blog
15.	Jennifer Lowery	16.	Window Over the Sink
17.	D’Ann Lindun	18.	Cera duBois
19.	Jenna Jaxon

Thank you all so much for hopping by this weekend. Happy travels!

Posted in Blog Tours, Contests, On Only Scandal Will Do | Tagged blog hops, contests, historical romance, Jenna Jaxon, Lyrical Press, Only Scandal Will Do, romance, Tell A Story Blog Hop | 28 Comments

Day 4 of Seduction for Horny Hump Day 4/25/12

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

WARNING: MATERIAL NOT SUITABLE FOR THOSE UNDER THE AGE OF 18!

NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

Participating authors in Horny Hump Day post three sentences from their published works or WIP, hot enough to steam your you-know-what! Just watch me try! LOL

Ashley is known for her outrageous parties and last Friday night was no exception. Except she wakes to find a video of her in the middle of a menage a tois with a close friend and a gorgeous stranger. Unable to remember anything about the night, other than the hot sex she sees on the computer screen, Ashley begins a search for Mr. Hunk. She has no luck until he unexpectedly shows up–in her shower.

Hunter Hopewell would love to initiate Ash into a variety of sexual experiences he finds exciting, but are his tastes too wild even for Ashley?

Day 4: On Tuesday, Hunter arrives at Ashley’s office to take her to lunch. However, he ends up suggesting they eat in.

He pushed her torso back until she lay with her head almost touching her computer monitor, her body spread across the dark walnut-grained wood. Lifting her hips he pushed her dress up to her waist and stared down at her tiny red thong panties. “Are you crazy?” she whispered, but the image of her, spread eagle on the desk, Hunter pumping away with all his might, and that door opening made her twitch in unexpected places.

That’s taking the idea of a “working lunch” to a whole new level!

Meanwhile, have your own Happy Horny Hump Day! And I love your comments! so let me know if the days are getting better!

Please check out the Horny Hump Day blog site for the other sites on the hop and go visit the other hot authors. Quick before your thermostat erupts! The site also gives the details of how to sign up for next week if you’d like to play with us. 🙂

Thanks so much for visiting the Journal once more for Horny Hump Day.

Posted in Blog Tours, On Horny Hump Day, On Seven Days of Seduction | Tagged blog hops, Erotic Romance, erotic writing, Horny Hump Day, Jenna Jaxon, New Dawning International Bookfair, Seven Days of Seduction, writing erotic romance | 27 Comments

If Art is Subjective, Writing is _______: by Guest Author Lala Corriere

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

You fill in the blank because I haven’t figured that out yet!

When Jenna invited me to guest blog she gave me only one rule. I could write anything as long as it was legal. I’m trying to think of what the heck I could write that would be illegal! I guess I could bribe you with a brand new yellow Corvette if you’ll only give me a five-star review. Bribery is illegal, but you’re above that. And my banker would tell me [my means] are below that.

A true sad story:

In the beginning…I was on the prowl for an agent for my first manuscript. I gained the interest of two big agents. Both knew they were getting a full that was in the hands of one another. The agent on the east coast told me he loved my writing but didn’t like the story. The agent on the west coast told me she loved the story but wasn’t swept away by my writing. She used those exact words. One doesn’t forget these things.

What to do? I had three choices. One, I could clone the two agents and throw out the two bad parts. Two, I could toss a dart into the middle of a map of the United State and hope I’d strike a balance. Or three, I could keep writing and keep trying.

Once I landed an agent I soon had a request for a full from a big publishing house. During a painfully long time my manuscript eked its way to Level Seven in their eight-step review process. At Level Seven they submit your work to their paid reviewers. My agent called me back and wondered if they had read the same manuscript! One reviewer said she “would read anything and everything by this author”. The other reviewer said one couldn’t drag him through the first chapter. Sadly, it was the same manuscript.

We have friends that own a magnificent home with breathtaking views of the city. This home is a showstopper in the art of perfection. And I wouldn’t want to live there. Let’s just say they’re not afraid of color and I prefer a sanctuary-like ambiance with subdued hues and a splash of color here or there.

Is this true in our writing? Of course it is! For heaven’s sake, one person may not like your book because a character has the same name of his ex-wife, and even he isn’t sure why he feels this way but that your writing stinks.

I just took a look at my reviews for my two novels, Widow’s Row and CoverBoy. Bad idea. Same thing. Some people love them. Some people had some pretty nasty things to say about them.

OK. So here’s my bribe. I mean, incentive! Read Widow’s Row or CoverBoy, post a review on Amazon, then email your mailing address to me: Lala@lalacorriere.com I have a gift to send you! It’s not a Corvette but if you like Jenna’s books then I KNOW you will like this! Make sure you advise me if you post your reviews under an alias/odd name so I know it’s you!

Offer good through May 31, 2012

I don’t think I’ll go to jail for this, will I, Jenna?

I think you’re safe with this one, Lala. Thanks so much for your great post today! Now, isn’t this an offer you can’t refuse, readers? Go for it!

Posted in Guest Bloggers | Tagged CoverBoy, guest authors, Jenna Jaxon, Lala Corriere, reviews, subjectivity, Widow's Row | 35 Comments

Announcements

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

Good morning, everyone! I have several announcements to make, so I thought this post could take care of them all in a timely manner. I need to announce the winners of the Love A Tree, Read an E-Book Blog Hop and I have some news about two of my books, Almost Perfect and Only Scandal Will Do.

First, I wanted to give you a heads up that Almost Perfect, my 1 Night Stand novella from Decadent Publishing, is their “Read For A Cure” book for the month of May. All publisher proceeds from Almost Perfect during this month will be donated to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life Program. So anyone who hasn’t bought this story yet, but are thinking of doing so, please do so in May and help a great cause! This cause is dear to my heart because I have a cousin who is a breast cancer survivor, so I jumped at the chance to help out even in a small way. I’m also donating a portion of my proceeds from Almost Perfect during May to Relay For Life. Please help us find a cure for cancer by”reading for a cure.”

The next announcement has to do with Only Scandal Will Do, my full-length historical romance, set originally to release in May. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Only Scandal Will Do will release later in the summer. No firm date has been given yet, but we are hard at work polishing my baby to be the best it can be before release. I’ll be sure to keep you posted and let you know when you can expect to see it on the virtual shelves. In the meantime, you can expect to continue to see me promoting this exciting read with excerpts and snippets in various venues.

And finally, I have the great pleasure of announcing the winners of the Love a Tree, Read an E-Book Blog Hop. This was such a great hop because the participants who commented on my blog gave such fantastic suggestions how we can help save Planet Earth. You should check them out because they are ingenious and awesome! And the winners, chosen at random, are:

Carrie-Anne Brownian

bn100

Teresa Kleeman

Congratulations, ladies! I’ll be contacting you shortly so you can tell me which of my published works you would like to receive. All books are e-books so no trees were harmed to bring you your prizes. 🙂

That’s all my news for now, but please visit me tomorrow when I have amazing author Lala Corriere on the Journal talking about her release Cover Boy. Then come on back on Wednesday for Horny Hump Day and more of my latest WIP, Seven Days of Seduction. Day Four is an eye-opener! LOL

Posted in Contests, On Almost Perfect, On Only Scandal Will Do | Tagged Almost Perfect, blog hops, contest winners, Decadent Publishing, Jenna Jaxon, Love A Tree, Only Scandal Will Do, Read an E-Book Blog Hop, Read For A Cure, Relay for Life | 26 Comments

Six Sentence Sunday–4/22 Only Scandal Will Do

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome back to Six Sentence Sunday!

Thanks once again to everyone for your great support each week. I do appreciate your comments, so keep them coming. I also look forward to visiting your sites and reading your wonderful snippets.

Today’s six is once again from Only Scandal Will Do.

The masked man has purchased a woman in a brothel auction and has come to claim his prize. His “slave” however, continues to insist there has been a mistake. He has managed to turn the tables on the “lady” and call her virtue into question. While evading the man’s advances, they discover a missing bit of vital information that seems turn the tide of his opinion of her. Then, in a moment of weakness, Katarina lets down her guard and things begin to heat up. When we left off, she was reveling in a scorching kiss from the stranger who is bent on taking further liberties:

With a chuckle the man released her lips, but before she could protest, lowered his head and seized her nipple through the sheer white cloth. The gauzy fabric might as well not be there, for she could feel every lash of his tongue as it circled the tip. The crest contracted into a small, tight bud. Another streak of fire leapt straight to the vulnerable core between her thighs and Kat moaned louder at the unexpected bloom of heat that raced through her.

His response, a rumbling throaty groan, sent exquisite vibrations humming through her breast. Then he lifted her in powerful arms, carried her the few feet to the bed and laid her on the blue coverlet.

My Sweet Saturday Sample and Six Sentence Sunday posts from January through March here at on my blog can catch you up to what’s going on in the story. Be sure to come back next week for another six sentence installment on SSS.

Thanks once more for visiting Six Sentence Sunday. Click the SSS to try out more author snippets. I bet you’ll enjoy yourself!

Posted in On Only Scandal Will Do, On Six Sentence Sunday, On Writing Historical Romance | Tagged Georgian England, historical romance, Jenna Jaxon, Lyrical Press, Only Scandal Will Do, romance, Six Sentence Sunday, writing romance | 23 Comments

Sweet Saturday Sample–4/21 Only Marriage Will Do

Posted on April 21, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

I’m going to be in and out most of Saturday, (again!)! But I’ll be catching you all up whenever I get near a computer.

“Why would you claim such a thing, man?” he demanded. “Juliet and I were married properly, in a church.” Amiable gritted his teeth, praying she had given the man no particulars before he had arrived.

“And our ceremony was no less proper. There were witnesses and it was performed before a magistrate.”

Amiable’s head swiveled to Juliet, a cooling in his manner. “Why have you not spoken to me of this, my dear?” Give the woman her head. He was now quite interested himself in what had transpired.

“I never married him, Jack. You must believe me.” Beseeching eyes sent a real plea for his confidence in her. “I never spoke my vows to him.”

“You did not need to, cherie, as you well know. Jeanette spoke them for you.” St. Cyr’s face held more than a touch of impatience.

Complete confusion furrowed his brows and he shifted his stance. “Who is Jeanette? If she spoke the vows then you are married to her, my lord. Not Juliet.”

The sneer was back on St. Cyr’s mouth. “Jeanette Valois was the proxy the Marquess of Dalbury sent to France so that his sister and I could be married despite the circumstances. My father became aware of the scandal surrounding Juliet’s family and broke the betrothal. I knew that when the marquess heard of this he would withdraw the proxy and Juliet would be lost to me. So I acted expressly against my father’s wishes and went through with the ceremony with Jeanette standing in for Juliet. It was almost a month later before the marquess rescinded the proxy.”

St. Cyr looked hungrily at Juliet. “I am your true husband, Juliet. I have the prior claim. Even though it was a secret marriage, nevertheless, it is a valid marriage. You belong to me.” He reached his hand forward to take Juliet’s, but met the iron hard grip of Amiable’s instead.

“Allow me to doubt a bit longer, St. Cyr.” The words were spoken softly, but dripped venom. “Why did you not contact my wife before now with the news that the marriage had indeed taken place? It has been,” he peered at Juliet, “something over a year now?” She nodded her head, her face pinched and miserable.

“I would have written but relations between our two countries being what they were mail was uncertain. And I could not send through diplomatic channels and risk a letter being seen by my father.”

The man almost sounded plausible yet something in his bearing made Amiable’s hackles rise. He did not trust St. Cyr in the least.

Good call by Amiable, I’d say.

Hope you enjoyed a little more of Only Marriage Will Do. Stop by SSS tomorrow for more from Only Scandal Will Do. And today be sure to click here to visit more Sweet Samples.

Picture This! Earth Day Bloghop!

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

If a picture is worth a thousand words…

then let’s talk a while.

Conservation is key.

Be on Earth’s side.

Start now

Go Green!

Celebrate Earth Day with me by leaving a comment with a suggestion how can we can become heroes and help save our home planet?

I’m giving away copies of my published works to several lucky commenters. And when you’ve shared with me, hop back to the Earth Day Blog Hop Site and help save the world.

Posted in Blog Tours, Contests | Tagged blog hops, contests, Earth Day Blog Hop, Jenna Jaxon | 29 Comments

If I Could Be Any When

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

Despite the fact that I have published more contemporary works than historical (to date), I still think of myself as an author of historical romance. I’ve always loved history, loved reading about different time periods when things were done just a bit differently (or a lot!).

I may say that I love one time period more than another, but to date, I have written novels set in the medieval, Georgian, and Victorian periods. I have detailed outlines for several set in the Regency period also. I am waiting for inspiration to write a Civil War era romance, a Renaissance tale, and one set in the Wild West.

All of these periods have fascinated me at one time or another. I was a history major in undergraduate school (no shock there I’m sure), and my love for historical research has stood me in good stead for the past three years.

If you had to pin me down, I would probably say that my favorite historical period is the medieval period. Especially for romance. The Middle Ages were a time of societal upheaval—life was harsh, even for the nobility. But the strict mores of the time brought forth the ideals of courtly love and the romance of the knight in shining armor flourished.

Courtly love is not exactly what many people believe it to be. One of the more interesting “rules” was that the knight did not fall in love with his own wife, but with some other woman. Marriage for the nobility during the Middle Ages–and well into the 19^th century—was a business arrangement. If you were lucky in your spouse you got along well and became partners. But for love, men were expected to look elsewhere (women might look elsewhere, but consequences were dreadful if they were caught). This “other” lady became the knight’s “ideal woman” who was the epitome of all the attributes of womanhood.

The idea of “courtly love” was codified in a 12^th century manuscript by a priest (that’s right, a priest!), Andreas Capellanus, who wrote “The Art of Courtly Love” as a guide for a friend. Follow the link to find out more than you probably ever wanted to know about this time period’s ways of expressing love. It includes a list of 31 “rules” for a love relationship between people of the noble classes. I’ve listed a few of the more interesting ones below.

1. Marriage is no real excuse for not loving.

2. He who is not jealous cannot love.

3. When made public, love rarely endures.

4. The easy attainment of love makes it of little value; difficulty of attainment makes it prized.

5. Every lover regularly turns pale in the presence of his beloved.

6. When a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved his heart palpitates.

7. A new love puts to flight an old one.

8. It is not proper to love any woman whom one should be ashamed to seek to marry.

9. If love diminishes, it quickly fails and rarely revives.

10. A man in love is always apprehensive.

My medieval romance trilogy, Time Enough to Love, is actually set in the High Middle Ages, in the 14^th century and close to the time of the Renaissance. My hero and heroine are part of an arranged marriage and the idea of courtly love comes in to play, but is turned inside out so to speak. My couple has wonderfully diabolical problems! I’m very excited because in May I will begin work on revisions of this work—my very first novel—and plan to self-publish all three volumes of the trilogy by the end of the summer!

So if I could be any “when,” I’d be there with Alyse de Courcy, Sir Geoffrey Longford, and Thomas Knowlton, Earl of Brayton as they navigate the stormy waters of medieval times. I’ll be bringing you more news of them as revisions commence in mid-May. But first I’ll whet your appetite with an excerpt from the beginning of Book 1: Betrothal. The time is June 1348, the place London, England at the court of King Edward III.

Excerpt from Time Enough to Love: Betrothal

Where is he?

Lady Alyse de Courcy walked with studied grace into the Great Hall, her face carefully composed into pleasant lines, hoping to mask her inner turmoil. He would be at dinner. Her stomach fluttered at the thought, her whole body racked with a sudden trembling anticipation of seeing him again. She nodded and smiled at Lady Brisbane. Where is he? Her gaze darted up and down the hall, searching in vain. Is he not coming?

Despite her distraction, Alyse managed to maintain the proper distance behind Princess Joanna as they headed toward the royal dais. As they neared his usual table, Alyse craned her neck, hungrily searching the groups of nobles dressed in their finest. He was not there. Her heart gave a funny little skip, and she tugged at her bottom lip. She had waited all day for this one chance, and he was not here.

The Princess continued to her accustomed place with the royal family while Alyse turned toward the trestle tables set up on the left side of the hall for the attendants. She joined Lady Maurya Wakefield and her husband Sir John at the table closest to the dais, all the while busily scanning the courtiers.

“Your father has still not sent word?”

A sharp poke on her arm made Alyse jump. “Oh, no, Maurya, he has not given me the merest hint.” Alyse‘s tone voiced her pique at her father’s lack of communication on such a vital matter. In April Etienne de Courcy had sent his eldest daughter to King Edward’s court with the knowledge that he was negotiating with several prominent families regarding her marriage. To Alyse’s dismay, however, he refused to tell her which eligible men he was considering. At the moment, however, her betrothal was not on her mind.

Alyse scrutinized a new courtier who entered the hall, then shook her head and leaned towards her fellow waiting gentlewoman. “My only hope is that my father’s interests and mine are similar.” Pray God they are exactly the same. She strained in the uncertain light to catch sight of the man whose mere presence incited her heart to riot.

Lady Maurya gave a sharp laugh and glanced towards her own husband. “As most women can attest, Alyse, fathers’ interests are seldom the same as their daughters’.

“Aye, Maurya.” The thought did little to comfort her. “I only hope I am able to accept my father’s choice with fortitude should he not choose. . . ..” Alyse stopped abruptly before the name could escape her lips, her face heating like a flame. She took a sip of ale to cover yet another blunder then glanced surreptitiously at Maurya, who wore a smug smile.

“You might as well say the name, Alyse. Everyone knows you favor Lord Brayton.”

“I. . .I do not. . . He is not. . .” Stuttering and humiliated, Alyse closed her eyes and silently cursed to think her secret passion for Thomas Knowlton, the Earl of Brayton was common knowledge. She cringed at the realization that Lord Brayton himself might know of her regard.

If you are a history buff, which “when” would you like to visit (or live in)? I’d love to hear your comments. 🙂

Posted in On Time Enough to Love, On Writing Historical Romance | Tagged courtly love, historical romance, Jenna Jaxon, medieval romance, The Art of Courtly Love, Time Enough To Love | 21 Comments

Day 3 of Seduction for Horny Hump Day 4/18/12

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

WARNING: MATERIAL NOT SUITABLE FOR THOSE UNDER THE AGE OF 18!

NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

When you find a sexy stranger in your shower, what do you do? Last week we found out that Ashley took full advantage, or was it Hunter living up to his name?

Participating authors in Horny Hump Day post three sentences from their published works or WIP, hot enough to steam your you-know-what! Just watch me try! LOL

Hunter Hopewell would love to initiate Ash into a variety of sexual experiences he finds exciting, but are his tastes too wild even for Ashley?

Day 3: On Monday, Hunter meets her at her house with dinner from a French bistro. But the food’s not the only thing on his menu.

He used his fingertips to spread her folds and she gasped as he exposed her completely to the twilight sky. The utter abandon of the position was erotic beyond belief and his dick sent mayday calls, insisting he scrap his agenda and let it take the lead in tonight’s adventure. Ash moaned softly, closed her eyes and thrust her hips into the air, offering herself to him and with a loud groan, Hunter lowered his head.