Welcome back to Sweet Saturday Sample. Thank you very much to those of you who are coming back again this week from the premiere of Sweet last weekend. And a big Hello and Welcome to new folks sampling for the first time today. This blog tour is similar in nature to Six Sentence Sunday if you’re familiar with that. We post an excerpt of our work–published or WIP–that’s no higher in heat level than PG-13 for your enjoyment.
Sweet Saturday Sample proved a wonderful talisman for me: the story I put up last week —Almost Perfect–was accepted for publication this past week in Decadent Publishing’s 1Night Stand series! This week I’m going to try to keep that ball rolling and post from my Georgian historical novel Only Scandal Will Do, which is also out with an editor and an agent. Again, this is the opening scene, so you won’t need any set-up! Please enjoy!
London, 1761
“Put her back in the carriage, now!”
Her assailant’s gravelly voice sent a shiver of fear through Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam. Violent hands seized and tossed her back into the carriage.
Now she was gagged, hands pinioned behind her back and ankles bound together. Trussed like a Christmas goose, she could only lie in a cramped bundle on the hard plank floor of the dim carriage, her diaphanous Grecian costume in ruins, and scheme how to get out of this predicament. The horses jerked forward and the uneven cobblestones of the London streets jounced her already aching body.
All because I was bored. Doggedly, Katarina tested the bonds securing her hands, strained against the coarse rope then relaxed, seeking play in the cords. There was none. She muttered a curse and forced her whole body to relax. Tension would never free her. Rough and tumble games growing up with Jack had taught her that.
Jack! God, where is he? Is he alive or . . . She had heard one muted cry when they were attacked, then nothing. If her brother were dead it would be her fault. Because she was bored.
She pulled and twisted her wrists. If we had stayed in Virginia we would have been better off. London was far wilder than she would have believed; although she had heard of women being abducted by highwaymen she had thought them only tales. Until now.
But Jack had inherited a title, forcing them to come to London. The year of mourning for their father was not quite over, so Great-Aunt Harriet had taken command of what little social life Katarina was allowed. For the past month she had been stuck all day with strong tea and inane gossip about people she did not know. Finally, she rebelled and forced Jack to escort her to a masquerade ball at seven this evening, ironically attired as Athena, goddess of war.
A particularly nasty rut jarred the carriage. What wouldn’t she give for Athena’s armor at this moment, or at least her spear. She had to admit, though, she had gotten her wish. She wasn’t bored now.
I think Kat’s in for a bumpy night! In more ways than one.
Thanks again for visiting me for some Sweets. Come back next week for another “Sweet Sample” or join in the fun with your own. Follow this link to Sweet Saturday Sample to find more “sweet” offerings.
If you liked the above sample, you might also like some of my published work. Heart of Deception, set in Victorian England, is available at Books to Go Now. Hog Wild, an erotic contemporary retelling of The Three Little Pigs, is available at New Dawning Bookfair. And both are available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and All Romance Ebooks. Blurbs for both books can be found on my Published Works page.
Jenna Jaxon Romance--because passion is timeless. 