One of this blogs favorite historical authors is Delilah Marvelle. Her stories are full of very flawed heroes and heroines, who always manage to get their happily ever after. Her latest series the Rumor Series goes between London and New York City and is absolutely yummy. Forever a Lady comes out later this month and you won’t want to miss it. Especially based on today’s snippet.
She undid the lacings on her petticoats, her heart pounding at the realization that she was actually doing this.
She was about to bed a man she had just met in the park.
Her petticoats dropped and she stood in only her chemise, corset, stockings and slippers. Holding his gaze, she kicked off her slippers, sending them into the folds of her petticoat.
She paused, knowing she couldn’t undo the corset on her own.
“All of it.” His voice dipped low.
She tried to steady her breathing. Tried. “I cannot undo the lacings on my own.”
He reached into the pocket of his great coat. Pulling out a folded razor blade, he flicked it open, the metal glinting against candlelight.
“Allow me to play tailor.”
Her eyes widened as he rounded her. She jerked toward him. “I would rather you not use that.”
“Why not?”
“It makes me nervous.”
“I like making you nervous.” He grabbed her waist hard and spun her back around, jerking her to a halt in front of him, forcing her to face the open doors of the parlor. Leaning in from behind, he shoved her long hair to one side of her shoulder with the sweep of his other hand and slid the hot tip of his velvet tongue down her throat and shoulder.
She closed her eyes against the sensation, letting her head roll naturally to its side as his tongue made its way to the curve of her bare shoulder. Oh, God. He could have slit her throat and she couldn’t have stopped him.
He paused. “Don’t move.” Grabbing the top of her corset just beneath her shoulder blade with one large hand, he wedged the tip of the razor between the upper lacings and…sliced.
She winced, feeling the razor work its way through each lacing just above her skin, down, down, down until he tugged and the corset tumbled onto the floor.
He slowly rounded her, his boots echoing in the parlor, and snapped the blade of the razor back into its handle. Leaning toward a side table beside him, he set the razor on it, then methodically removed each of his two pistols from his leather belt. He set them beside the razor against the polished wood with a gentle clatter.
It was like disarming France.
And, somehow, she didn’t care.
TWO DIFFERENT CLASSES, ONE COMMON DESIRE… Lady Bernadette Marie Burton may be the richest widow in England, but like her dreams of finding true passion, her reputation is deteriorating. Cruel gossip, loneliness and hoards of opportunistic suitors have her believing Society couldn’t be more vile…or dangerous. So when an attacker threatens her life, she finds safety in the most unseemly of places: the arms of a mysterious, Irish-American gang leader. His fortune stolen, young Matthew Milton is done playing the respectable gentleman. In the slums of New York, only ruffians thrive. But from the moment he arrives in London and encounters the voluptuous Lady Bernadette, he can’t help but wonder about the finer pleasures he’s missing. Or just how much he’s willing to risk-not only to bed her, but to prove his worth…
I love, love all of Delilah’s books. Can’t wait for this one. Plus an Irish -American Gang leader as the hero – yum!