A Highwayman for Christmas
Book 2 in the Christmas Scandals series.
Lily Rowland has no choice but to reject the Earl of Seaford’s marriage proposal. No one can deny the man is handsome, with his dark hair and dark eyes that flash with a hint of something that lies deeper beneath the surface. But despite the fact they have become good friends, the oh-so-proper earl can never give her what she wants…passion.
Simon took one look at Lily Rowland and knew she’d be his. But after months of resisting the temptation to throw her over his shoulder and carry her to a dark corner to do deliciously wicked things with her, he realizes he’s made a tactical error. Because Lily doesn’t want the respectable gentleman he’s pretending to be. She wants the rake he’s hiding from her.
Which leaves him with no choice this Christmas but to kidnap Lily to prove he can give her exactly what she craves.
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Excerpt:
Never had Simon failed in such a spectacular fashion. He’d miscalculated—badly. But he wasn’t going to quit the field.
He wanted Lily Rowland, and by God, he would have her.
If Miss Rowland thought him lacking in passion, she would soon learn the opposite was true. Gone was his farce of acting the part of a proper gentleman for her. Gone was his belief that he had to hide who he really was. To hide the fact that he wanted her with a desperation that wasn’t gentlemanly. That wasn’t nice.
No, from this point forward, he was going to take what he wanted. Lily couldn’t know what she was asking for, but he was going to show her that he was more than capable of being passionate. He only hoped she was prepared to discover his true nature.
He stormed into the house, his temper still hot. But he wasn’t angry with Lily. No, he was furious with himself. He’d been the worst sort of fool. Somehow he’d convinced himself that he needed to become someone he wasn’t in order to gain the hand of the woman he wanted. Instead, he’d driven her away.
He swung the greatcoat from his shoulders and handed it, along with his hat and gloves, to the waiting footman.
“Please ask Hastings to see me in the study.”
His words were clipped, and the young man turned immediately to find Simon’s valet. At least he hadn’t yelled.
He made his way to the study and poured a measure of brandy. It was only afternoon, but given the horrible mess he’d managed to make of his only attempt to woo a woman, no one would blame him for doing what he could to steady his emotions.
The past six months had been a special kind of hell for him. Being so close to the woman he wanted to make his own and forcing himself not to touch her.
At least he hadn’t told anyone he planned to propose today. Hastings knew, of course, but his mother and sister expected him to propose at Christmas. That had been his original plan, but he’d become impatient. He wanted the matter of courting Lily behind him so he could have her as his wife. In his home and, more importantly, in his bed.
He’d given up all female companionship after meeting Lily earlier this year. He didn’t regret that decision. He’d had his fill of women for years now, but Lily was the only gently bred young woman he’d met who stirred the beast within.
At first, he thought it was her beauty that captivated him, which had seemed odd. He’d met all manner of eligible young women who were as beautiful, perhaps even more so than her. But his instincts all sprang to attention when Clara introduced him to her good friend’s oldest sister.
Those instincts had told him that the young woman standing before him, her blond hair curling about her face, her blue eyes gleaming with appreciation—nothing he hadn’t seen before in countless other women—would belong to him. And not just for one night but forever.
He tossed back his drink and began to pace. That was how his valet found him several minutes later.
Hastings rapped softly at the door and then let himself in without waiting for an invitation. He took one look at Simon and sighed.
“I take it this afternoon did not go as you’d hoped.”
Simon laughed; he couldn’t help it. The situation was absurd. “I am a case study in irony.”
Hastings’s brows rose. “That means…?”
“She refused me because she thinks we’re friends and she wants passion.” The words sounded bitter on his tongue. “Apparently she doesn’t think she can get that with me.”
He gave his valet credit for not laughing at him.
“You’re not a man to give up so easily.”
“Of course not. I’m going to give her exactly what she wants.” One corner of his mouth lifted as he thought about all the ways he could show Lily that he was more than up to the challenge she’d laid before him. “She’s thrown down the gauntlet, and I am honor bound to show her that I am more than capable of giving her exactly what she wants.”
“Of course you are, my lord.”
Simon ignored the hint of dryness in his valet’s tone. The man had been with him for enough years to know that the one area in which the Earl of Seaford was not lacking was in passion.
His smile turned into a full grin as a plan began to form in his mind. “I’m going to need your help.”
Hastings inclined his head. “Just say the word.”
©2022 Suzanna Medeiros