Friday, February 29, 2008

My story is coming to paperback!!!




I'm thrilled to announce that my Victorian, Her Knight Of Seduction will be coming to paperback March 13. This story has always been one of my favorites because of my sexy hero, Edmund Knight. Yes, he's a heart-throb all right. And my new cover now gives him a face...and a sexy chest. WOO-HOO!!



Lady Megan Saxton will do anything—naughty if necessary—not to marry the drunken lord her grandmother selected. But when she thinks she’s trapped herself a duke, will a mistake in identity have her falling in love with the man who put her family in financial ruins?

Clever Scoundrel, Edmund Knight will stop at nothing to take back the deed to his goldmine that has been stolen. When his enemy’s daughter mistakes him for someone else, his plans change. Now he’s after her virginity.

**excerpt**

Every card Megan picked was a high card, and it surprised her to see four Aces in her hand. If what the duke told her about the game was correct, she had won. Lifting her chin in triumph, she smiled.

He chuckled, shaking his head. “You, my dear, don’t have a face made for this sort of game.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“By the wide smile stretched across your tempting mouth, I assume you have an exemplary hand?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “How do you know this is not a deliberate attempt to mislead you?”

“No, I’m certain it isn’t.”

“Then do you call?”

He laid down five cards, all the same suit, numbered in order. “If you can beat a small straight, then you have me licked.” He laughed. “And the prospect of being licked sounds rather enjoyable at this moment.”

Megan’s heart thundered in her ears. He shouldn’t have suggested something so shocking. Now she imagined it, too, and it sounded very pleasing.

With shaky hands, she laid her cards on the table. “I have four Aces and a five of clubs. I suppose that means I win.”

“Yes, you do.” He shrugged, the corner of his lips lifted in a cocky grin. “I’ll now have to forfeit something.”

By his creased forehead and shadowed gaze, he appeared deep in thought. She observed his meditations in keen interest, but his eyes revealed none of his innermost thoughts. Finally, he smiled, reached up and loosened his cravat. “It’s up to you. My cravat or a kiss.”

A cravat? What would she do with his cravat? Yet she knew what she would do with a kiss. She swallowed hard, deciding to let the teasing game play on.

“I will take your cravat.” She grinned and took the article of clothing handed to her, its silky smoothness still warm from his throat. She placed it on her lap, and his musky scent engulfed her, heating her that much more. He gathered the cards and shuffled again.

The next game went as before, and she held four Kings. Amazing. She was better at this game than she thought. It was time for him to forfeit, and he once again pondered on this, biting his bottom lip during the silence.

A grin tugged on his lips. “My waist-coat or a kiss?”

“Your waist-coat.”

With a nod, he smiled and shrugged out of the garment. She knew his game. He was purposely losing.

“Why are you forfeiting your clothing?” she asked in a mocking tone.

“As I see it, you have more need for it than I. Doubtful your riding habit is dry as of yet.”

Megan nodded.

Once the third hand was dealt, she held a royal flush. He’d tricked her! What other excuse could there be? She decided not to say anything, just to see where this led. As he unbuttoned his shirt, she caught a breath in her throat. This wasn’t good; or was it? She had vowed to seduce him, but now faced with disrobing a man in person, the thought made her feel a bit green—yet excitement bubbled inside her chest.

“Your Grace.” She lowered her eyes as her cheeks burned. “I’d rather you leave your shirt on.”

“But my lady, what would you have me forfeit? Are you ready for a kiss?”

“I...I don’t know, but—”

“Have you never seen a man without a shirt?”

Her face scorched with heat. “Once, I accidentally caught my father without a shirt.”

“I assure you, I’m built no differently.”

She dared to look up, and at that moment his shirt came off. Her mouth turned dry. He lied. He wasn’t a thing like her father. Her father would consider himself privileged to have even half the definition the Duke had sculpting his wide chest.

A maelstrom of sensations flooded her mind, and she found she couldn’t remove her gaze from his masculine body. His bronzed body glistened with hardened muscles sprinkled with a few soft hairs around his dark, tight nipples.

Inwardly, she moaned. She swept her tongue across her parched lips to moisten them before swallowing. It didn’t register in her mind that he held out the shirt for her to take until he stood and walked to her. She should have paid better attention.
The shirt dropped in her lap and his masculine scent of spice and leather surrounded her. Bending over, he placed his face very close to hers. Hesitantly, she met his heated stare.

“You know, my sweet lady, you shouldn’t look at a man with wide, curious eyes, and a gaze that devours his body. It might give him improper thoughts.”

Megan swallowed again, this time seeming harder than the last. “Please forgive me, but...you look nothing like...my father.”

He chuckled, tracing his finger along side her jaw before moving back to his chair. She breathed a little easier, but not much.


Watch for my PRINT book at The Wild Rose Press. Also coming soon to Amazon.com


~~Phyllis~~

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