plan.’
‘No.’
‘Why not, Ellen?’
She looked up then, met his gaze directly.
‘Tell me,’ he said.
‘Because I realised that I still love you.’
He took her in his arms and stared down into her face. ‘As I love you, Ellen.’ And then he took her mouth with his and kissed her with such infinite tenderness and all the love and passion that was between them welled up and overflowed. He scooped her up and carried her to the bed.
They made love all night and when the dawn came Ellen remembered that she had not quite told Marcus everything.
‘Marcus?’
His hair was bed-ruffled, the rough shadow of beard stubble covered his chin and cheeks. He looked sleepy and very, very sensual. ‘Ellen.’ He stroked her hair and smiled at her, and she felt him grow hard against her belly.
‘There is something I have not told you. Something very bad.’ She bit at her lip.
His eyes held hers, dark and passionate and yet gentle.
‘When I was in Southampton…’ It was difficult to find the words. ‘I knew I could not seduce you as plain Ellen Henshall. I did not think you would notice me and I had no…knowledge of how to do it. So I did something very shocking. Something that would ruin my reputation were it ever discovered.’
He raised an eyebrow.
‘I… I paid a courtesan, a very expensive courtesan, to teach me how to seduce you.’
She saw his eyes open wider.
‘I could think of no other way.’
‘So that night in the theatre…?’
She gave a nod, and bit her lip again.
‘And the Volse ?’
‘Yes.’ She squeezed her eyes closed.
‘And the visit to the corsetiere?’
‘That, too,’ she whispered and felt her face flame with embarrassment. ‘Kitty promised me it would work.’
‘Kitty?’
‘Miss Kitty Bradshaw of Southampton.’
‘She was right,’ he said and there was a pause. ‘And were Miss Bradshaw’s lessons theoretical or…practical…in nature?’
‘Purely theoretical.’ She blushed all the harder. ‘Are you very shocked?’
‘I confess to being a little surprised,’ he said. And when she lowered her eyes he took hold of her chin and tilted it up so that she was forced to meet his gaze. ‘Ellen, you had no need to take lessons from anyone else. All you needed was to have confidence in yourself. You are a beautiful woman. A sensual woman. The only woman for me.’
She felt her heart swell with love for him.
‘You were very good at seduction,’ he said.
‘Was I?’
He smiled and kissed her lips. ‘Very, very good.’
She smiled. ‘I love you, Marcus Henshall.’
‘I love you, Ellen Henshall.’
And she raised her lips to his and seduced him into showing her just how very much.
If you enjoyed How to Tempt a Viscount, don’t miss these other sensual historical romances by Margaret McPhee, on sale now wherever ebooks are sold!
A Dark and Brooding Gentleman
Unmasking the Duke’s Mistress
The Captain’s Forbidden Miss
Unlacing the Innocent Miss
Untouched Mistress
Christmas Wedding Belles, “A Smuggler’s Tale”
The Wicked Earl
Enjoy more passion through the ages with the sensual Harlequin Historical UNDONE titles on sale now:
Testing the Lawman’s Honor by Lauri Robinson
The Unrepentant Rake by Barbara Monajem
Disobeying the Marshal by Lauri Robinson
A Rake for Christmas by Ann Lethbridge
Spellbound & Seduced by Marguerite Kaye
An Illicit Indiscretion by Bronwyn Scott
Virgin Unwrapped by Christine Merrill
One Wicked Christmas by Amanda McCabe
The Liberation of Miss Finch by Diane Gaston
A Wickedly Pleasurable Wager by Carole Mortimer
Craving something a little longer? Find more historical romantic adventure from Harlequin Historical at http://www.Harlequin.com or your local bookstore.
Interested in writing for Harlequin Historical UNDONE? Send your submission to [email protected].
Margaret McPhee loves to use her imagination—an essential requirement for a trained scientist. However, when she realized that her imagination was
‘No.’
‘Why not, Ellen?’
She looked up then, met his gaze directly.
‘Tell me,’ he said.
‘Because I realised that I still love you.’
He took her in his arms and stared down into her face. ‘As I love you, Ellen.’ And then he took her mouth with his and kissed her with such infinite tenderness and all the love and passion that was between them welled up and overflowed. He scooped her up and carried her to the bed.
They made love all night and when the dawn came Ellen remembered that she had not quite told Marcus everything.
‘Marcus?’
His hair was bed-ruffled, the rough shadow of beard stubble covered his chin and cheeks. He looked sleepy and very, very sensual. ‘Ellen.’ He stroked her hair and smiled at her, and she felt him grow hard against her belly.
‘There is something I have not told you. Something very bad.’ She bit at her lip.
His eyes held hers, dark and passionate and yet gentle.
‘When I was in Southampton…’ It was difficult to find the words. ‘I knew I could not seduce you as plain Ellen Henshall. I did not think you would notice me and I had no…knowledge of how to do it. So I did something very shocking. Something that would ruin my reputation were it ever discovered.’
He raised an eyebrow.
‘I… I paid a courtesan, a very expensive courtesan, to teach me how to seduce you.’
She saw his eyes open wider.
‘I could think of no other way.’
‘So that night in the theatre…?’
She gave a nod, and bit her lip again.
‘And the Volse ?’
‘Yes.’ She squeezed her eyes closed.
‘And the visit to the corsetiere?’
‘That, too,’ she whispered and felt her face flame with embarrassment. ‘Kitty promised me it would work.’
‘Kitty?’
‘Miss Kitty Bradshaw of Southampton.’
‘She was right,’ he said and there was a pause. ‘And were Miss Bradshaw’s lessons theoretical or…practical…in nature?’
‘Purely theoretical.’ She blushed all the harder. ‘Are you very shocked?’
‘I confess to being a little surprised,’ he said. And when she lowered her eyes he took hold of her chin and tilted it up so that she was forced to meet his gaze. ‘Ellen, you had no need to take lessons from anyone else. All you needed was to have confidence in yourself. You are a beautiful woman. A sensual woman. The only woman for me.’
She felt her heart swell with love for him.
‘You were very good at seduction,’ he said.
‘Was I?’
He smiled and kissed her lips. ‘Very, very good.’
She smiled. ‘I love you, Marcus Henshall.’
‘I love you, Ellen Henshall.’
And she raised her lips to his and seduced him into showing her just how very much.
If you enjoyed How to Tempt a Viscount, don’t miss these other sensual historical romances by Margaret McPhee, on sale now wherever ebooks are sold!
A Dark and Brooding Gentleman
Unmasking the Duke’s Mistress
The Captain’s Forbidden Miss
Unlacing the Innocent Miss
Untouched Mistress
Christmas Wedding Belles, “A Smuggler’s Tale”
The Wicked Earl
Enjoy more passion through the ages with the sensual Harlequin Historical UNDONE titles on sale now:
Testing the Lawman’s Honor by Lauri Robinson
The Unrepentant Rake by Barbara Monajem
Disobeying the Marshal by Lauri Robinson
A Rake for Christmas by Ann Lethbridge
Spellbound & Seduced by Marguerite Kaye
An Illicit Indiscretion by Bronwyn Scott
Virgin Unwrapped by Christine Merrill
One Wicked Christmas by Amanda McCabe
The Liberation of Miss Finch by Diane Gaston
A Wickedly Pleasurable Wager by Carole Mortimer
Craving something a little longer? Find more historical romantic adventure from Harlequin Historical at http://www.Harlequin.com or your local bookstore.
Interested in writing for Harlequin Historical UNDONE? Send your submission to [email protected].
Margaret McPhee loves to use her imagination—an essential requirement for a trained scientist. However, when she realized that her imagination was
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