The Captain's Bluestocking Mistress Blog Tour and Giveaway
Leave a comment for a chance to win one of Erica's books.
Leave a comment for a chance to win one of Erica's books.
Blurb:
Captain
Xavier Grey’s body is back amongst the Beau Monde, but his mind cannot break
free from the horrors of war. His friends try to help him find peace. He knows
he doesn’t deserve it. Just like he doesn't deserve the attentions of the
sultry bluestocking intent on seducing him into bed...
Spinster Jane Downing wants off the
shelf and into the arms of a hot-blooded man. Specifically, the dark and
dangerous Captain Grey. She may not be destined to be his wife, but nothing
will stop her from being his mistress. She could quote classical Greek by the
age of four. How hard can it be to learn the language of love?
My Review:
Excerpt from The
Captain’s Bluestocking Mistress
When Captain
Xavier Grey finds himself snowbound with a sultry bluestocking intent on
seduction, he does what any honorable soldier would do: He tries to make her
think of him as “just a friend.” Unfortunately, the absence of servants means
the gruff ex-soldier is force to act as lady’s maid...
Miss Downing had moved the stool before the fireplace, and sat with her
back toward him. A cinnamon-colored dress gaped below her nape as she tilted
her head to one side and struggled to drag a pearl comb through her long, wavy
hair. Each curl glimmered in the firelight, then nestled back against the curve
of her breast and the small of her spine.
He had never seen anything more erotic in his life.
“Would you like me to—” He clapped his chest when his voice came out far
too husky. After clearing his throat, he tried again. “Shall I lace your stays?”
“Only if you wish to.” Rosy firelight—or perhaps a light blush—colored
her exposed neck.
“I have to,” he
answered, not bothering to hide the strangled desperation in his voice. “For
both of us.”
“You don’t have to.” She turned around and looked him square in the
eyes. “You wish to.”
A surprised laugh burst from his throat. His bluestocking might be exceptionally
well read, but she knew very little about men.
“No. What I wish to do
are acts so unapologetically carnal, the ink would catch fire if I attempted to
commit my ideas to paper. But what I’m going to do is lace up your stays, toast
some breakfast, and put you on the first coach back to London. You will thank
me later.”
“I will think of you
later.” The tip of her tongue ran along the bottom of her upper lip. “Just as I
did last night.”
He clutched the doorjamb and held his position. If he went to her right
now, it would not be to lace her stays. They were playing with fire.
She turned back to the hearth and resumed teasing the knots from her
curly hair. “I don’t suppose you’ve any skill with a comb? My lady’s maid is
the only one who could ever vanquish these tangles, and I fear I’m only making
the matter worse.”
His jaw worked. He was profoundly grateful she couldn’t witness the
naked desire writ upon his face.
Yes, he wanted to run his fingers through that
long, silken hair. To touch it, to comb it, but mostly to have its softness be
the sole blanket above their hot, twined bodies.
Which was simultaneously the best and worst idea to
have ever crossed his mind. He liked her too much to let her throw away her
future on a tryst with someone like him.
“We can’t be lovers, Miss Downing. Now or ever. You
think me someone I am not.” As she met his gaze, he infused his tone with cold
finality. “Your vision of me is flawed. A romanticized, idealized knight who
saves the day and wins his lady’s favor. I am no knight. I do not deserve your
favors. I will not be your seducer.”
She lifted a half-bare shoulder. “Right now I think
you’re someone who doesn’t know how to unknot curly hair and doesn’t wish to
come out and say so.”
“I know how to comb hair.” Against his better
judgment, he stormed forward and snatched the pearl comb from her fingers.
“Stand up. Not another word until you’re properly laced.”
She rose to her feet as docile as a lamb.
Xavier wasn’t remotely fooled.
With the comb between his teeth, he cinched her
stays and buttoned her gown as quickly as possible. When she settled back on
the stool, he lifted her hair in one hand and began to gently tease the tangles
free, starting from the ends.
The firelight caught each curl as it released,
turning the long brown waves into rippling gold.
When a little, contented sigh escaped Miss
Downing’s throat, the tension in his neck muscles softened. Her eyes were
closed, and a half-smile curved her lips. The corners of his mouth quirked in
response.
His seductive bluestocking was a far better cat
than that devil creature she’d brought in a basket. He could comb her hair for
hours, just to listen to her relaxed sighs and watch the blissful expression
upon her pretty face.
His fingers froze in place. He could do this for hours?
Just because she liked it?
“Good enough.” He tossed the comb into her lap and
stalked out the door before her big brown eyes and sweet-smelling skin
domesticated him any further. She would be gone in the next two hours. He would see to it personally.
My Review:
Book 2 in the Dukes of War series continues
to hold my attention. I loved The Viscount's Christmas Temptation the
novella that introduced the series.
I do recommend starting there as it is free on Amazon and sets the stage
for the series.
Xavier Grey was the near catatonic
friend from the previous book. Now
he is walking and talking but hates what he did in the war. Jane Downing is on the shelf but wants
to experience passion and pick Xavier as the man to show it to her.
I loved Jane. She is a bluestocking who does not hide
her education. Xavier on the other
hand just needed to let go of the past and grab the future. It turns out both have to face Xavier’s
past. I don’t want to give any
spoilers so I will just say their journey to a HEA was full of twists and
turns. Once again Ridley has
written a story that is true to the times but still has a romance that pulls in
the modern reader.
Author
Bio:
Erica
Ridley learned to read when she was
three, which was about the same time she
decided
to be a writer when she grew up.
Now,
Erica is a USA Today best-selling author of historical romance novels.
Her latest
series,
The Dukes of War, features roguish peers and dashing war heroes who return
from
battle
only to be thrust into the splendor and madness of Regency England.
When
not reading or writing romances, Erica can be found riding camels in Africa,
ziplining through rainforests in Costa Rica, or getting hopelessly lost in the
middle of
Budapest.
Website: http://www.EricaRidley.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EricaRidley
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/EricaRidley
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/EricaRidley
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