her darling mom for introducing her to the happily-ever-after world of romance novels, Janna writes stories where compelling and powerful heroines meet and fall in love with their equally matched heroes. The mother of triplets loves chatting with readers and spending time with her very own dashing rogue and a smug, but practically perfect, pug.
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Read The Cavensham Heiresses Series
The Bad Luck Bride
The Bride Who Got Lucky
The Luck of the Bride
The Good, The Bad, and The Duke
Rogue Most Wanted
Wild, Wild Rake
READ Widow Rules Series
WHERE THERE’S A WILL coming June 1, 2021
A DUKE IN TIME coming June 29, 2021!
Rules of Engagement coming 2022!
Laird of Longing
Tammy Andresen
Chapter One
As far as plans went, Sophie had to confess, this likely wasn’t her best.
Lady Sophie Everclear, daughter to the Earl of Templeton, darling of the ton, and diamond of the first water—as had been printed just last week in the society section of The Times—currently crouched behind several large crates in the hull of a ship.
What ship, she couldn’t say. Where it was going exactly, she wasn’t certain. And how she’d begin her life again, she hadn’t a clue. But here she was and as wave after wave licked at the boat, causing it to rock in a nauseating fashion, she knew there was no turning back.
Her legs ached from her crouched position and she straightened them out as best she could. They were long for a woman’s and she wondered briefly if she had been shorter, if she could have stretched them all the way.
If they’d been shorter, perhaps she wouldn’t be here at all.
It was a silly thought. Her legs were not really the issue, but her height made her stand out in a crowd. Which had led to that ridiculous article. And that outrageous piece of writing had brought the Honorable Maxwell Hughes straight to her door. Honorable. Even hungry, tired, and sick to her stomach she rolled her eyes at his character’s description.
Hughes was the furthest thing from honorable a man could possibly be.
Raucous male laughter drifted down from the deck and Sophie winced. Lord help her if she’d landed herself in a far worse situation than the one she’d left.
But she’d had to escape Max Hughes and all of his ill intentions.
First, he’d sought her out at a ball. Tall, lean, and handsome as sin, he was the second son of a baron and it was widely known that he was on the hunt for an heiress. Lesser known was the fact that he made his money by visiting the beds of widows and bored wives.
A fact Sophie likely shouldn’t have known either as she was an innocent lady in only her second season. But the Countess of Wilber had taken great delight in informing Sophie of this fact after her father had announced her engagement to Hughes. Apparently, Lady Wilber was one of his regular customers and the woman had informed Sophie that just because Hughes was getting married, Lady Wilbur fully expected him to continue visiting her bed.
A piece of Sophie’s blonde hair fell across her chest as her head tipped forward, her eyes fluttering closed.
Her hair must look a fright. The thick, blonde curls were difficult to tame under the best of circumstances, but it had been hours since she’d adjusted her pins and the sea air was wreaking havoc on the locks.
She twirled the strand around a single finger, tempted to pull out all the pins and allow the tresses to hang down her back. What did perfect hair matter here? Still, she habitually worried about her appearance. A reflex from careful training.
Training that had completely gone to waste.
She thought back to that first ball. He’d asked her to dance, and she’d agreed because… she let out a sigh. Because he’d been handsome and enigmatic and because she thought little harm could come from a single dance.
How wrong she’d been.
He’d been a perfect gentleman that night. And the next.
And when he’d arrived for her calling hours. Yes, his eyes had held an intensity that had been…titillating.
She could confess that she’d enjoyed his attention at first.
But then his touches had grown less innocent and more... She searched for the correct word. Sinister.
It sounded dramatic, and she was certainly painting his actions then with what was to come, but even in the beginning he’d made her uncomfortable.
His hand had started at her lower back, but somehow, he’d end up brushing the side of her breast, or