Almost Innocent
Authors: Jane Feather
“You were very wicked this evening, Magdalen . . .”
“Yes, wasn’t I?” she agreed with a chuckle. “But not nearly as wicked as you, my Lord de Gervais.”
He laughed against her mouth. “It was a lesson most richly deserved.”
“And most richly enjoyed.”
“I believe so,” he concurred solemnly, shifting her slightly on his knee so that he could explore more thoroughly the luxurious curves of her body, the silken skin rippling beneath his touch. She arched and purred—all sensual promise—as always instantly, supremely responsive.
“I have something to tell you,” she murmured, moving her mouth to his ear, her tongue a hot, moist lance darting within. He groaned softly, his body hardening beneath the warm, seductive weight of her.
“Then tell me quickly, love, before I lose the ability to hear anything.”
Almost Innocent
Please turn the page to read lavish praise for the novels of Jane Feather . . .
DON’T MISS ANY OF THESE TANTALIZING
ROMANCES BY JANE FEATHER
The Widow’s Kiss
“Typical of Feather’s novels, the story succeeds as romantic fiction, with fine characterizations [and] sound historical background. . . . Will draw readers.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“Rich characters, sophisticated sensuality, and a skillfully crafted story line: a first-class historical romance, wonderfully entertaining.”
—
Kirkus Reviews
“One of the most intense romances I’ve read. . . . From the opening scene to the final pages I was glued to this book. I had one of those nights where you keep reading no matter how late it’s getting. You keep looking at the clock thinking, ‘If I turn off the light right now, I’ll get six hours of sleep.’ Then it’s five hours, then four, and if you’re lucky, you’ll have finished the book before you get to three.”
—
All About Romance
The Least Likely Bride
“A charming, fast read.”
—
The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Feather’s writing is quick, vivid, and upbeat. . . . Her hero is dashing and articulate; her heroine is headstrong and intelligent and ends up saving her lover; and it all adds up to a perfect light historical romance.”
—
Booklist
“Full of intrigue, passion and adventure—a lively read.”
—
The Dallas Morning News
“I highly recommend
The Least Likely Bride
, and I plan to search out the other books in Feather’s
Bride
trilogy immediately.”
—
All About Romance
The Accidental Bride
“Ms. Feather does not disappoint. With humor, history and characters you fall in love with, this is a gem of a book. Most definitely a keeper!”
—
Romantic Times
“In
The Accidental Bride
, Ms. Feather wraps her heroine in a cocoon of innocence and allows her readers to watch as she develops into a beautiful, desirable woman. Tensions tighten as the heroine learns how to fan the embers of indifference to flames of passion in the heart of the hero. Ms. Feather’s plot is a time stopper.”
—
Rendezvous
“Bestselling author Jane Feather is renowned for her exciting, authentic historical romances and her latest tale,
The Accidental Bride
, will bring new accolades to her. With the Cromwell revolt in the background, the interesting second in the
Brides
series brings an era rarely seen in novels in vivid color to the audience.”
—Harriet Klausner for
Painted Rock Reviews
The Hostage Bride
“The first in Jane Feather’s
Bride
trilogy is a feather in her cap and one of her best stories ever.”
—
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Valentine Wedding
“A fast-paced book that will keep the reader entertained.”
—
Rocky Mountain News
The Silver Rose
“Well-written and fast-moving . . . entertaining.”
—
Booklist
The Diamond Slipper
“With her marvelous imagery, Ms. Feather draws [in] the reader. . . . Captivating romance.”
—
Romantic Times
Vice
“
Vice
offers everything from sensual romantic scenes to hilarious misadventures to an exposition on the problems facing ladies of the evening in the mid-18th century. . . . Readers will love it.”
—
The Brazosport Facts
“A delightful read, brimming with passion, touches of humor, poignancy . . . A marvelous ending to Ms. Feather’s ‘V’ books.”
—
Romantic Times
Vanity
“[Five-star boxed review] Jane Feather is an incomparable. Her stories shimmer with emotion and adventure, and her characters really do leap off the page into the reader’s heart.
Vanity
is a brilliantly crafted book.”
—
Affair de Coeur
Violet
“Great fun . . . Feather’s well-paced plot generates lots of laughs, steamy sex and high adventure, as well as some wryly perceptive commentary on the gender stereotypes her heroine so flagrantly defies.”
—
Publishers Weekly
Valentine
“Four out of four stars . . .
Valentine . . .
comes much closer to the Austen spirit than any of the pseudo-sequels that have been proliferating lately.”
—
Detroit Free Press
Vixen
“Vixen
is worth taking to bed. . . . Feather’s last book,
Virtue
was good, but this one is even better.”
—
USA Today
Virtue
“Jane Feather is an accomplished storyteller. . . . The result—a rare and wonderful battle-of-the-sexes story that will delight both historical and Regency readers.”
—
Daily News of Los Angeles
Also by Jane Feather
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PrologueCARCASSONNE, 1360
T
HE WOMAN WAS
smiling, and it was the smile that never failed to set the serpents of lust crawling in his belly, the heat of urgent desire suffusing his skin. It did so even tonight.
The man returned the smile, reaching to touch the rich dark hair falling to her knees, glowing bright against the virgin white of her linen shift. A virgin white belied by the swell of her belly.
“It seems nothing can dim your beauty, Isolde.”
The woman took the compliment as her due. She began to play with the dripping wax from the tallow candle on the table in front of her, rolling the little puddles into soft balls. Her nails were long.
The man felt the stirring in his loins. How many times had those nails raked his back in the throes of passion, those little white teeth nipped his shoulder during the violent heat of their sharing?
He turned aside, walking to the narrow slitted window set into the turret wall of the fortress monastery of Carcassonne. He could see nothing but the black strip of night sky and a single steady star. The silence in the bastion room was profound, its quality somehow undiminished by the crackle of a splitting log in the hearth, the scrape of her chair on the stone-flagged floor, the whisper of wine flowing from pitcher to cup. At the last sound, he felt his shoulders stiffen. He kept his back to the room until she spoke. And it was a minute or two before she did so.
“Come drink with me, John. You are in a strange mood this night. It is the last time we will be together for many months.” Her voice was sweet and cajoling, and bile rose in his gorge.
“Aye, and this meeting was the devil’s own work to arrange,” he said, turning back to the room. Two pewter goblets of wine stood on the table. Her hand curved possessively around the one at her place. The man’s full, passionate mouth smiled, but his blue eyes were hooded, concealing their expression. The candlelight caught his golden head as he bent to kiss her mouth, curving beneath his caressing lips. How easy it was to do that.
“I have a present for you,” he said, straightening slowly.
Her gray eyes glittered as they always did at such a prospect. “What is it?”
“A christening present for our child,” he replied. “I must leave tonight for the fighting in Burgundy, and you will be delivered and churched long before I may see you again.”
“Where is it?” She rose from the table, tall and graceful despite her swollen belly. Vibrant, she was, with her glowing dark hair and her glittering gray eyes, and her rich red lips now parted eagerly. Her lover’s generosity was always princely.