"Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom"
by Vanessa Kelly
Publisher: Kensington Zebra
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Summary from goodreads.com:
Only one woman is worthy of his secrets…
They are the Renegade Royals, illegitimate sons of the Royal Princes, each finding his rightful place in society—and the woman destined to be his perfect match…
Some men are born into scandal. Others pursue it with a passion. Griffin Steele, secret son of the Duke of Cumberland, is guilty on both counts. Yet somehow London’s most notorious scoundrel has been saddled with an abandoned baby boy—and with the unflappable, intriguing spinster summoned to nurse him…
Justine Brightmore may be a viscount’s niece, but she’s also a spy’s daughter, determined to safeguard the infant when his suspected royal parentage makes him a target. Yet how to protect herself from the rakish Griffin? Marriage might shield her reputation, but it can only imperil her heart, especially with a groom intent on delicious seduction…
I'm so happy to host a stop on Vanessa Kelly's tour for "Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom" today. This book sounds SO good to me. I really can't wait until I get a chance to read it myself. Here's your chance to read an excerpt from the book and also enter a tour-wide giveaway for a copy of Vanessa's previous book, "Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard."
Excerpt:
Excerpt 8: Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom
Griffin was dressed in black again but for the white shirt underneath his black waistcoat. He’d discarded both his jacket and his cravat, and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. The sight of his tanned forearms, corded with muscles and lightly dusted with dark hair, made her poor stomach give an odd little flip.
Griffin’s eyes gleamed with amusement as he rose, but his words were scrupulously polite. “Come in, my dear, and sit before the fire. You look chilled.”
He strolled around the desk, laying a gentle hand on her elbow as he steered her to one of the club chairs in front of the grate. She didn’t fail to notice his swift but searching inspection.
“You’re pale as milk,” he added as she took her seat. “Why didn’t you join me for dinner after I made a point of asking you? You need to eat.” He waved an impatient hand to forestall her answer. “And don’t use the baby as an excuse. You’re not a nursemaid anymore, Justine. It’s time you realized that.” His tone conveyed his disapproval with her small show of defiance about dinner.
Through Phelps, he’d all but ordered her to join him in the dining room. Justine had sent back a politely worded refusal, saying Stephen was fractious and Rose too worn out to watch him. Phelps’ grimace conveyed how little he’d relished the idea of relaying that news to his master, but Justine had no intention of allowing Griffin to impose his will on her. She might, within the next few days, be his wife in truth, but she intended showing him that she would remain her own person.
Besides, she’d been so rattled and sick about the whole business that she’d doubted her ability to keep down a single morsel of food.
“I wasn’t hungry,” she replied. “And Stephen was fractious. You can’t expect Rose to do everything, you know. That’s why you brought me here in the first place.” She gave him what she hoped was a pleasant but disinterested smile that signaled her intention to keep her distance.
His dark brows lifted with elegant disdain. “Matters have changed, Justine. You will soon be mistress of this household, and it would be unseemly for you to act like a common servant.”
“I have neither the intention nor the desire to run your household, and I’m sure you don’t want me to, either,” she fired back.
So much for keeping a polite distance.
His lips thinned with irritation. Pivoting on his boot heel, he crossed to the whatnot behind his desk and pulled down a crystal decanter and a small glass.
“I don’t want any brandy,” she protested. “My stomach is unsettled enough as it is.” Then she winced as she realized what she’d revealed.
He cast her a half smile. “It’s only ratafia, the perfect thing for your stomach and your nerves.”
When he returned with the glass, she accepted it with a resigned sigh. She knew him well enough by now to know better than to refuse.
He stood over her, staring down at her with a brooding but curiously absent gaze. As the seconds ticked by, she had the impulse to fidget, and not even the soothing warmth of the liqueur could counteract it.
“Mr. Steele, are you deliberately trying to make me more anxious than I already am?” she finally asked.
He looked blank for a moment, then shook his head. “Why would I want to do that?”
“Well, I have noticed you like to keep everyone around you slightly off balance.” She forced a smile to her lips. “It is an effective method of control, I’ll grant you.”
His low, purring laugh somehow both ruffled and soothed her nerves. “No, I’m not trying to make you anxious. And I have no wish to control you.”
“Except in the matter of forcing me to marry you,” she said, carefully placing the delicate liqueur glass on the circular table between the two armchairs.
Where to Buy:
BAM: http://bit.ly/1gTffUo
Meet Author Vanessa Kelly:
Vanessa Kelly is a nationally bestselling author who was named by Booklist, the review journal of the American Library Association, as one of the "New Stars of Historical Romance." Her sensual, Regency-set historical romances have been nominated for awards in a number of contests, and her second book, Sex and The Single Earl, won the prestigious Maggie Medallion for Best Historical Romance. Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard, the first book in her new Renegade Royals Series, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Vanessa also writes USA Today Bestselling contemporary romance with her husband, under the pen name of V.K. Sykes.
Giveaway Details:
One print of SECRETS FOR SEDUCING A ROYAL BODYGUARD, book one of The Renegade Royals series per the total number of stops. (US/Ca only) Please see Terms & Conditions on the Rafflecopter widget. Winners and info submitted to Rafflecopter will be the responisibility of the publicist, not In the Hammock, I am just hosting the Rafflecopter!
Vanessa is also hosting a giveaway on her website for a chance to win one of three gift baskets stuffed with books, cookies and candy, and other fun gifts.
Follow the rest of the tour:
http://events.litconnect.com/confessions-of-a-royal-bridegroom-by-vanessa-kelly/
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post.
"Royally Lost"
