Weekend Writing Warriors ~ 01/24/21 Only A Mistress Will Do ~”What Pleasure May I Give You”

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors!

This week I’m continuing snippets from my upcoming re-release Only A Mistress Will Do, Book 3 of the House of Pleasure series. I’ve recently gotten the rights back to this book and am eagerly awaiting re-publication as an indie release at the end of January.

NEW BLURB:

Friendless and destitute, Miss Violet Carlton has no choice but to seek work in London’s most notorious brothel, The House of Pleasure. She steels herself for her ultimate ruin at the hands of her first customer, only to be offered a reprieve in the form of a position as the gentleman’s mistress—in name only. Grateful for his benevolence, Violet agrees to the proposition and enjoys the life of a pampered courtesan—until her dashing rescuer puts her heart in jeopardy. Violet’s growing desire for the gentleman must be squashed when she discovers he belongs to another woman.

Tristan, Lord Trevor enters the House of Pleasure bent on a final night of carousing before donning the leg-shackle of marriage. To his shock, he recognizes the woman in his bed as a lady of the ton and resolves to save her from life in a brothel. After whisking her away under his protection, Tris endeavors to find her a husband, to secure her future and stem his own intense longing for the beautiful woman. With growing anguish Tris fears he can never make Violet his own for the impediment of his coming marriage pales in comparison to the secret he must hide from her or risk her loathing him for the rest of their lives.

This snippet moves ahead to the next chapter. Violet has passed Madam Vestry’s inspection and has been assigned her first customer.

EXCERPT:

Her head came up, back straight, forced smile plastered on her face as the door opened wide and she caught a glimpse of the man who had bought her for the night. Madame Vestry had informed her this morning that one of her regular customers had responded favorably to her invitation—she’d actually called it an invitation—and for Violet to make herself available in the green room at eight o’clock tonight.

She’d not been told who he was and somehow it mattered little to her she did not know the name of the man about to ruin her. One of the house rules forbade her to ask–if the gentleman offered his name, that was his business. The other girls had told her if she needed to put a name to the face, to think of customers as “Lord John.”

This Lord John entered the small room in a swirl of black fur and sandalwood, the spicy scent tickling Violet’s nose, making it twitch.

She tipped her head back and looked up into the swarthy face–dark hair and piercing blue eyes, a strong jaw, and a long, straight nose. Too tall, though, he was too tall for her. The ridiculousness of the irrational thought broke through her lethargy and she forced herself up out of the chair as he strode toward her.

The smile curling his full lips would have been charming had not the gleam in his eyes betrayed his lustful intent.

And now to finish the scene :

“Good evening, Cassandra.” His deep baritone voice sent a frisson of dread through her. “Such a lovely name for a lovely temptress.”

“What pleasure may I give you this evening, my lord?” The words came out flat, but by God, she’d gotten them out. Now to remain standing and not faint.

One small goal at a time. She stared at the wide expanse of blue velvet jacket barely two inches from her face.

He ran the back of his hand along her cheek and goose flesh pimpled her whole body. “I do hope the pleasure will be mutual, my dear.”

Only A Mistress Will Do is now available for pre-sale for just $1.99 on Amazon and set to release on January 29! After release the price will increase to $3.99.

And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.

The House of Pleasure series

by Jenna Jaxon