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.”
I don’t blame her for being scared. She’s got a lot of courage to keep going forward despite her terror, though there’s little choice.
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He’s sure an attention grabber!
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I’m glad we live in a society where women (theoretically) have more options to support themselves. How terrifying for her!
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She is standing tall in spite of how terrifying this moment must be for her.
And him, he sure starts out sounding like a cocksure rake! lol
I know… It’s about to get sooooo interesting!
Love this story. 🙂
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Thank you so much, Teresa! I can’t decide if this or Scandal is my favorite of the series. I’m really proud of them both.
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She must be scared to death, but she’s going through with it. She’s brave.
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She is brave and this is just the second brave thing she’s had to get through. Trust me, there are many more! What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
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I know how this will turn out and still my stomach dropped over what she believes she’ll have to endure. Fantabulous snippet, as always!!
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Thank you so much, Sue! Yes, it was a torturous scene to write, but I think it’s one of the best in the book.
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She has to be terrified to be put in such a situation. I curious to know how things will turn out for her.
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Well, you’ll find out some of it next week!
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So far so good for her, but then their encounter has barely (pun intended) begun.
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Yes, we have that to look forward to next week! 🙂
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I can’t imagine what she’s going through. I’m surprised she could stand there and utter those words. Terrified is what I’d be.
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When your back is against the wall, you find the courage and move forward.
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She’s going through such a terrible time, but with inner strength. Really a great snippet, although I feel so badly for her.
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I felt bad putting her through it! 🙂 But we have to torture our characters to make them all the stronger for their HEAs.
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He seems to have good intentions, although I can understand how scared she must feel.
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It must have been terrifying (and such situations did happen frequently in the 18th century and beyond) to have no other choice but to let yourself be ruined in Society in order to be able to live. But women frequently had no other choice.
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What a brave lady.
Tweeted.
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She is, Daryl. She’s a survivor.
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Whoa. *fans self* I started sweating after the cover alone, but hot damn. I’m off to grab this one on Amazon!
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🙂 Thank you so much, Julie! I think you’ll need an iced beverage before you finish the book! LOL
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She is very brave in that situation. And one can only hope he means what he said. Great snippet!
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Thank you, Jessica! Yes, this “Lord John” is a true gentleman, as the next couple of weeks snippets will reveal.
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Sigh . . . Love this scene. It shows her strength, and her fear of the unknown.
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Thank you, Nancy. This is one of my favorite scenes too!
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