Jade Lee - Wicked Surrender (Berkley Sensation)

Table of Contents

Praise for the novels of USA Today bestselling author Jade Lee

[A] refreshingly different, sexy Regency romance.

Chicago Tribune

Lovely historical romance.

Publishers Weekly

Its unflinching and unabashed in historic social and cultural detail... Elegant complexity and beautifully rendered.

Booklist (starred review)

Strangely hypnotic.

Romance Reviews Today

An exotic and emotional historical romantic tale.

ParaNormal Romance

I enjoyed the sensual and hot love scenes, and boy were they hot. WOW!

Night Owl Romance

Lee... [has] brought something new and intriguing to erotic romance... This is what places her in a class with the best.

Romantic Times

A highly enjoyable read.

All About Romance

Jade Lee provides a wonderfully refreshing tale.

Genre Go Round Reviews

Delightfully different.

Midwest Book Review

An exhilarating fast-paced tale from start to finish.

The Best Reviews

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

WICKED SURRENDER

A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the author

PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Sensation mass-market edition / September 2010

Copyright 2010 by Katherine Ann Grill.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

eISBN : 978-1-101-44330-9

BERKLEY SENSATION
Berkley Sensation Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
BERKLEY SENSATION and the B design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

http://us.penguingroup.com

To Kate Seaver, who is the absolute best!
Youve made this book ten times better.

To Pamela Harty, agent extraordinaire.
It goes without saying that this would
never have happened without you.

To Deb Miller, who made me keep going
when I had decided my only option
was to join a navel-gazing cult.

All three of you are incredible,
inspiring women. Thank you!

Chapter 1

Hes not here. Scheherazade Martin said the words aloud in an attempt to force her mind to stop looking for someone she didnt want to see. He wasnt in tonights playhouse crowd, and she had no interest in being pursued by him anyway. She even prayed nightly that he would lose interest and leave her alone. But some desires went deeper than her minds ability to block. And yet, it made no sense. Why did she want him so?

He was a lord pursuing a passing fancy. She was an actress and no lord would deign to marry her no matter what he whispered. Besides, her longing was only a symptom of a larger problem. Yes, she craved Lord Blackstone, but she also wanted... something else. Something elusive.

The word love whispered through her mind, and she ruthlessly shut the idea away. Love didnt come to the likes of her. Her goal was marriage and even that wouldnt happen with him. So it was best if she stopped looking for Lord Blackstone and concentrated on the task at hand. She turned toward the Green Room, moving so quickly that she nearly caught her skirts on fire.

Move that lamp, she said to the newest stagehand, pointing to the offending lantern set casually on the floor where anyone could kick it. The Tavern Playhouse was small, barely enough room for a stage and fifty people, all standing. One little fire and the entire building would burn to the ground before she had the chance to scream. Do you want to be burned alive?

Yeh, grunted the boy, barely ten years old, but he didnt move from where he was lying down, peering into a hole that led beneath the stage. Not until he was cuffed from behind by Seth.

Ow! he cried, leaping up, his fists raised. Wots that fer?

Seth didnt answer, except to point at the lamp. He was a mute, but he still managed to handle an army of boys with seeming efficiency. Especially since he had the help of Joey, the oldest of Seths helpers.

Thats Lady Scher, lackwit, Joey barked as he came around from behind the curtain. We do wot she says as she says it. Or find yer bread elsewheres. He thrust his chin at the backstage door.

There was a tense moment when Scher thought the new boy would fight or bolt. Boys were the most unpredictable in their first week, but he looked at Seths massive bulk and changed his mind. Slumping over to the lantern, he grabbed it with enough force to break the handle. Seth was beside him in a minute, pulling him to the door by his ear. The boy started bellowing, but Scher turned away. She didnt want to see Seths brand of discipline. All she cared about was that it worked, and that it was a damn sight better than what waited outside the Tavern Playhouse doors. Besides, she was already late for the Green Room.

Thank you for your help, Joey, she said.

Yes, mlady, yes! Ill finish up ere. Ill do it right an tight, jes how you like!

Scher managed a smile, and Joeys face lit up like a beacon. Youre a good boy, she said as she slipped past another curtain to the hallway that led to their tiny Green Room. It was a narrow path and dark, but she had been walking it her entire life, so she paid little heed to where she stepped.

She was just ordering her thoughts to the task ahead when it happened. She felt an arm on hers, a push from the side, and then she was spun around to face her attacker. She had only the vaguest impression of largenesslarge hand, tall body, and a dull flap as his heavy cloak rippled around them. By the time she gasped, she was already pushed up against the wall. Her backside hit first, so she was able to prevent her head from banging painfully against a ladder, but that was all she could do as his body came hard and full against her, and his cloak hid her from sight.

Her hands fisted and her belly tensed. Slight as she was, she could still fight. And she was already drawing breath to scream. Seth and his boys would be at her side in a moment. No man dared accost Lady Scher, not in her own tavern.

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