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bd0669e
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The duke brought her hand to his mouth and, his azure eyes glittering in the candlelight, pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist. And then the edge of his teeth. She felt the warm softness of his lips, the prickle of against tender skin, and a sort of shock seemed to go straight through the center of her body. He let her go and her wrist felt the cold of night. "Seraphine. The burning one. I should've known."
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love-bite
nickname
seraphine
val-napier
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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22f30bf
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His face might've been carved by a Greek sculptor, so perfect were his cheekbones, lips, and nose. His eyes were of the clearest azure. His curling hair was the color of polished guineas and quite gorgeous- which the duke obviously knew, since he wore it long, unpowdered, and tied at the nape of his neck with an enormous black bow. He wore an elegant purple velvet coat over a cloth-of-gold waistcoat embroidered in black and crimson. Fountai..
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masculine-beauty
val-napier
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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25afd1f
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He paused and eyed her as if she were an agate discovered in gravel. "But what a very sharp tongue you have for a housekeeper." Bridget's heart sank- she knew better than to speak so frankly. It was never good for a servant to be noticed by a master- particularly master. "Come." He beckoned her closer with his forefinger and she saw the flash of a jeweled gold ring on his left thumb. She swallowed and opened her right hand, silently dropp..
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bridget-crumb
val-napier
hands
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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bcfee3d
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And this"- the duke stroked the mound beneath her thumb- "do you know what this is called?" Bridget cleared her throat, but her voice emerged a bit rusty nonetheless. "I could not say, Your Grace." "The Mount of Venus." He arched his eyebrows at her. Devastatingly beautiful. Lethally charming. "My Greek girl told me that this foretells how passionate a woman may be. You, Mrs. Crumb, must have untold depths of sensual need within you." She n..
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val-napier
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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0133ad8
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Val's upper lip curled as he wondered if Mrs. Crumb knew the meaning of the word . Most likely she dismissed it as something vaguely shameful and leading to - which, at the best of times, it .
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val-napier
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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97201ec
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A small brownish-gray terrier had been sitting on the brick, but he hopped to his feet as soon as he saw Bridget and gave one sharp emphatic bark. "Now hush," she said to him- not that he seemed to care. She set the tin plate down and uncovered it, revealing the scraps that Mrs. Bram had saved for her. The terrier immediately began gobbling the food as if he was starving which, sadly, he might be. "You'll choke," Bridget said sternly. The t..
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terrier
dog
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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8dd335f
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She used to be so frightened when they were young. Like a pale little ghost, slipping into the shadows, hiding from their vicious elders, trying not to be noticed. He'd saved her once. Swept her away like a prince in a fairy tale, but that was long ago and far away and perhaps no longer mattered. How were such things counted among normal people? For she'd thawed. He could see that now. She was no longer that frozen, scared little girl afrai..
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eve-and-asa
grown-up
val-napier
eve-dinwoody
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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29d7d54
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He started for the door, thinking of crimson velvet and burning eyes- and a woman's face swam into view. . A quarry. A victim of his plots and of his villainy. He diverted his course, intercepting the woman. She was on the arm of an older man, her father. Val swept her an abrupt bow. "Miss Royle. Sir." Hippolyta Royle was the only daughter of Sir George Royle, who had gone to the East Indies to make his fortune and had done quite a good job..
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predator-and-prey
val-napier
victim
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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40b1d37
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As he brought her back to her waiting parent he lowered his head to hers and said, "I'll call on you next week, shall I?" The hand on his arm jerked, but she kept her composure. "I beg your pardon, Your Grace?" "I intend to court you," he informed her kindly, and then added to make it perfectly clear, "and make you my wife." She swallowed. "Oh, no." He smiled. "Oh, yes."
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val-napier
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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0908ae7
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His azure eyes suddenly dropped to pin her, hard and merciless, and she lost her breath as she fell into his predator's stare. It was like looking into the eyes of something inhuman, almost otherworldly. Her chest ached as she stared at him, the air still locked within her, but at the same time the place between her legs ached as well. She was suddenly made very aware that beneath the starch of her apron, the wool of her dress, and the bone..
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bridget-crumb
intimidating
val-napier
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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815fe0d
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He was a terrible, evil man, and most likely mad to boot. She knew that. . As if he could hear her thoughts, his head turned and his eyes met hers. She should've ducked before he could see her. That would've been the sensible thing to do- the thing to do. Instead she lifted her chin and stared back as if she were equal to a duke. Without acknowledging the gentleman still talking to him, the duke pivoted and walked toward her. Through that..
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evil-man
val-napier
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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ce1de0e
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He strode, nude, to his desk, and, bending over it, afforded her a quite scandalous view of his muscular bottom. He seemed to have a dark mark of some kind on the left cheek. Good God, it looked like a . What-? "I have the most lamentable taste sometimes. It probably would be if a few of my things disappeared. Why, Mrs. Crumb," he drawled, and she snapped her gaze belatedly up to find that he'd turned back to her- ! "Were you ogling my ..
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val-napier
nude
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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8f81f5b
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Eve was a shy woman. A woman who had spent years hidden away from the world, traumatized by their shared past. True, she was also stubborn as a mule when she wanted to be, but he never should've put her in the position of facing off against Makepeace. He'd obviously proved too overwhelming for her. God only knew what the pleasure garden owner had done to Eve to make her agree to marry him.
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eve-dinwoody
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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a8aed09
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Artemis let her head fall back, her eyes closed, her lips suddenly trembling. Apollo dying. "Please. Please, Maximus. I'll refrain from provoking you anymore. I'll stay in the shadows with my stockings and shoes on and never swim in your pond again, never disturb you again, only please do this one thing, I beg you. Save my brother." --
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sacrifice
love
siblings
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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0aa7124
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This?" He thrust short and hard into her, the impact sending jolts of pleasure through her body. "Yes, that," he murmured to himself as if pleased, and did it again. And again. Until the heat between them combusted. Until she felt hot liquid wash over her limbs. Until she looked up and wondered why she'd ever thought his gray eyes emotionless. He was watching her with passion. With lust. With so much love. She felt tears in her eyes. He gro..
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iris-and-raphael
lovemaking
raphael-de-chartres
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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aba3140
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A GODDESS SHOULD never have to beg. It was the one thought, clear and simple, that ran through Maximus's mind. Everything else--his rank, the party,their conflict, seemed to fall away from that one truth. She should never have to beg. He still tasted her mouth on his tongue, still wanted to crush her breasts against his chest and bend her until she bared her throat to him, but he made himself let her go. "Very well." Artemis blinked, her..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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2e48184
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Well, I suppose I wouldn't have been going to Harte's Folly again in any case." "Why not?" he asked absently. "Was the play not to your liking?" "We didn't get that far." She sighed. "Penelope had rather a fit when we first arrived and caused a scene. I'm surprised no one told you." He turned slowly. "What?" She looked at him. "She called me a whore." "Damn it." He scowled at his hands."
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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5e2ebb6
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Have you come to kidnap me?" Her voice emerged a whisper, though she hadn't consciously thought to lower it. "If so, I hope you'll do me the courtesy of letting me put on a wrap first."
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Elizabeth Hoyt |