Sorry - I was trying to post an excerpt and was having technical difficulties, but here you go, a snippet from NO ORDINARY MISTRESS: “Of all the men in the Seven, why must I work with him?” She didn’t want to be paired up with any man, least of all Remy, who tempted her so and muddled her thoughts and made her wish for all the things she could never have. “Did you not tell her any of this?” Remy asked. “No, I thought Id wait until we were all here together.” “Coward,” Remy said with another grin. “Tell me what, precisely?” “Youll be posing as my mistress, sweetheart,” Remy said with a lecherous wink. Emma came to her feet. “I shall do no such thing.” She turned to Harrison. Working with Remy would be bad enough, but pretending to be his mistress? It was intolerable! “There must be another way.” “We need to make certain youre protected while we investigate the murder. We can’t afford to pull you from the assignment altogether. You know Comfry’s circumstances and habits better than anyone else. We cannot know if the killer saw you or knew you were there,” Harrison said. “Remy is a qualified spy, Emma. He will take good care of you.” Her training had taught her how to slow her breathing, gentle her pounding heart, so she could appear in command of her faculties. Inside, though, she stewed in turmoil. “Indeed.” Remy leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “And Ive been needing a new mistress.” Emma rolled her eyes. “You are a pig.” Her fate was sealed. “We need to get you into Pennington Hall so you can search for Comfrys journal, but you cant just show up there. You need an appropriate cover,” Harrison said. “Which is?” Remy leaned forward. “Ive been invited to a party very near there, and well be attending. You, as my new mistress.” He was so damned cocky; she wanted to box his ears. Sitting like he was with his legs out and his feet bare. The smirk on his face nearly made her forget how damned dashing he was. Nearly. This scenario was perfect for him since he so desired to protect her. But she knew a man’s protection was nothing more than a veiled nicety for control. “This was your idea, wasn’t it?” “As a matter of fact, it was,” he said. She closed her eyes briefly, willing herself to stay calm. “You shouldnt have any problems pretending to be a seductress, should you, Emma?” One of Remy’s brows shot up. For the briefest instant, she thought she saw a flash of pain in his eyes, as though the thought of her seducing another man brought him grief. In that moment, it was as though she was back at that cramped boarding house in Paris where they had lived together for all those weeks. This was the man she’d believed was her friend, and then he’d betrayed her. Then the moment passed, and in the place of the hurt, she found smirking arrogance. He was a bounder of the worst sort. How dare he call her out like this, in front of her superior, no less. How dare he act as though she were somehow morally deficient for doing her job when he apparently had carte blanch to do whatever he damn well pleased. And mostly, she wanted to wipe the smirk off his face by telling him the truth. That she had never seduced the Comte. That she had used her intelligence and her cunning to get the information she needed without dropping her drawers. However, she also had the intelligence and the cunning to impress her superior without putting down another spy. Instead, she turned her attention back to Harrison. “I am accomplished at covert operations, certainly I can search Pennington on my own.” “No, it is not safe for you to do that. You will work with Remy.” Harrison turned his attention to Remy. “And you shall be professional. Stop taunting her. She has already been under enough stress.” They thought her weak, in need of protection. “I can assure you, I can take care of myself.” “Be that as it may, you are assigned to be here until further notice,” Harrison said. “I’m going to wait for Madam Dupree and have a word with her before she comes in to measure you, Emma. While I’m out, I fully expect the two of you to work this,” he waved his hand, “whatever this is between you, work it out.” He left the room. Emma wanted to run, she couldn’t deny that, but she wouldn’t give Remy the pleasure. “I knew I’d eventually get you in my bed,” Remy said as soon as they were alone. “As soon as we find that journal, this charade ends. And I don’t appreciate you insinuating I’m nothing more than a whore, especially in front of Harrison.” “What the devil are you talking about?” He stood, closing the distance between them. She looked up at him and, for a moment, got lost in the mossy depths of his eyes. She tried, desperately, to read his emotions, but he’d been a spy longer than she. He was better at this game of hiding his true self to carry out a mission. “You shouldn’t have any problems pretending to be a seductress,” she said, doing her best to mock his tone. His brows rose. “Is that how I sound?” When she didn’t answer, he continued, “I was merely referring to your secret skill. Should I be worried about my virtue?” he asked. He leaned in, bracing his hands on either side of her and effectively pinning her against the bookshelf behind her. He was so close she could smell his sandalwood soap. So close she thought he might kiss her. She narrowed her eyes at him. “First, you have no discernable virtue. Second, I wouldn’t touch you if my life depended on it.” “Promises, promises.” He shoved off the shelf and walked away.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 17:44:19 +0000
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