Wild Randalls, book four
She can lose her birthright, but not her heart!
Meredith Clark wants no part of her long-ago identity as Rosemary Randall. She’s created a more exciting life as the courtesan, Calista, and her newest lover is both intriguing and rugged enough to capture her fancy. But the widowed Earl of Grayling craves more than this woman’s dazzling intelligence and fiery passion. He wants her as his mistress, and if she won’t agree to that, he’ll settle for taking her home as his daughters’ governess.
Determined never to be tied down to one person or place, Meredith prepares to run again. Yet something deep inside her yearns to stay — until she discovers Constantine’s real identity. Now she’s faced with the hardest choice of her life. Should she trust the man she’s coming to love with the secrets of her past, or flee to save them both from an even greater heartbreak?
Hunting the Hero is the final sizzling regency romance novel in the Wild Randalls series.
- Lady in Disguise
- Widowed Father
- Second Chance
Read an Excerpt
At the threshold of the saloon—a room soaked in red velvet and supple limbs—Constantine saw the ladies of the night reclined in shimmering, half-undone gowns as they listened to the strains of Bach adequately played by another of their number. A few gentlemen, some with vaguely familiar faces, graced the room, all engaged with willing women perched upon their laps.
The scene was one he had viewed before his marriage but found little pleasure in now. He wasn’t one for public spectacles. Private pleasures were all he desired tonight. It was simply a matter of choosing a face with an appealing body and then losing himself in desire.
He scanned the room, searching for a face and form that would inspire him and satisfy his hunger. A leggy blonde sat alone and unoccupied for the moment. The madam noticed the direction of his gaze and provided her name. “Solange.”
A rare jewel. Constantine doubted names held any accuracy in this place. With any luck she’d be willing, pliant, and easy on the senses of a man who’d come for distraction. He’d begin his quest there.
He strolled forward and limpid eyes flowed over him, caressing without touching. A prelude to intimacy to come. Her lips lifted into a smile as she rose to her feet, gliding toward him with smooth steps. When she held out her gloved hand, he kissed the back as if she were a dear friend.
“Welcome,” she said, her voice soft and easy on the ears.
Constantine smiled in response. “Grayling.”
Her hands touched his arm in a gentle caress, luring him toward her body, attempting to beguile, subtly at first. The smallest whisper of anticipation coursed through him. Perhaps a rare jewel would be enough? Perhaps Solange could provide the pleasure he sought. Yet even as he formed that thought, another filled him. Solange was lovely, but would she provide him with the challenge he craved?
Would she bend to his will completely, allow him to satisfy his needs even if it left her wanting? Would she dare to complain about his selfishness? There was no way to predict the outcome.
What Constantine missed most was the chase of love and passion. The hunt and claiming of victory. He’d had that once, so he knew what he missed and wanted tonight. A woman whose passionate nature could keep pace with his.
Solange leaned close to whisper in his ear. “Shall we sit and listen for a while, my lord?”
Constantine didn’t particularly care for the music, but the performance would give him time to consider whether Solange would suit. “Of course.”
She grabbed his hand and guided him toward an empty corner settee. Constantine followed her and after he’d sat, allowed her to press another glass of wine into his hand. While he sipped, Solange’s nimble fingers stroked the top of his thigh. But the soft touches failed to arouse. That whisper of desire he’d felt at first sight had vanished as if it had never been. Constantine cursed under his breath.
After a short period, Solange turned her attention from the pianist and caught his eye. Her hands glided up his inner thigh to tease him with the promise of later pleasures. As she leaned close to nuzzle his neck above his cravat, he realized nothing had changed. He was no more aroused by her touch than he had been when he’d set off for the brothel that evening. Even when her fingers skimmed his chest and then tangled in his hair, he had no reaction whatsoever. The gentle kisses she bestowed to his jaw were persistent, but not enough to arouse. If he got her to the bedchamber, he feared neither one of them would be happy.
Constantine concentrated on everything else but what she did. Solange’s ministrations had not banished his wife far enough into the past to allow him to lose himself in the moment. He wanted to forget he’d loved his wife. He wanted to banish the guilt that haunted him.
He glanced beyond Solange’s shoulder to see who else lingered in the room. He’d choose another. Someone he hoped had enough mastery to cure him of his longing for the perfect life he’d lost.
There were three other unattached women in the room, but as he inspected them, they failed to stir him any more than Solange had. Perhaps he should have gone to London when Rothwell had suggested it. A few weeks of debauchery in the company of a trusted friend might have been better than the pleasures afforded by this private country house. It was just his luck that his situation prevented him from visiting the capital just now.
A flutter of pale skirts caught his attention as a slight woman paused in the doorway of the saloon. A slim figure appeared, deep black hair carelessly tumbling around her head as if she’d stumbled from bed and could just as easily return to it. She claimed his complete attention and he couldn’t look away from her whiskey-brown eyes. Their eyes held as the plunking of the pianoforte dimmed.
Small limbs, perfect skin, and a smile that wasn’t the least sincere.
For a moment he couldn’t breathe. Whoever she was, she made no attempt to join them, no attempt to tempt him or any other man in the room. But she had done the impossible with one haughty glance. She had made his pulse riot.
Purchase from Retailers
Amazon US Amazon UK Amazon CA Amazon AU
Apple Books Barnes and Noble Google Play Kobo
Paperback Edition
Books-a-Million Bookshop.org Powell’s Waterstones Booktopia
English Edition – Book Info
Publish Date: September 2023
Digital ISBN: 978-0-987561-42-8
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-987561-41-1
Genre: Regency Historical Romance
Translations
Related Books
Wild Randalls Series
1: Engaging the Enemy (Leopold and Mercy)
2: Forsaking the Prize (Tobias and Blythe)
3: Guarding the Spoils (Oliver and Elizabeth)
4: Hunting the Hero (Constantine and Rosemary)
Arabella’s romance is in An Accidental Affair