Lord Coleville's Desperate Desires

By Kristina Saxon

Promised to another. Destined for him.

Upon Lord Eric Coleville’s return from the war, The Honorable Sarah Brighton catches his eye. He must have her at any cost, and while their desire is mutual, she is already promised to another—his younger brother. Honor is everything to Eric, but it pales when weighed against losing Sarah. He will use every tactic and strategy at his disposal to steal his brother’s intended bride and make her his instead.

This is a short, steamy Regency romance. It features instalove, instalust, and a swoon-worthy hero intent on claiming his true love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amourisa Press
• Release date: Jul 9, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386937937

Book preview

Blurb

Promised to another. Destined for him.

Upon Lord Eric Coleville’s return from the war, The Honorable Sarah Brighton catches his eye. He must have her at any cost, and while their desire is mutual, she is already promised to another—his younger brother. Honor is everything to Eric, but it pales when weighed against losing Sarah. He will use every tactic and strategy at his disposal to steal his brother’s intended bride and make her his instead.

This is a short, steamy Regency romance. It features instalove, instalust, and a swoon-worthy hero intent on claiming his true love.

Chapter One

The ballroom was a sight to behold. The staff had certainly outdone themselves with decorations and refreshments, and those lucky enough to be invited to the soirée had equally gone to every extravagance. Moonlight poured in through the open windows and patio door, bathing everything in a soothing silvery glow. It was exactly as Lord Eric Coleville remembered.

It was utterly ridiculous. Everything seemed so frivolous now, and though he was certain the changes were within him, rather than something different about the ball or the people who attended, it left him vaguely disquieted and more than a little nauseated at the prospect of joining the revelry. Instead, he remained in the shadows at the top of the stairs, his only companion Maxwell, the butler, who remained standing a few feet away from him in respectful silence. The older man would await Eric’s cue before announcing him to the assemblage.

How would they react? He hadn’t moved among the Ton for the last six years, having chosen to spend what little free time he had on other spots on the continent during infrequent breaks from military service. He’d had no compelling reason to return to Collingsford—neither the estate, the townhouse, or the earldom. He speculated he would be a hot topic of gossip among the Ton, and not just the ladies, until the next scandal caught their interest.

He stood hesitating for a moment at the top of the stairs, reminding himself he didn’t have to commit to entering. He could just slip away. He could leave the earldom and his responsibilities as the heir apparent. Having earned his own money and invested wisely during the last six years, he was in a fine position to start over as a gentleman farmer in the colonies, as many of his fellow officers were choosing to do now that they had soundly defeated Napoleon. If he made his presence known, it would be that much more difficult to extricate himself. After six years, the current Earl of Coleville and Eric’s younger brother both probably imagined he had perished during battle. Only his younger brother would care.

Eric hovered, torn between his choices, as his gaze moved among the crowd. At first, he was seeking out his brother, Andrew, hoping the sight of the younger man would give him a true feeling of how he should act. If there was a stirring in his breast at the sight of his sibling, then perhaps it would sway him to stay. If he felt nothing, it would make it easier to leave unannounced.

He thought he saw Andrew, but before he could be certain, a woman slipped into his view instead. He should have continued following the progress of the person he thought was his brother, but his gaze remained glued to the young woman who had caught his attention.

She was turned to face him at three-quarters profile, so he could get a good view of her features. Her complexion was the ideal creamy white that the ladies of the Ton preferred, and it was a marked contrast to the fall of rich brown hair framing her face. The sides were drawn up on top of her head and secured with a diadem while the rest hung around her shoulders in a curling mass. He couldn’t make out her eye color from there, but was suddenly compelled to know it.

He took a step down the stairs, pausing when Maxwell cleared his throat. Not yet, he said as he descended the stairs, moving quietly, and sticking to the shadows as much as possible to avoid drawing notice. A moment later, he slipped into the crowd on the dance floor, moving his way through the crush until he was closer to the woman whom his eyes had barely left since finding her.

As he grew nearer, he realized her dance partner was Andrew, and there was definitely warmth in his chest at the sight of his younger brother. Unfortunately, it was quickly obliterated by a wave of jealousy that washed over him so intensely that he could barely breathe. It was an extraordinary sensation, and he’d never had the likes of it before.

There’d been little time for dalliances of any sort while serving as a captain under the Duke of Wellington, and before that, he’d only interacted with well-bred ladies of the Ton. None of them had made a deep impression on him, and Eric had certainly not been tempted to offer for any of their hands. He’d never cared about who they danced with before, so it was a foreign and unwelcome sensation to have anger tighten his body at the sight of his brother dancing with a woman whose name he didn’t even know.

Eric slipped into the shadows near the patio, forcing himself to remain still as he watched Andrew lead the young woman for two sets. Finally, the music reached the end, and Andrew stepped away to put a proper distance between himself