Red's Wolf: Naughty Fairytale Series, #2

By Sophia Poe

Is she in more danger from man or beast? 

 

On her way to see her grandmother's cottage for the last time, Diana Stone finds herself stranded in the forest and at the mercy of a charging creature. Only the timely arrival of Lord Phillip Wolfe saves her. He whisks her away to his manor house just as a fierce storm breaks. 

 

Lord Phillip Wolfe can't believe the delectable woman in front of him is the little girl he used to roam the woods with--or that she's a high-priced courtesan in London. Forced to weather the tempest together, he realizes she stirs the dark side of his desire. 

 

When these two collide, it's a passionate explosion. But will it last beyond the duration of the storm? Will Phillip be able to accept the reality of who Diana is? Or will Diana be forced to leave her wolf behind in order to stay true to herself? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tuscumbia Hill Press
• Release date: Jun 11, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224132065

Book preview

One

DIANA

In the early autumn of 1845, the note that found its way to Diana’s hands shattered her heart. It was a notice of her grandmother’s passing. The woman had lived a long and happy life, but it did not lessen the impact of the news on Diana’s soul. Furthermore, the heartbreak of her grandmother’s passing came with other affairs that needed to be sorted.

There wasn't much of an estate to speak of, just a cottage in the east of Essex on a small amount of land. It was honestly quite fortunate that there was not a stack of debts to be taken care of. Diana may have been a middle-class courtesan who catered to the London clients of better means, but that didn’t mean that she had an abundance of funds to settle anything outstanding in her grandmother’s name. It was bad enough that she would lose business for the time it would take to close the cottage.

Everyone in society knew what Diana did for a living. Those who disapproved simply turned their noses up at her, but they did not dare to speak poorly about her. The names on her list of clients were well-known persons of class. Some even had connections at Court. So long as she practiced her trade discreetly and respected the privacy of her customers, her presence at certain social functions was tolerated. To out her would be to out men who could quite easily ruin entire families should their names be slandered. And so, Diana enjoyed a comfortable existence, which was far more than most in her line of work could say.

The solicitor who had written to her suggested that she should consider selling the cottage and property. In the letter, he made a good case that the sale could be invested. He also hinted that she could live comfortably if she allowed him to handle the funds. Since there were no other members of Diana’s family to inherit, he felt obligated to offer his services in lieu of male guidance.

A low chuckle escaped Diana’s lips as she read the neat lines on the fine piece of paper she had received. Right then and there, her decision had been made. No, she would not sell. No, she would not need his services beyond the legal paperwork to transfer ownership of the estate to her. Although the offer seemed generous, Diana had become aware that men often had hidden motives and would go to any length to get what they wanted, regardless of who may suffer along the way. And his offer reeked of anything but honesty.

Five days later, she had been on her way. As she stared out the window of the carriage that drove her to East Essex, Diana thought about her reasoning for keeping the small estate. She would not be a courtesan forever. She could not. There would come a time when her clients would lose interest in her in favor of younger flesh. It was an unfortunate but inevitable fact, one she had accepted a long time ago. Merely a natural course of things she could not change.

But she was a smart woman. She knew she needed a retirement plan and enough money to see it through. Her grandmother’s cottage provided the perfect solution. More than one of her clients had shared their knowledge of how to properly invest some money for a rainy day. When she was ready, Diana could sell her flat in London and then move to Essex for the remainder of her years. The cottage would give her the peace she would need in her old days, and the money