The Art of Ruining a Rake (51 page)

A night she’ll never forget…

Miss Lucy Lancester has loved her brother’s best friend, Roman Alexander, for as long as she can remember. So devotedly, she’s vowed never to marry anyone else. But her beloved libertine is hardly aware of her existence, and not the least deserving of her affection. Deciding her cause lost, she makes plans to open a girls’ school in Bath. There’s just one thing she needs to do before she confirms her spinsterhood forever: spend one blissful night in Roman’s arms. But her handsome rogue isn’t ready to have the tables turned. It will take more than a coquettish smile to turn his head. She must play a game…of persuasion.

Now you’re ready for

For Love…

The second of five impoverished sisters, Miss Elinor Conley knows her dream of becoming a lady is farfetched. When an unmarried gentleman happens by her brother's smithy, it is up to her to act quickly—and rashly—to secure his interest. But Grantham Wendell, Earl Chelford, isn't in the market for anything more than a new horseshoe. What's a bachelor to do when an innocent miss turns up at his Christmas Eve bacchanalia? He ought to make her leave, but his Twelfth Night party just became more entertaining...

And impatient for the release of

A wager he can’t afford to lose

Devil-may-care rogue Lord Darius Alexander can’t resist a wager. When a game of cards is suggested at the remote inn where he’s stopped for the night, he antes up his family’s savings, certain his Town bronze will give him the advantage. He never expects to lose his fortune to the irritatingly confident, uncommonly beautiful hoyden daring to play with the men. …Nor does he expect to lose his heart.

A woman he doesn’t deserve to win

Caitlin Hart is known for her good sense. When a ridiculous reprobate tosses his savings onto the gaming table, she doesn’t hesitate to divest him of it. But Lord Dare won’t accept defeat like a gentleman. He suggests a compromise, and before long the handsome scoundrel is working back his losses on her small farm. But her neatly plowed fields might be too close for her heart’s content, for soon she finds herself wondering if she can dare him to stay forever when the last of his coin is tucked safely into his pocket.

Acknowledgments

As many of my readers might have guessed, things went completely awry between the time I finished
The Problem with Seduction
and the release of this book. I’d had such grand plans for back to back releases! My humble apologies to all of you who’ve waited for Roman and Lucy’s story, and my sincere thanks for your patience.

So much has changed since I plotted this book, I barely recognize my surroundings. I will be ever grateful for Erica Ridley, Darcy Burke, and Janice Goodfellow, who have never floundered in their support and remain my dearest friends and critique partners. They are my sounding board for all things crazy (see insane list of life events at the bottom). I adore you and appreciate you. You may never, ever leave me.

To those names I add Erica Monroe and Morgan Edens, two awesome women I didn’t know existed when I started Rake, but who I now count among my closest friends. Morgan was even in my wedding! And I look forward to meeting Erica Monroe in person. Hurry up and get your butt to Seattle.

For Dona Sarkar, Kelli Estes, and Lillian Fogg, I yearn for more brunches and plotting sessions. I promise to do better next time. I have to—poor Darius needs a lot of help.

Thank goodness Martha Trachtenberg is still speaking to me. I am so, so, sorry I missed my deadlines! But I’m delighted you were able to edit
The Art of Ruining a Rake
and
A Game of Persuasion
after all, because no one would have cross-referenced the intersecting timelines of my five books as thoroughly as you did. Any errors are my own—of course they are my own.

For my parents, who ask me for a status update every time we talk (which I’m afraid isn’t often enough), thank you. Your unflagging support keeps me going, and you even mostly forgave me when I missed calling on Father’s Day because I needed to get this manuscript to Martha.

Speaking of Papi, I especially don’t want to leave out my dad’s friends, who pester him for information frequently. You ladies are lovely! My fan club in Miami :)

Dear Beth, keep being you. I don’t know what I would do without you.

And lastly, a HUGE hug for my husband, who has kept our little unit chugging along through so many life changes, despite my constant need to write this book. He has been by my side through my hospitalization and surgery, our dog’s chemo, our engagement (!), the sale of his house and my condo, the purchase of our married house, the horrible, protracted move into said house, the unending warranty work we’re still dealing with, the planning and execution of our enormously complicated wedding, our much-loved dog’s final moments, the sorrow, the acquiring and potty training of our new puppy, the six different “opportunities” we’ve rotated into at our day jobs, and finally but in no way least, my parents’ week-long visit this summer. Seriously, who needs Roman? You are my hero.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

THE ART OF RUINING A RAKE

Copyright © 2015 by Emma Locke

Cover design © Seductive Designs

Cover photo © @kirill_grekov

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author. Please do not support piracy. Obtain an electronic version of this book through an approved vendor.

Intrepid Reads

ISBN 13: 978-1-939713-05-6

About the Author

Emma Locke is a writer and engineer living in the Pacific Northwest, where she loves hiking with her dog, hot yoga and every one of the annual 330 days of rain. Hiking and yoga give her time to plot, the lack of sun makes for perfect writing weather, and as for her day job, the dichotomy seems to work: her analytic side ensures her passionate, satisfying love stories don’t mulch under her bed, and her author side forces her to keep writing more.

You can Like Emma on Facebook at Facebook.com/AuthorEmmaLocke, follow her on Twitter @EmmaLocke_ or check out her books and appearances at www.emmalocke.com.