To Seduce a Rogue (44 page)

Beacon for Best Historical

 “A fresh voice in romantic fiction!”

~
Affaire de Coeur

*

“Terrific dialogue... and hot loves scenes. If you haven’t read Tracy Sumner before,
Tides of Passion
is a good place to start.”

~All About Romance

*

“Delicious and amusing... witty dialogue, sparkling humor and a snappy narrative. A must read!”

~The Best Reviews

*

“This novel realizes with a great and witty gusto that independence isn’t so much about being on your own as it is about choosing to be together.”

~
Romantic Times

*

“The immediate, sizzling attraction between Zach and Savannah was very hot! I don’t know what I enjoyed more: their fierce disagreements or their passionate lovemaking. 5 Roses, Top Rating!”

~When Pen Met Paper

*

“The dialogue is witty and hilarious. I recommend it!”

~The Reading Haven

*

Praise for

TIDES OF LOVE

 “I picked up
Tides of Love
... just to give the book a quick peak. That quick peak turned into four hours of reading that didn’t stop until I finished the book!”

~The Romance Reader

*

“Descriptive flair... give this one a try!”

~All About Romance

*

“A powerful relationship novel that explores the heartache and triumph of love.”

~
Romantic Times

*

“A beautifully written romance! Sizzling love scenes.”

~Reviewer Carol Carter

*

Praise for

TO DESIRE A SCOUNDREL

A CHRISTMAS SEDUCTION

 “A sexy tale filled with great verbal repartee.”

~
Romantic Times

*

“This story packs a lot of heat.”

~Reviewer Jill Nicholson

*

 “Sassy dialogue! A charming story.”

~Readertoreader.com

*

 “A bad boy... and a lively, independent woman. An excellent sequel!”

~All Romance Bookstore Reviews

*

Praise for

TO SEDUCE A ROGUE

Reader’s Choice Finalist for Best Historical

Rising Stars Finalist for Best First Book

 “The battle of the sexes heats up the pages of this fun and fresh romance by talented new writer Tracy Sumner.”

~
New York Times
bestselling author Susan Wiggs

*

“Well-written, funny and very engaging.”

~
USA Today
bestselling author Pamela Morsi

*

“Tracy Sumner has created endearing people and a story to match. Engaging, warm and wonderful.”

~
Romantic Times

*

“As I began reading this book, I fell in love.”

~
Affaire de Coeur

Enjoy meeting Tanner Barkley in
To Seduce a Rogue
? Read an excerpt of
To Desire a Scoundrel
, his love story!

One

1852

They burst from the still-settling stagecoach like two cats from a burlap sack.

Kate stumbled through a cloud of dust and snapped her flounced skirt with a vicious flip of her wrist. “Dear God, what did I do to deserve this? I simply asked for a quiet Christmas.” She glared at the sky, looking like she expected an answer to be scrawled across the clouds.

Powerless to stop himself, Tanner stepped forward, halting when she stepped back. “I told you I was sorry. Three times, in fact. The cheroot simply got away from me. The wind” —his hand shot out, circled— “Just ripped the damn thing from my fingers. My good arm is tangled up in this sling.” He lifted his injured limb and suppressed a wince of pain for his trouble.

Kate seized the tuft of auburn curls trailing across her cheek and tried unsuccessfully to contain them behind her ear. “Mr. Barkley, you have never been anything but a thorn, worse than a thorn, a ragged piece of glass, yes,
glass
, cutting into my side. Lucky I only have a singed item of clothing to show for the debacle this time.” Dipping her chin, she fingered the black-edged hole in her shawl.

Tanner frowned, wondering if he should offer her his coat. He glanced down: frayed seams, a peculiar odor. Then again, maybe not. “Jesus, I’ll buy you a new one.”

Her gaze traveled from his head to his feet. He realized rumpled, ill-fitting clothing lay in between. “I wouldn’t go that far, Mr. Barkley. Paisley is quite...expensive. Above and beyond a newspaperman’s wage, I imagine. Although, you never looked this frightful. If this ensemble is all you’re able to afford” —she wagged her pinkie in his direction— “I must surmise you’ve taken a headlong leap into indigence. Not getting enough stories thrown your way?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, his voice one step below a snarl. “You never did. You could have let me talk to you. Explain the situation. And I tried, dammit. Supplicated—”

“Please, no need to use such grand words with me.” She raised an arched brow in her arrogant way, which only served to bump his fury two notches higher. “And about this threadbare topic.” Her amber eyes held his; eyes brimming so sharply with intelligence that they almost diminished the beauty of her face.

He took a fast step forward and slapped his hands on either side of the coach, hemming her in. Though he’d planned to get the hell off the stagecoach and leave her standing in the swirl of dust generated from his rapid departure, he found it difficult to follow through with that gloating smirk twisting her features. God, he absolutely hated when she used the brow arch
and
the bored tone together. “Kat, you’re better off without Abel Asher.”

She sputtered, her cheeks flaming.

Ah, ha! Got you
.

“Better? Is it better to open the door one morning to find your fiancée, whom you have known since childhood, standing on your front step, shouting about ruining his business? Ruining his life? Shouting loud enough to draw a crowd?” She struck Tanner’s chest with a closed fist. “Is it better for your engagement ring to be ripped from your finger?”
Pound
. “Better for your name to be publicly muddied by your involvement with an overzealous newspaperman?”
Pound
. “And all for a newspaper article. An article about misappropriation of funds everyone in Richmond knew about.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her against him. “Everyone knowing didn’t make the situation right, Kat. Asher deserved what he got. I told you, you were not a part of my research. Were never a part of the story at all.”

She tipped her head and laughed. “Never part of the story? I was Abel’s bookkeeper. What do you think he thought?”

“Are you pining over him, Kat? Is that it? Did you love him so much?”

“
Love
? I wrote him a letter the night before, you idiot, breaking the engagement. Abel and I were
never
in love. A convenient arrangement between families, nothing more. You understood the arrangement; we discussed it many times. Do you think I would have...would have...with
you
? If I was in love with
him
?” She gave a forceful shove and brushed past him. “But, in your notably gauche fashion, you corrected the situation before I could, didn’t you?”

“Princess, I never meant—”

Kate whipped around so quickly, Tanner felt a rush of air slap his face. Her skin dulled, pale as parchment. “Don’t you dare call me Princess.” Her hands tangled in her shawl, twisting.

Her breath, warm and sweet, crept close. Her lips flattened, the bottom one sliding between her teeth. A stab of yearning, absent for so long he almost didn’t recognize the emotion, rocked him in his size-too-big, secondhand boots. “Kat,” he said in a strained voice, reaching out, his fingers fisted to hide the tremors shaking them. He had no idea what he appealed for.

A heavy step sounded behind them; a hand clasped Tanner’s shoulder. “You were lucky, Tan, the stage being only two hours late.”

Tanner turned and forced a smile, relieved and flustered. “Adam.” He nodded to the sling looped around his neck. “I would shake, but as you can see....”

Adam’s eyes widened as he examined his friend. He seemed to remember himself and returned the smile, though it was forced. “Where is your trunk?”

Tanner shrugged, the movement sending a slicing twinge up his arm. “No trunk. Traveling light these days.”

“Let me guess. You raced out of Richmond with a band of ruffians on your heels,” Kate said as she passed them, heading for the rear of the coach.

Tanner jerked his head, the ends of his sling smacking his neck. “No, a jealous husband this time. After all, sweetheart, you claim to know me so well.”

She stopped, her chin tilting just enough. Atop a rosy flush, she maintained a tranquil expression. “My, what a surprise.”

Tanner bowed as low as he could without sending another spear of hell up his arm. “Yes, isn’t it?”

She blinked, screwed her beautiful face tight, and glanced away.

The same intractable, exquisite woman.

Damn her.

Tanner turned to find Adam Chase studying them. His best friend in the world, perhaps his only friend, nodded, seeming to make up his mind. “Tanner, the Four Leaf Clover is a block down. On the left. Only saloon in town, can’t miss it. I’ll meet you in ten minutes.” A firm shove accompanied the dictate.

Tanner grunted and scuffed his boot through the dirt.
Fine
, the illustrious Four Leaf Clover. He refused to stand around, waiting to talk to a woman who had told him on more than one occasion that she wished he had never been born. A gust of air ripped at his shabby Chesterfield and the declaration resounded in his mind as it did each time he thought of her. Each time he recorded her progress across a crowded street as she sought to evade him.

To hell with you, too, Kat Peters
.

Tanner glanced up as he reached the boardwalk. Wreaths of red-berried holly and some grayish leaf he couldn’t identify dangled from every wooden post and whitewashed storefront. A cloying scent lingered, one that called to mind time spent round a fire, the air thick with cigar smoke and candied yams. He and West sneaking sips of Syllabub and Madeira, and later, vomiting in Elsa’s rose bushes.

Christmas
.

He hadn’t realized the holiday was so near. What day was it, anyway? Nineteenth? Eighteenth? Hell. Another Christmas without his family. His mother would cry, his father would rage. Why hadn’t he come home...the bank needed him...blasted newspaper business...dangerous. Tanner glanced at his arm, touched the scar on his chin.