Title: A Gentleman’s Wager
20th Anniversary Edition
Series: Scandalous Seductions #1
Author: Madelynne Ellis
Genre: Historical Romance
Tropes: MMF Ménage/Enemies to Lovers
Release Date: May 23, 2023
Rivals clash over the man they both intend to claim, resulting in truly scandal worthy seduction.
When Miss Bella Rushdale sets out to win Viscount Marlinscar’s hand in marriage, she doesn’t expect her main rival to be another man. Vaughan, the decadent Marquis of Pennerley, has loved Lucerne for years, and now, at remote Lauwine Hall on the wild Yorkshire Moors, scandalously intends to claim him.
A passionate struggle results between the debauched rakehell and the wilfully improper young lady determined not to be cheated out of an advantageous match. Ultimately, it will be up to Lucerne to choose the victor, though he wonders if there isn’t another—admittedly forbidden—far sweeter arrangement they could agree upon that would satisfy all their desires.
A Gentleman’s Wager is a Regency historical romance that includes blistering heat, strong language, and lashings of forbidden MF, MM and MMF interactions. Readers ill-disposed to lewd and crude rakish behaviour or ladies disinclined to swoon as a result are advised to look the other way.
This 20th anniversary edition is a re-envisioning of the original story published in 2003, which has been completely rewritten and now contains approximately 50K of additional material.
GOODREADS LINK:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/130386071-a-gentleman-s-wager
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WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING!
‘Explicit, romantic and flawlessly authored… A sizzling, refreshingly unconventional love triangle… passionate power struggles and absolutely searing bisexual sex.’ GOOD VIBRATIONS
“Excessively naughty- Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters would have fainted dead away.” Goodreads Reviewer.
“Intense, subtle, and heartfelt.” Author Lisabet Sarai, for ERWA.
‘Forbidden passion, risqué love, & smouldering desires – A GENTLEMAN’S WAGER had it all!’ Romance Junkies.
EXCERPT
“Dash it!” Were they still here?
A reprimand for trespassing was not how she desired her introduction to Viscount Marlinscar to go.
Bella scurried into the rhododendrons, sinking low before peeping through the foliage in the direction of the noise. The viscount was crouched by the river’s edge, one hand playing idly in the water.
Whatever was he about?
He had taken off his coat so that he stood in his shirtsleeves. Did he mean to… He couldn’t mean to… Oh, my! It seemed he did mean to. Bella watched in open mouthed astonishment as he shed his waistcoat and tugged his shirt over his head. Then, off came his breeches too, so that she was treated to the sight of his lily-white cheeks.
Often the miners and fieldhands would strip to the waist to work, so it wasn’t as if she’d never seen bare flesh before. She just hadn’t seen any gentlemen ungarmented. He was quite the sight. Muscles tapered the length of his body. She watched them shift beneath the skin as he moved towards the water’s edge.
Perhaps this was nothing more than an elaborate dream brought on by heat exhaustion? She would wake presently, parched and grubby with only the prospect of turning down another unwanted proposal to worry about.
Lord, could a man of his rank really be this perfect? No nostril hair, one perfectly serviceable chin—where so many possessed two or none—and golden hair that framed his face in a wayward tumble that the cherubs in the church mural would envy. Not to mention there was something distinctly enthralling about his lack of modesty.
She simply had to take a closer look.
Lucerne Marlinscar was not at all how she’d ever imagined him, which was not to say that he didn’t fulfil her expectations of a fairy tale prince. Indeed, he did so rather too well. In truth, he might very well have been the most handsome man she’d ever seen. A slow burn of arousal lit low in her belly, making her wriggle. What would it be like to press her fingers to his flesh? Would his skin be soft like her own? Just then he looked straight ahead to where she lay and a flicker of something passed through the depths of his eyes.
Bella gulped while her heart did a triple jump. She stayed frozen for what felt like an eternity, until he turned away and floated further down river, thus confirming that he hadn’t spotted her.
It was time she went, before he did. Bella rose slowly and began to dust herself off. A few too many twigs and Joshua would ask questions. She was all ready to sneak away and force a path through the rhododendrons when a loud splash turned her head back to the water.
Viscount Marlinscar emerged from the stream glittering like the morning dew on the grass.
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES: https://madelynne-ellis.com/scandalous-seductions
MEET THE AUTHOR!
Madelynne is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author. She wrote her first novel after discovering Black Lace Books in the 1990s. Having escaped the Hotel California, she dived into storytelling full-time. Her books are filled with bisexual bad boys who like to get down and dirty, and stories so angst-filled you know they’re going to hurt.
She lives in the UK near the Welsh border, where you can find her surrounded by books, drinking rapidly cooling decaf coffee, and listening to loud music. Her family still haven’t grasped that noise-cancelling headphones really do mean she can’t hear them.
CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR:
Website: https://www.madelynne-ellis.com
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