Sarah climbed the steps and plopped down in a chair.
Mildred studied her and scowled. “Your color is very high, dear. Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I had a bit of an…incident during my walk.”
“An incident? My goodness! Please tell me it wasn’t hideous.”
For a moment, Sarah debated if she should keep her mouth shut, but the nude escapade was the most depraved sight she’d ever witnessed. The words were begging to spill out. She couldn’t swallow them down.
She leaned in and whispered, “You won’t believe what I saw.”
“What?”
“There were several people swimming.”
Mildred wrinkled her nose. “It’s a little cold for it.”
“They weren’t wearing any clothes!”
“Really?” Mildred glanced toward the lake as if she’d like to rush out and check for herself. “Are they still there?”
“I’m sure they are.” Sarah whispered more quietly. “It was three women and a man.”
“Well, well! Maybe this party will be a lot more fun than I imagined.”
“I think the man was your nephew.”
“Why would you think that?”
“He looked exactly like you. Same face, same blue eyes. If he wasn’t Mr. Farnsworth, I’ll eat my bonnet.”
Mildred scoffed. “Trust me, Sarah, Clayton would never allow himself to be viewed unclad. He’s always been chubby, and he’s a dandy who likes his cravat to be perfectly tied.”
Just then, a man sauntered out of the house. He was about Sarah’s age, short and fat, with dull brown eyes and limp brown hair that was thinning in the front. His lips were pinched as if he was holding in a permanent complaint. He appeared fussy and persnickety and totally obnoxious.
“Ah, there’s Clayton.” Mildred’s scathing assessment traveled down his torso. “He’s very dry so I assume he wasn’t the one frolicking.”
“No, it was definitely someone else.” Who had the elegant, dissolute fellow been? “Have you another nephew in attendance? Or perhaps a cousin?”
“No, Clayton is my only relative. Unfortunately.”
“Then I have no idea who he was.”
“Might I hope he was desperately handsome?”
“Yes, he was very handsome.”
“Was he slender and fit, with muscles that tempted you to stroke your palms across them?”
“I suppose you could describe him that way.”
“And was his hair so dark and lush that you wanted to riffle your fingers through it?”
“Mildred!”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Mildred smirked. “Maybe we should finish our supper, then sneak to the lake and see if we can catch a glimpse of him in his altogether.”
Sarah’s jaw dropped. “Mildred! Honestly!”
“I love to observe an attractive male—clothed or otherwise.”
Sarah’s cheeks flushed a bright scarlet. “I have to admit he was quite dashing.”
“I’m eager to make his acquaintance, but if he’s a friend of Clayton’s he might be a boring dunce. Let’s not raise our expectations.”
“I’m betting he’ll prove to be very interesting.”
Mildred called to Mr. Farnsworth who was over by the door and conferring with a footman.
At the sound of her voice, he whipped around like a marionette. “Aunt Mildred! There you are. I was told you’d arrived.”
“Come and meet my new companion—Miss Barrington. Then tell us who is swimming naked in the lake. It’s a man and three ladies—although the word lady isn’t necessarily accurate.”
“Swimming naked?” Mr. Farnsworth turned an odd puce color. “I can’t guess who it would be.”
“Miss Barrington and I will simply have to investigate for ourselves after the meal is over.”
She winked at Sarah, flashing a look that promised all sorts of mischief. Sarah hunkered down to watch for the debauched cad to slink in.
Who would he be? She couldn’t wait to find out.
* * * *
Sarah and Nicholas—available now!
* * * *
CHERYL HOLT is a New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon “Top 100” bestselling author of forty-seven novels.
She’s also a lawyer and mom, and at age forty, with two babies at home, she started a new career as a commercial fiction writer. She’d hoped to be a suspense novelist, but couldn’t sell any of her manuscripts, so she ended up taking a detour into romance where she was stunned to discover that she has a knack for writing some of the world’s greatest love stories.
Her books have been released to wide acclaim, and she has won or been nominated for many national awards. She has been hailed as “The Queen of Erotic Romance” as well as “The International Queen of Villains.” She is particularly proud to have been named “Best Storyteller of the Year” by the trade magazine Romantic Times BOOK Reviews.
She lives and writes in Hollywood, California, and she loves to hear from fans. Visit her website at www.cherylholt.com.
Praise for New York Times Bestselling Author
CHERYL HOLT
“Best storyteller of the year…”
Romantic Times Magazine
“A master writer…”
Fallen Angel Reviews
“The Queen of Erotic Romance…”
Book Cover Reviews
“Cheryl Holt is magnificent…”
Reader to Reader Reviews
“From cover to cover, I was spellbound. Truly outstanding…”
Romance Junkies
“A classic love story with hot, fiery passion dripping from every page. There’s nothing better than curling up with a great book and this one totally qualifies.”
Fresh Fiction
“This is a masterpiece of storytelling. A sensual delight scattered with rose petals that are divinely arousing. Oh my, yes indeedy!”
Reader to Reader Reviews
Praise for Cheryl Holt’s “Lord Trent” trilogy
“A true guilty pleasure!”
Novels Alive TV
“LOVE’S PROMISE can’t take the number one spot as my favorite by Ms. Holt—that belongs to her book NICHOLAS—but it’s currently running a close second.”
Manic Readers
Harlie’s Book Reviews
“I guarantee you won’t want to put this one down. Holt’s fast-paced dialogue, paired with the emotional turmoil, will keep you turning the pages all the way to the end.”
Susana’s Parlour
“…A great love story populated with many flawed characters. Highly recommend it.”
Bookworm 2 Bookworm Reviews
BOOKS BY CHERYL HOLT
FOREVER AFTER
FOREVER MINE
FOREVER YOURS
ONLY MINE
ONLY YOU
HEART’S DEBT
SCOUNDREL
HEART’S DEMAND
HEART’S DESIRE
HEART’S DELIGHT
WONDERFUL
WANTON
WICKED
SEDUCING THE GROOM
LOVE’S PERIL
LOVE’S PRICE
LOVE’S PROMISE
SWEET SURRENDER
THE WEDDING
MUD CREEK
MARRY ME
LOVE ME
KISS ME
SEDUCE ME
KNIGHT OF SEDUCTION
NICHOLAS
DREAMS OF DESIRE
TASTE OF TEMPTATION
SLEEPING WITH THE DEVIL
DOUBLE FANTASY
FORBIDDEN FANTASY
SECRET FANTASY
TOO WICKED TO WED
TOO TEMPTING TO TOUCH
TOO HOT TO HANDLE
FURTHER THAN PASSION
DEEPER THAN DESIRE
MORE THAN SEDUCTION
COMPLETE ABANDON
ABSOLUTE PLEASURE
TOTAL SURRENDER
LOVE LESSONS
MOUNTAIN DREAMS
MY TRUE LOVE
MY ONLY LOVE
MEG’S SECRET ADMIRER
THE WAY OF THE HEART
ISBN: 9781543904888 (E-version)
Copyright 2017 by Cheryl Holt
By payment of required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferrable right to access and read the text of this book. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, stored in, or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or invented in the future, without the express written permission or the copyright holder.
Please Note
The reverse engineering, uploading, and/or distributing of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the copyright owner is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions, and do not participate in or encourage the piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.
Thank you.
Cover Design Angela Waters
Interior format by Book Baby