The Earl
She Should Never Desire
This very handsome earl…Is the one man she cannot fall for…
War widow Lily Walsh has left her aristocratic
family behind, but she can’t deny her younger sister’s request to come to
London to meet her fiancé. Though not a love match, Lord Sherborne is kind,
amusing and ideal for her sister on paper. But as Lily gets to know him, she’s
finding him alarmingly attractive! And the forbidden look in the earl’s eye
shows the feeling is mutual…
Purchase Links
https://books2read.com/ThreeKisses
Excerpt from The Earl She Should Never Desire
by Lara Temple
(Release 28 April 2022)
Excerpt: 784 words
This scene takes place after Lily convinces Marcus, Lord
Sherbourne to agree to release her sister from their engagement so she can
marry her childhood sweetheart. He agrees, but he has some conditions that Lily
is only too happy to fulfill… They will meet three times and share three
midsummer kisses. This is from their first meeting.
‘Do you often hold your…your meetings in the back room of a bookstore,
Lord Sherbourne?’
‘Never. But I needed some place…neutral where we won’t be
disturbed. And I’m too old to collect the kisses I’m owed in carriages.’
She laughed, that tumbling joyous sound that had caught his
attention from the beginning. He should have known he was in trouble when every
time she laughed he had to struggle to stop himself from searching for her face
in the crowd. And now he was not only free to look his fill, he was about to
taste as well…
‘Come. A toast. To midsummer madness.’ He kept his voice
quiet and clean of triumph.
He handed her the glass carefully, trying to fight the surge
of heat that coursed through him as her grey eyes met his, her mouth still
curved in a tentative smile.
He looked away from her lips to the slight scars that
zigzagged up her jaw and ended near the lobe of her ear. He wanted to know how
they had happened, whether it had hurt, what…
Not yet.
‘I thought you were jesting,’ she said. ‘About the kisses.
Punishing me a little.’
‘Did you? I rarely jest.’
‘You always jest. It is a perfect façade.’
His smile widened against his will. ‘I’ll amend my
statement. I rarely jest on matters of importance.’
‘And kisses are important?’
‘Of course. What is more so?’
She considered. ‘Loyalty? Duty?’
‘Important, but very dull. I have enough of those without
seeking them out.’
‘Rumour indicates you have enough of the other. Without
seeking them out.’
‘Rumour is wrong. I am far more discerning than you give me
credit for, Lily. Are you here only out of loyalty and duty? If so, tell me and
I shall return you to Brook Street, your debt repaid in full.’
It was a risk and even as he said it he cursed himself, but
she merely shook her head.
‘It is not merely that.’
He waited for her to add something, but she sipped her
brandy and looked about the room.
‘Will we meet here for all three kisses?’
His heart hitched and he set down his glass. He’d never felt
so gauche in his life. Or if he had, he couldn’t remember it. ‘To be honest, I
haven’t thought that far ahead. I didn’t know if you would come. For all I knew
you might have accepted your victory and hared back to Birmingham.’
The frown line appeared between her brows. ‘I would never
have done that. At least not without informing you. And I could hardly leave
Annie now. Not while the household is still…seething.’
Annie. Of course.
‘Why not? She has what she wanted. Freedom from the odious
attentions of the reprobate.’
She smiled and shook her head. ‘Nonsense. In any case, I
didn’t wish to leave. And I find it rather insulting you think I would go back
on my word.’
‘I didn’t mean it in that way. Merely that you might have
changed your mind about the terms of our agreement. I meant what I said, Lily.
If at any point you do change your mind you tell me, yes?’
‘Very well. But I shan’t.’
Her voice was light and she looked younger, too, like a girl
on an excursion. She certainly didn’t look like a sacrifice chained to a rock,
awaiting a dragon. His nerves slackened a little more and he gave in to
temptation and took her hand. Her fingers curved over his palm, settling so
naturally that for a moment he merely stood there, watching the tan-coloured
glove against his skin. He’d wanted to kiss her but right now what he wanted
most in the world was to feel the soft slide of her palm shaping itself against
his, her fingers pressing between his, tightening as he moved towards her…
When she pulled her hand away his breath caught and he had
to stop himself from taking it back.
Rules. Boundaries. He rarely had to remind himself, but he
rather thought today he would have to do quite a bit of that.
When she unfastened the button, he wasn’t quite certain what
she was doing. It took him three buttons and two fingers to realise she was
pulling it off. Then she held out her hand once more and he took it.
Tingling heat spread through him like fire in dry
hay—snatching cell after cell, licking and burning its way along nerve ends,
deep into his muscles, making them stretch and ready as if he was about to
enter the boxing ring—or head into battle.
Absurd.
Undeniable.
He was on fire from holding this woman’s hand. A kiss from
her would likely incinerate him.
Author Bio
Lara Temple
writes strong and sensual Regency romances about complex individuals who give
no quarter but do so with plenty of passion. She lives with her husband, two
children, and one very fluffy dog and they are all very understanding about her
taking over the kitchen table so she can look out over the garden as she writes
and dreams up her Happy Ever Afters.
Author Links:
Facebook Author Page: www.facebook.com/LaraTempleAuthor
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LaraTemple1
Twitter: www.twitter.com/laratemple1
Amazon author page US: http://bit.ly/LaraTemple
Amazon author page UK: http://bit.ly/LaraTempleUK
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/LaraTemple
Website: www.laratemple.com
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