Get Lost with Scandalous Gentlemen in Lorraine Heath's Newest Release

An Affair with a Notorious Heiress

​Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James Book 4

The son of a duke and an infamous mother, Alistair Mabry, Marquess of Rexton, fought his way to respectability. Now, the most eligible bachelor in London, marriage-shy Rexton will take only a wife with an impeccable reputation, good breeding, and a penchant for staying out of the gossip sheets. But when he strikes a deal to be seen “courting” a sweet young debutante whose notorious older sister has blemished her chances for marriage, Rexton is unexpectedly drawn to the highly inappropriate, calamitous Tillie, Lady Landsdowne herself.

After a scandalous incident that sent shockwaves throughout society and disgraced her, Tillie refuses to cower in the face of the ton. Instead, she will hold her head high as she serves as chaperone for her younger sister, but Tillie is convinced Rexton’s courtship is shrouded with secrets—ones she vows to uncover. However, doing so requires getting dangerously close to the devilishly handsome and forbidden marquess…

Here's an except:

   Hearing the rapid patter of heels, he turned, completely unprepared for the hard kick his gut took at the sight of the woman striding toward him with such regal and uncompromising bearing. She held herself rigid and tall, with dignity and a daring that issued a challenge: mock me, mess with me, at your own peril. Nothing about her appeared youthful, yet he doubted she’d yet seen a quarter of a century.

    She stopped in front of him, her blue eyes—shrewd, calculating, suspicious—slowly raking over him, taking his measure. Much to his annoyance, he found himself straightening his spine a tad, when he’d thought it was as straight as a poker. With hair as black as midnight, she in no way resembled her sister. This woman was no innocent. She didn’t harbor dreams of love and romance. Poetry interested her not in the least. Pixie dust wasn’t sprinkled about her. She was all strength and vinegar. She wouldn’t break in his bed. He’d wager if anyone were vulnerable there, it would be he. She communicated quite effectively with her narrowed gaze that she would give no quarter.

    “Good afternoon, Lord Rexton. I’m Lady Landsdowne. I don’t believe we’ve ever been properly introduced.”

    No, they hadn’t. He couldn’t recall ever laying eyes on her. By the time he was occasionally making the social rounds she was persona non grata. “It’s a pleasure.”

    Her smile, small and tight, indicated she knew he was lying. The décolletage of her burgundy frock was low enough to modestly hint at the swell of her bosom, only enough pale skin revealed to make a man’s mouth water and his imagination to take flight, but the rest of her was covered as primly as a schoolmistress.

   “It seems Gina slept in. She’s preparing herself now. I’m afraid she might be a while. I’d offer to have the maid bring in tea but you strike me as being a whisky man.” She walked over to a table sporting several decanters and winged a finely arched raven-black eyebrow at him over her shoulder.

    He didn’t usually indulge this early in the day, but he’d welcome the heat of whisky at his throat to distract him from the other heated areas of his body. “Yes, please.”

    To his surprise, she poured whisky into two glasses. She handed him one, took the other, raised it slightly. “Cheers.”

    She took a sip and licked her lips in a manner that caused his gut to tighten, before walking over to the settee where she gracefully lowered herself onto a cushion. “Please make yourself comfortable.”

    He selected the chair nearest to her, studied her, and couldn’t help thinking how quickly Landsdowne must have fallen for her. She was poised, graceful, and beautiful. The man would have preened with her on his arm. That she then betrayed him and her vows was beyond the pale. Little wonder people looked at her and expected the same of her sister. This woman commanded the room; she could not be without influence, and her sister was her vulnerable pupil. What lessons she must have taught her. And that tutoring was going to make his task all the more challenging.

Meet Lorraine 

Lorraine Heath always dreamed of being a writer. After graduating from the University of Texas, she wrote training manuals and computer code, but something was always missing. When she read a romance novel, she became not only hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She's been writing about them ever since, for both adult and young adult readers. Her work has been recognized with numerous industry awards including the RWA's RITA^®. Her novels have appeared on the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists. 

Lorraine-heath@sbcglobal.net

www.lorraineheath.com

facebook: LorraineHeathBooks

twitter: @Lorraine_Heath

Let's get to know Lorraine better...

E.E.: What’s your favorite fairy tale?

Lorraine: It would have to be Beauty and the Beast. I’ve written a couple of stories that fall into that category. One of the things I really like about the timeless tale is that it serves as a reminder that what is truly important is what is inside of each of us: our hearts, our souls, our character.

E.E.: What sound or noise do you love?

Lorraine: I love rain. I’d be happy if every day were a rainy day. As a matter of fact, the CD I play while I write is a thunderstorm CD. I like to listen to it late at night while it’s dark. That’s when I write my most emotional or intense scenes.

E.E.: What was the first story you remember writing?

Lorraine: When I was 7, I wrote a story about a fisherman who caught a mermaid. I wrote it one summer on a red Big Chief tablet. I remember sitting in a rocking chair while writing it.

E.E.: What’s your favorite movie of all time? 

Lorraine: Casablanca. Although it didn’t have a HEA, Rick was certainly a romantic hero and served as a basis for some of mine. He’s cynical, comes across as hard-hearted but in the end, he does the right thing.

E.E.: Who’s your favorite villain?

Lorraine: Hans Gruber, played by Alan Rickman, in Die Hard. It was the first time I’d ever seen Alan Rickman and I fell in love with him. Whether he plays the villain or a love interest or anything, he always had such a command of the role.

I’d like to add another villain to my list: Loki. I just can’t help but feel he is redeemable and would very much like to be the one to redeem him.

E.E.: Is writing or story-telling easier for you now?

Lorraine: Absolutely not. As a matter of fact, I think it gets more difficult. I tend to compare what I’m writing against what I’ve previously written. If a story received glowing reviews then I fear the story I’m writing will fall short or that it will be the one to prove I’m a fake. I’ll also be writing something and think, “Have I written that before? Did I already write that in a story?” I want to give readers something fresh and new but the more stories I’ve written, the more challenging it becomes.

E.E.: What could we find in your heroine's purse?

Lorraine: A pistol. Her family is in the firearms business, and she can defend herself.

We're in for a treat! Lorraine is giving away the first two books in her 

Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James series (Falling into Bed with a Duke and Once More, My Darling Rogue).

Just enter the Rafflecopter and be sure to leave a comment. 

Do you have a favorite notorious gentleman? Villain or hero, from a movie or a book. Do tell

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