The Duke's Temptation (Men of Circumstance #1)
Author: Addie Jo Ryleigh
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing
Release Date: 7 October 2015
A Duke. A Runner. An Earl.
Three men, each born into different circumstances.
Each fighting to overcome their own adversity.
All striving to change their past.
Gabriel St. James, Duke of Wesbrook, desires any birthright other than being the son of a hideous man. Unfortunately, Gabe knows the exact moment he became like his father—a night that has haunted him for seven years. Resigned to his future, he is unprepared when his illegitimate—and more importantly unbeknown—young daughter appears on his London doorstep. With no one to care for her but him.
Lady Elizabeth Blakely has loved only one man—her brother’s longtime friend, Gabe St. James. Not even his rakish and, oftentimes, wicked behavior dissuades her. Yet it all seems hopeless as he continues to overlook the woman she has become.
When Elizabeth learns Gabe is in need of assistance with his daughter, she seizes the opportunity. Gabe, less than thrilled with the situation—mostly due to his fierce desire for his best friend’s sister—has no option but to concede. Besides, a more sinister threat lurks; someone is blackmailing Gabe with his darkest secret. Through it all, Gabe vows to resist Elizabeth, no matter how tempting.
Sometimes it's better to surrender . . .
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Excerpt
He’d already been subjected to a sleepless night battling the possibility she could be carrying his babe. Part of him leapt with joy thinking of her slender frame, rounded from increasing.
Mostly, he felt worry. And fear, that his future son would, despite Gabe’s best efforts, grow to be like him and all the previous Wesbrook scoundrels.
Afraid or not, if it came to pass, he would do the right thing and marry her. In no way would he leave her vulnerable to the vicious ton. Besides, if things were different—if he were different—he would whisk her to Gretna Green right now and attach her to him for the rest of their lives.
Instead, he would love her the only way he was capable of—from afar. And someday hope he found the strength to break from the person his past had made him.
If only he knew how to inform Elizabeth they could no longer be together intimately. She would fight him on it. Of that he was damned sure.
Thinking of how her face brightened, and her eyes flashed with light when she became so determined, sent shivers of enjoyment through him.
Absorbed with all the wicked ways he’d like to turn the light in Elizabeth’s eyes to burning embers, he didn’t notice the door opening until it clicked shut.
When he realized who’d entered, uncharacteristic heat rose in his cheeks. His only excuse for the boyish flush was that being caught in the middle of erotic thoughts by his three-year-old daughter wasn’t an everyday occurrence. Thank God.
A bit unclear as to how to interact with the half-sized person before him, Gabe chose to remain silent and let her make the first move. It might not be very manly, but it was by far the wisest decision he knew of.
He remained seated as her blue eyes scanned the room before she finally spotted him sitting at the desk. It was so bloody adorable the way she set her tiny chin in a determined angle and headed straight toward him—a small doll clasped in each arm—that he almost circled his desk to greet her.
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