Neither
kink nor curse can stop a woman with a mission.
Cecily Harrowsmith, secret agent
extraordinaire, is a woman on a mission. When the remote Indian kingdom of
Rajasthan refused to remit its taxes to the Empire, Her Majesty imposed an
embargo. Deprived of the energy-rich mineral viridium, essential for modern
technology and development, Rajasthan was expected to quickly give in and
resume its payments. Yet after three years, the rebellious principality still
has not knuckled under. Cecily undertakes the difficult journey to that rugged,
arid land in order to determine just how it has managed to survive, and if possible
to convince the country to return to the Empire’s embrace. Instead, she’s taken
captive by a brigand, who turns out to be the ruler’s half-brother Pratan, and
delivered into the hands of the sexy but sadistic Rajah Amir, who expertly
mingles torture and delight in his interrogation of the voluptuous interloper.
Cursed before birth by Amir’s jealous
mother, Pratan changes to a ravening wolf whenever the moon is full. Cecily
uncovers the counter-spell that can reverse the effects of the former queen’s
hex and tries to trade that information for her freedom. Drawn to the fierce
wolf-man and sympathising with his suffering, she volunteers to serve as the
sacrifice required by the ritual—offering her body to the beast. In return, the
Rajah reveal Rajasthan’s amazing secret source of energy. In the face of almost
impossible odds, Cecily has accomplished the task entrusted to her by the
Empire. But can she really bear to leave the virile half-brothers and their
colourful land behind and return to the constraints of her life in England?
You can buy the book at your favorite
online store:
Total-E-Bound (TEB can send books directly to your
ereader)
From the book
“Your
money and your jewels,” he growled in Hindi. “Quick now!”
Cecily
lowered her gaze, feigning modesty. Meanwhile, she tightened her hand into a
fist to release the knife. Nothing happened.
Her
fall must have damaged the mechanism. Bloody machines…
And,
in the interim, the bandit had produced his own much longer blade, which he now
held to her throat. “Do you understand me, woman?” He switched to Rajasthani.
When she still didn’t respond, he tried Gujarati. “Give me your valuables.
Now!” Apparently losing patience, he plucked the gold hoop from her left earlobe
with his other hand, while still pressing the cold steel against her skin.
“Ow!”
she protested as the wire tugged at her flesh before pulling free.
“Aha!
You can speak after all!” He glanced around the plush interior, no doubt noting
brocaded cushions, the silver tea service, the crystal goblets secured to the
wall in their polished wood racks. “You look like you’re loaded, lady. Give me
your purse before I get tired of waiting and slit your lovely throat.” Despite
her Indian costume and the dusky complexion she’d inherited from her Ceylonese
mother, the brigand addressed her in English this time, probably cued by the
obvious provenance of the artefacts that surrounded her. The clarity of his
pronunciation surprised her.
Sprawled
on the floor, tangled in her clothing, Cecily glared up at him. A swathe of
dark cloth wrapped around his head hid everything but his deep brown eyes.
Sheltering under elegantly arched eyebrows, those eyes glittered with malice
and craft. He had long, lush eyelashes that any woman would envy and a high
forehead that bespoke considerable intelligence. A brute, no doubt, but
scarcely dumb. She’d have to move with the utmost care.
“If
you will put somewhat more distance between your blade and my flesh,” she
began, keeping her voice sweet and level, “I will be able to reach my money.
It’s pinned into my waistband.”
The
bandit’s eyes flicked to her bare midriff. She let her hand drift down towards
the concealed pistol as though she were about to extricate a hidden pouch of
coins.
Before
she could reach her goal, he shot out his hand, catching her wrist in an iron
grip. “Allow me.”He slipped his dagger into a sheath slung across his chest,
then grabbed her other wrist and pinned it with the first. His hand was large
enough to encircle both of hers.
“Now,
then…” He trailed his fingertips across the naked gap between her blouse and
her skirt. Electricity sizzled up Cecily’s spine. The next thing she knew, he
slid his hand under the fabric of her skirt, rooting around for items more solid
than her soft, round belly.
He
groped for a moment, while she held her breath. His calloused fingers struck
sparks from her flesh. Of course, he discovered her weapon almost instantly. He
drew it out, chuckling once more when he saw its size. Her skin mourned the
loss of his touch.
“What
a surprise! A gun instead of the promised gold.” He tightened his hold on her
wrists until she feared the bones would snap. “Who are you, my lady? Not, I
think, a common traveller.”
“That’s
none of your concern…sir.” Cecily decided that it might be wise to be polite.
“Oh,
I think it is. Not many women travel on their own across the wastes of my
country, especially in the most modern of conveyances. Those that do are wise
to carry a weapon—but this one will not help you. Who sent you, madam? What is
your business here?”
“I’ll
not share my business with a common brigand.”
“And
if I were someone else? Would you tell me then how and why you happen to cross
my path?”
Cecily
of course had a cover story. Her documents attested that she was the sister of
a wealthy Bombay textile merchant, come to Rajasthan looking for business
contacts. She was not, however, about to divulge anything to this rogue.
“I
will tell you nothing.”
“Indeed?
I think I may be able to change your mind.” After tucking the pistol into the
folds of his garment, he drew out a length of what, aside from its strange
silvery colour, looked like common rope. He dangled it near her trapped wrists.
“Bind,” he said.
The
rope came alive, coiling like a snake. Quick as a cobra strike, it looped
itself around her forearms—once, twice, half a dozen times, pulling tighter
with each cycle. Before she could devise a plan, Cecily found her crossed arms
were laced together as firmly as the back of a corset.
“How
dare you? Untie me at once!”
“So
that you can stab me? Or shoot me? Who knows what other cunning devices you
have hidden about your charming person? No, on the contrary, I think I’d be
wise to bind your legs as well.”
You can buy the book at your favorite online store:
Total-E-Bound (TEB can send books directly to your ereader)
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