Dear Readers,
Have you ever fallen for a man you truly despise? One you think you hate, yet who has an undeniable pull on you? A man whose mere presence screams DANGERDANGERDANGER in your mind and heart?
No matter your answer, today you’ll meet Hudson Somersault, the Duke of Blackbourne. He’s that kind of man. One you can either love or hate at first sight – or sometimes, both at once. He is… irresistible. Even to my heroine, Rosalie, who literally falls into his arms and spends a night discovering how easy it is to love him – or let him love her.
As you can tell, I’m struggling to organize my thoughts now that his name’s been mentioned.
Let me start fresh.
Rosalie Wayfield. She’s London’s most sought-after seamstress, specializing in corsetry. Through a bit of bad luck, she’s forced to deliver her latest creation personally to her client.
But when she enters the room at midnight, she finds a stranger waiting for her.
What Rosalie doesn’t know is that she’s wandered into the most exclusive (and discreet) brothel in London. The man she falls into the arms of mistakes her for a courtesan.
His passion is so irresistible, his pull so strong, that she agrees to spend a single night with him. In the morning, she believes they’ll part ways and never meet again.
But this stranger touches her in ways she never imagined.
Just once, she allows herself to fall, to love, to be loved. Body, mind, and soul unite in a wild, sensual night. The broad-shouldered man with the sparkling eyes and sensual lips gifts her a passionate love affair she’ll never forget.
But fate has other plans.
The man who whispered the most intoxicating words in her ear is none other than the Duke of Blackbourne. Even now, his wicked caresses and seductive words send shivers down her spine. She’s never heard anything more improper – and yet, never anything more beautiful. Unfortunately! Because the Duke is the very villain Rosalie’s heard the darkest rumors about: he’s said to lock his eccentric grandmother in a dungeon to avoid embarrassment. That alone would be enough to make Rosalie despise him.
Her hatred only grows when she hears he killed his best friend – coldly, treacherously, and cowardly, from behind.
It doesn’t take long before their night together comes to light. A seamstress who frequents a brothel, who returns home disheveled and smiling after a night with the most notorious man in the city? A scandal! Her clients abandon her, her neighbors voice their contempt.
When Rosalie doesn’t know where to turn, he enters her shop.
But not to apologize. Not to explain. No, the Duke of Blackbourne has something far more outrageous in mind. He offers her a proposal she must accept if she doesn’t want to end up in the workhouse: Marriage. He needs a wife to give him an heir.
Dear readers, with “A Duke at Midnight,” you’re holding a book that ranks at the top of my personal “Sizzle Scale” for Regency romance. It crackles with heat from the first page! The physical chemistry between two strangers that kicks off the story was an absolute joy to write… Ah, I still sigh wistfully when I think of writing it. To my surprise, Rosalie and the Duke couldn’t keep their hands off each other from beginning to end, leading to some scorching scenes without a fade-out.
One last thing before you dive in: As you’ll notice, Rosalie is a widow once again, just like some of my other heroines. This isn’t because I no longer love my husband (you know, sometimes an author’s life gets tangled up in her stories), but for another reason. I adore writing about strong, independent women who can match uncompromising alpha men. It doesn’t mean a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old virgin couldn’t stand up to them, of course. I just prefer when both meet as equals – in bed as much as in life. That’s why you’re reading about a widow. And what a widow! Haha, I can’t wait to hear what you think!
Available on Amazon: A Duke at Midnight
With all my love,
Emmi West
