A
Code of the Heart
Code Breakers # 3
Code Breakers # 3
By: Jacki Delecki
OUT NOW
Self-Published
ABOUT THE BOOK~
Miss Amelia Bonnington has been in
love with Michael Harcourt since she was nine years old… or so she thought
until a not-so proper impassioned and unyielding kiss from the not-so honorable
and equally disreputable Mr. Derrick Brinsley, gave her reason to question the
feelings of the heart.
Derrick Brinsley, brother to the
Earl of Falconbridge, shunned from society for running off with his brother’s
fiancée, hasn’t cared about or questioned his lack of acceptance until meeting
the beguiling Amelia Bonnington. One passionate moment with the fiery Miss
Bonnington has him more than willing to play by society’s rules to possess the
breathtaking, red-haired woman.
Amelia unwittingly becomes embroiled
in espionage when she stumbles upon a smuggling ring in the modiste shop of her
good friend. To prove her French friend’s innocence, she dangerously jumps into
the fray, jeopardizing more than her life.
On clandestine assignment to prevent
the French from stealing the Royal Navy’s secret weapon, Derrick must fight to
protect British secrets from falling into the hands of French spies, but also
the chance at love with the only woman capable of redeeming him.
LINKS~
Goodreads Series
Descended from a long line of storytellers, Jacki spins adventures filled with mystery, healing and romance. Jacki’s love affair with the arts began at a young age and inspired her to train as a jazz singer and dancer. She has performed many acting roles with the Seattle Opera Company and the Pacific Northwest Ballet. Her travels to London and Paris ignited a deep-seated passion to write A Code of Love, a romantic mystery set in the Regency era. Jacki is certain she spent at least one lifetime dancing in the Moulin Rouge.
Although writing now fills
most of her days, she continues to volunteer with Seattle’s Ballet and Opera
companies, as well as leading children’s tours of Pike Street Market. Her volunteer
work with Seattle’s homeless shelters influenced one of her main characters in An Inner Fire. Jacki’s
two Golden Labs, Gus and Talley, are her constant companions. Their years of
devotion and intuition inspired her to write both dogs as heroes in A Code
of Love. A geek at heart, Jacki loves superhero movies—a hero’s battle
against insurmountable odds. Fortunately, her heroines don’t have to wear a
unitard to fight injustice and battle for the underdog. Jacki’s extraordinary
heroines love and heal. Visit www.JackiDelecki.com for more information.
EXCERPT~
Prologue
Edworth House Party
Christmas Eve, 1802
Amelia Bonnington braced herself as the crowd bumped and
pushed, straining to get close to His Highness. The crème of society shoved and
elbowed, politely-of-course, since one would never want to be accused of bad
manners.
The Prince Regent stood on a small platform elaborately decorated with heavy boughs of greenery and red velvet, matching the Christmas décor of the massive ballroom. Hundreds of beeswax candles burned. No expense had been spared for the house party celebrating his royal visit.
Amelia had no desire to be part of the prince’s circle; they were a ghastly group who were only interested in themselves and their own pleasure.
She sucked in the little air left in the room and pushed, courteously-of-course, toward the door. The crowd and the heat were unbearable. She wasn’t one to swoon, but with the thick mix of perfume and the hot bodies, she felt tonight might be her first. She, one of the steadiest women, felt unsteady and unsafe. The last days of upheaval must have had a greater effect on her than she had wanted to believe.
Her whole world had been turned upside down and twisted sideways at this house party. In the last two days, her friends had been poisoned and kidnapped, and she had been ensnared in the French villain’s trap. But the deadly crisis had to be kept secret. Nothing must look out of the ordinary. No one outside the intelligence world ever know about the enemy’s threat to the Prince Regent’s life.
The ball must go on.
Amelia looked over her shoulder for the closest exit, but the throng pushed her forward. She needed to escape from the packed room.
A gentleman used the chaos in the crowded room, to crash into her, to take liberties with her person. After spending the last four years in congested ballrooms, she fully recognized the scoundrel’s ploy. His heavy eyelids didn’t conceal his hungry eyes, focused down her décolletage. As his eyes remained fixated on her breasts, he grabbed her elbow, pretending to help her when in fact he intended to pull her close against his hefty, malodorous body.
His reek of stale alcohol and sour sweat constricted her stomach and burned her throat. She pulled her arm away from his grasp, repulsed by the wetness seeping through his gloves. “Sir, release me this instant.”
She was about to dig her heel into the supposed gentleman’s fat toe when suddenly a space opened around her and a smell of fresh lime soap surrounded her.
The perspiring man stared behind her. His slack mouth and his blood-shot eyes widened in fear.
She recognized Lord Brinsley’s scent without needing to turn; he was an impossibly difficult, yet irresistibly appealing man. His deep, velvety voice flitted down her skin like a caress. “Miss Amelia, may I escort you away from this mob?”
Relief and something much more potent buzzed all her nerve endings. She turned quickly and found herself pressed against the broad chest of the man she had been forced to conspire with to save her friends.
She hastily straightened herself. “I never thought I’d be happy to see you.” She refused to be like all the other women who fawned for his slightest glance.
He lifted an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth in that
sardonic way she always found irritating. He was too big, too handsome, and too
confident for her to find him irresistible. She’d never let him have the
satisfaction of knowing she found him…almost irresistible.
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