Sebastian’s
Lady Spy
Secrets & Seduction #
5
By: Sharon Cullen
Releasing March 31st, 2015
Loveswept
BLURB~
Seduction
abounds in Sharon Cullen’s steamy historical romance! For the Crown’s top
agents, love is a hazard best avoided—until an unforgettable affair exposes
their undercover hearts.
Sebastian Addison has a powerful
secret. To society he is the Earl of Claybrook, the patriarch who raised his
siblings after the death of their parents. But to the king, Sebastian is
Britain’s top spy—a position that has taken an emotional toll on him. Contessa
Gabrielle Marciano has also been living a lie, her title a cover devised by the
Office of Intelligence. The femme fatale was plucked from a life of crime and
prostitution and trained to restrain her passionate nature. Until she meets the
earl.
For three deeply sensual days and
nights, Sebastian and Gabrielle drop their masks, indulging in pleasures that
seem too good to be true. Then the lovers go their separate ways. Seven months
later they reunite when inside sources report that an English aristocrat has
been aiding France in a plot to topple the Crown. Their objective: to find the
turncoat. Their greatest challenge: to keep their wild, wounded hearts from
derailing a mission of life and death.
Sharon Cullen is the author of the historical romances The Notorious Lady Anne, Loving the Earl, and Pleasing the Pirate, as well as many novels of romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance. If you’d like to find out more about the author and her books, you can visit her blog or her website. She is addicted to social networking so you can find her on Facebook and Twitter. Friend her! Like her! Follow her! She’d love to hang out with you and talk about her passion: books.
EXCERPT
Sebastian lounged wearily in the chair opposite Sir Colin Atwater’s
desk and watched his contact in the Office of Intelligence shuffle papers.
“We have a new mission for
you,” Atwater said.
“I recently came off a
mission.”
“We are aware, but this is
urgent.”
“They’re all urgent.”
“This one is even more
urgent.” Atwater tapped the papers together, avoiding eye contact.
“How so?” Sebastian asked.
“You’ll, uh, be working with
someone.”
“I don’t work with other
people.”
“We must insist that this time
you do.”
“I work alone. I always have.
It’s best that way.” Frustrated that he’d been called in for this, Sebastian
stood and turned toward the door with every intention of leaving the silly
conversation.
“We are aware that you prefer
to work alone—”
Sebastian sighed in exasperation
and turned back. “There is no preference to it. A preference implies that you have a choice in what I do. You don’t.”
“Yes. Well. In this instance
the king requires it. This particular mission needs two operatives. It’s
highly—”
“Then find someone else. I’m
off to my country estate to see to neglected business.” Such as looking over
ledgers, meeting with his steward, and reading a good book in front of a
roaring fire with his dogs at his feet. It had been far too long since he’d
done any of that. His steward and his dogs were feeling forsaken, and his body
ached to take a rest. At this point he didn’t care whom he angered.
“You can’t leave, my lord. The
crown forbids it.”
Sebastian paused, his lips
quirking in amusement. “The crown forbids it? Now you have me intrigued. But
not enough to remain and discover what this mission is about. As much as it
pains me to admit, there are many other excellent operatives. One of them will
surely do.” Deciding to be generous, he added, “Pick that Harrison fellow. He will
be pleased to accept such a mission.”
“Harrison is otherwise
occupied.”
Sebastian frowned. “Then
Kristoff. Hell, I don’t care whom you pick as long as it isn’t me.”
Atwater yanked on the bell
pull.
Immediately the door opened. A
woman’s voice drifted through, not loud enough that Sebastian could hear the
words; more the sound, the cadence. And it stopped him cold. He’d been in many
tight situations in his career, but he doubted he’d ever broken into such a
cold sweat. “What the hell is this about?” he asked Atwater in a furious
whisper.
“Your partner.”
His partner, who had yet to step around the door, said
something to the footman, then laughed. The sound sliced through him as
precisely and painfully as a saber. He’d had that feeling only one other time. Seven months ago,
to be precise.
She stepped into his line of
sight, and Sebastian’s stomach twisted into a knot.
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