happy tour day-a study in scoundrels-christy carlyle-giveaway

Can this scoundrel convince a proper lady that he’s actually perfect for her 
or will their adventure leave them both heartbroken? 

A STUDY IN SCOUNDRELS

Romancing the Rules #2

Christy Carlyle

Releasing April 11th, 2017

Avon Impulse

Sophia Ruthven is the epitome of proper behavior. On paper at least, as long as that paper isn’t from one of the lady detective stories she secretly pens. She certainly isn’t interested in associating with the dashing Jasper Grey, the wayward heir to the Earl of Stanhope, and one of the stage’s leading men. But when she learns Grey’s younger sister Liddy has gone missing, she can’t deny her desire to solve the mystery…or her attraction to the incorrigible scoundrel.

Responsibility isn’t something Grey is very familiar with. On the boards and in the bedroom, he lives exactly how he wants to, shunning all the trappings of respectability and society. Grey knows he should avoid the bewitching Sophia, but he’s never been able to say no to what he wants. And having Sophia in his arms and his bed is quickly becoming the thing he wants the most.

As Sophia and Grey’s search for Liddy continues across the English countryside, can this scoundrel convince a proper lady that he’s actually perfect for her or will their adventure leave them both heartbroken? 

Laughter tickled his ears. Weight bore down on his chest, draped over his hips. A soft weight, pliant under his hands. Heated too. Pleasure in his groin twined with pain in his head as the soft, warm weight moved against him.

He blinked, then again. Colors shimmered and blurred. The light was too dim. The room too smoky. Perfume burned his nose, too spicy and pungent.

What was that sound? A moan. A cry.

A rumbling groan reverberated in his own chest.

“Don’t leave me now,” a woman whispered near his ear. “I need release.”

He flexed his fingers, digging into the warm flesh of smooth feminine legs. Slid his hand up, finding the thicket of curls between the woman’s spread thighs.

“Yes, Grey.”

She moved against him, her breath quickening as little moans emerged. She clutched at his shoulder, her other hand on his, showing him how to touch her.

He didn’t require much direction. The role of lover was one he knew by heart. Some said he was skilled on stage, but he never doubted his expertise in the bedroom.

His own body had numbed. Whether from drink or the drugging effect of the smoke rising in whorls above his head, he wasn’t certain. But this, how to touch a woman, how to give pleasure. This he knew intuitively. This was where he excelled.

Heaven knew he’d failed at everything else.

Except acting.

But performing on stage was all a matter of illusion, of lying artfully. Sex and falsehood were his twin aptitudes.

If only he could see the woman clearly and scatter the fog in his mind. He twisted his head on the pillow and noticed a half-empty glass of blue-green liquid glowing in the low gaslight.

“What did I drink?”

A trill of laughter. Red lips. The curve of a grin in a pale face. A waterfall of red hair.

He swirled his fingers in the woman’s curls. She stilled and held her breath. He knew he’d found the key. Gently, masterfully, he touched her with all the art he’d learned from countless lovers.

“Oh, Grey.” She twitched against his fingers, dug her nails into his shoulder. “Don’t stop.”

He didn’t. Not until she gusted out a long moan, dipped her head, and sank against him as if her bones had melted.

“Absinthe,” she murmured against his chest. “A bit of laudanum.”

Grey pressed a fist to the throbbing crown of his head and tried to sit up. The lady on his chest stretched like a cat woken from a nap before rising off him and stepping away from the bed.

No, he realized when his vision cleared and he took in the books lining the walls, not a bed. Not his bedroom. He was on a settee in his London townhouse’s library, and he and his lady companion were not alone. Half-clothed bodies reclined around the musky, haze-clouded room. Some sleeping. Others smoking from an enormous bubbling hookah. At least one couple was busy, writhing and moaning in the far corner.

A man stumbled past the open library door, nude from the waist up, his shirt and coat rolled in a crumpled ball in his arms. Returning to the threshold, he let out a burp before offering, “Many happy returns, Grey. Smashing birthday party.”

Fueled by Pacific Northwest coffee and inspired by multiple viewings of every British costume drama she can get her hands on, USA Today bestselling author Christy Carlyle writes sensual historical romance set in the Victorian era. She loves heroes who struggle against all odds and heroines who are ahead of their time. A former teacher with a degree in history, she finds there’s nothing better than being able to combine her love of the past with a die-hard belief in happy endings.

How to Write a Scoundrel in Five Steps by Christy Carlyle

Make him a renegade. Every scoundrel is, in some sense, a renegade. He does not conform to society’s rules. Whether he’s a viscount or a valet, a scoundrel doesn’t give a fig what others think of his outrageous behavior. In fact, he relishes his rebellion and the effect he has on others. To shock a virginal debutante into a blush. To send a society matron searching for her smelling salts. To make a rival livid with disdain. Those are the moments a scoundrel lives for. Even if he’s meant for ultimate redemption (and, of course, he is), a true scoundrel always starts as a rule breaker.

Infuse him with magnetism. A scoundrel must draw you, tantalize you, no matter how much of a rogue he is. A scoundrel should wield a kind of magnetism that’s impossible to deny. A magnetism based on more than his charm, handsome features, and appealing physique, though it helps if he possesses those in spades. Yet even a scarred, flawed scoundrel intrigues the most proper heroine, exuding a charisma that makes her curious enough to look beyond his reputation and bad behavior. When I think of the magnetic scoundrel, Lisa Kleypas’s Derek Craven from Dreaming of You comes to mind. From his first appearance on the page, he exerted a magnetic pull on me, as a reader, and on Sara, the story’s heroine.

Turn up the confidence. Scoundrels rarely regret their sins. At least at first. To be a true scoundrel, a man must revel in his naughtiness for a while. One of the keys to being a successful scoundrel, after all, is acquiring a terrible reputation, and it takes effort to convince everyone around you that you’re an unprincipled man. Part of a scoundrel’s appeal lies in his confidence, whether in his looks, his charm, or some skill that he performs particularly well. And, no, I’m not only thinking of talents in the bedroom. Consider Han Solo, the Star Wars scoundrel we all love. Han may have suspected Leia’s feelings for him, but he knew with absolute certainty that he was one of the best pilots in the galaxy. Confidence is sexy, and scoundrels have plenty.

Dig into his history. He may be the life of the party. Embracing every sin. Indulging every impulse. But the best scoundrels have a history that’s far less about pleasure than their lifestyle would suggest. Often there’s a wound, a trauma, some deeply buried regret that they seek to block out with hedonism and sensual gratification. He can’t escape his past, of course, no matter how much he carouses. My hero, Jasper Grey, in A Study in Scoundrels has never quite gotten past the death of his brother. His guilt is what drives him to overindulge and embrace his role as a scoundrel.

Give him a formidable challenge. Every hero is presented with a challenge. Part of the appeal of a scoundrel is that he usually faces provocation with gusto. Whether he schemes to avoid marriage, or attempts to outwit a clever heroine, a scoundrel never backs down from a dare. Challenge intrigues him, excites him. Probably because his overconfidence convinces him he’ll always emerge the victor. Of course, a challenge often alters the scoundrel in ways he doesn’t expect, especially if confrontation comes in the form of a fierce, smart, determined heroine who strips away his seductive veneer and digs deep enough to unearth the man inside.

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