Seduction, Lies & Betrayal

by Faye Hall, MageWorks .ink, Rhiannon Poli

Genres: Erotic & Steamy Romance; Historical Romance; Romantic Suspense; Second Chance Romance; historical romance; forced proximity; small town romance; steamy romance; Second Chance Romance; shipboard romance; australian romance

Synopsis

Her journey to Australia should have been her new beginning…what she found was a love her past was determined to destroy.

Maria Venetti fled the streets of London and the life of crime she’d been forced into, boarding a ship to Australia. Once aboard the Lady Douglas, Maria was determined to keep a low profile, isolating herself from the other passengers. Her plan was perfect…until she met the dark-haired stranger sitting across the dinner table.

Nathaniel Ward was looking for a new start for himself and his daughter. When the Italian beauty, Maria, joined him in the dining hall, he was captivated by her wit, and ached to share so much more than a card game with her.
When she agreed to model for one of his sketches, he feared he would no longer be able to deny his growing desire for her. What he feared most was losing his usually well-guarded heart to her, opening himself up again to heartache.

Their relationship growing, Maria hoped that at last she would be free to start her life anew…that was until she learned a man from her past, Harold Beaxley, was also on the ship, threatening to destroy everything she’d hoped to find in Nathaniel’s arms.

Arriving in Australia, they stumble upon a web of seduction and deceit weaved by Harold — a man whose lies are determined to rip the lovers apart all for his amusement and greed.

Will Nathaniel and Maria’s love be strong enough to protect them from the pasts they so desperately wanted to escape? Or will they fall victim to the lies and betrayal that followed them across the ocean?

Content Warning: contains sex, strong language, and some violence

 

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Release date: April 15, 2023

Publisher: 4th Avenue Press

Print pages: 322

Content advisory: contains sex, strong language, and some violence

Sample

“Please, stop running away from me.”

“Why?” she asked.  “What can a man like you want with someone like me?”

He sighed heavily, his hand falling away from her.  Usually, he was so in control of himself, picking his words carefully.  Standing with this woman, he lost all sense of himself though.  There was no eloquence or practised speech.  All he felt was raw emotion.

“I need to know…what you said in the dining hall when last we met…” His words trailed off, unsure how to word the question he most needed an answer to.

She reached out to him, her hand on his chest, her trembling fingers stroking him through the fabric softly and so familiarly.  Leaning into him, she kissed him lightly on the cheek, before turning and stepping into her cabin.

His hand on the door stopped it from closing behind her.  “I need to know if you meant it or did you perhaps feel obliged after what has happened between us.”

She glanced back at him.  “I don’t do obligations.”

His hand fell away from the door, his fingers gripping the rounded curve of her hips.  “Is that why you’ve been avoiding me since that afternoon in your cabin when you begged me to stay with you?”

Her hand reached back, stroking his leg.  “I hoped with absence I could forget how much I ached to feel your skin touch mine.”

His grip on her hips tightened.  “Don’t play with me.”

Her hand fell away from him.  “I assure you this is no game.  When I boarded this ship, I didn’t go looking for the affections of a man, but then I met you…You filled me with such hunger that I found myself aching for the slightest touch of your skin against mine.”  She pulled away from his hold and stepped into her cabin, turning to face him with her hand on the door.  “After what happened the afternoon we played cards, I was certain you’d push me away, reminding me my illicit behaviour was inappropriate.  I honestly didn’t think you’d notice my absence if I just removed myself from your life.”

“I did though.”

“But why?” she asked.  “You are a handsome man who could have his pick of any woman.  How could my pathetic attempts of seduction keep your interest for so long?”

He was amazed this woman was so unaware of her effect on him.  “You told me I smelt like home.” “You do…which pleases and scares me to no end.”  With that, she shut the door.