The Missus

by E L James

Genres: Women's Fiction; Contemporary Romance

Synopsis

The follow-up to the No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller The Mister, a passionate and thrilling love story from E L James, author of the phenomenal bestselling Fifty Shades Trilogies.

Alessia regards her husband through heavy-lidded eyes.
You'll have to fight for him. Her mother's words from their call this morning ring through her head. And fight, she will. Using every available weapon she has.
She loves him. She knows this. She wants him.
And she wants him to want her.

What happens once the glass slipper fits...?

Maxim Trevelyan, reluctant Earl of Trevethick, has pursued the woman he loves to the wilds of Albania. Having fought for and won her, he now has to wed her, at the sharp end of a shotgun.

But can a reformed rake like Maxim ever make a good husband - or will his own notorious reputation and the scandalous secrets of his aristocratic family destroy his new-found happiness?

Alessia Demachi has defied and outwitted kidnappers and traffickers, and won the heart of the man she loves, but can she make this marriage work? Confronted by Maxim's lurid past, his forbidding family, and the looks and whispers of London's elite, will she ever be seen as Maxim's countess - or will she always be his former cleaner?

From the majestic mountains of Albania, through the rural idyll of the English countryside, to the shady glamour of contemporary London, The Missus is a spellbinding journey of love, longing, acceptance and redemption.

© E L James 2023 (P) Penguin Audio 2023

Release date: June 20, 2023

Publisher: Bloom Books

Sample

I switch off the shower, resentful and bewildered by the situation I’ve found myself in— and by the large puddle of water I’ve left on the bathroom floor. It does not speak well of Albanian plumbing. I snatch a towel and quickly dry myself, then drag on my clothes and open the door.

Alessia is standing outside, brandishing what looks like a high-tech shower-cleaning mop. I laugh, surprised and pleased to see her, and I’m transported back to a time when she was in my flat, wearing her frightful nylon housecoat, and I was surreptitiously watching her…and falling in love.

She grins and places her fingers against her lips.

“Does he know you’re here?” I whisper.

She shakes her head, places her hand squarely on my chest and pushes me back into the bathroom. She drops the mop and promptly locks the door.

“Alessia,” I warn, but she cups my face and pulls my lips to hers. Her kiss is soft and sweet but demanding—surprisingly demanding. As her tongue finds mine, she presses her body against mine, and I close my eyes and wrap my arms around her, delighting in her kiss. Her fingers slide into my wet hair, and her lips become more insistent as she tugs. It’s a wake-up call to my impatient dick.

Hell. We’re going to fuck.

In an Albanian bathroom with poor plumbing.

I pull away so we can catch our breath, and Alessia’s eyes are dark and full of promise but also uncertainty.

“What is it?” I ask.

She shakes her head.

“No.” I clasp her face and gaze into her eyes. “God, as much as I want you, we’re not fucking in this bathroom. Your parents aren’t far away, and I don’t have a condom. Now tell me, what’s wrong? Is it the wedding?”