Enter to Win a $25.00 Amazon eGift Card
.jpg)
Going Rogue
Ribbons and Rogues # 1
Ribbons and Rogues # 1
By: Jessica
Jefferson
Releasing May 6,
2015
Soul Mate
Publishing
The
ribbon means you have it all – beauty, wealth, power ... everything but love.
Miss
Meredith Castle leaves behind everything she knows to join her great aunt in
London and become leader of the infamous girls’ club, The Ribbons. She’s
willing to make whatever sacrifices necessary to redeem her ailing mother, even
if that means leaving her childhood love behind to scale London’s social ladder.
When Derek Weston’s best friend receives the
offer of a lifetime, he encourages her to take it. Unwilling to let her go
completely, he chases after her, only to find the sweet girl he loved replaced
by a spoiled debutante. A broken man, he leaves London to start a new life at
sea.
Five years later, Meredith realizes her reign
as Queen of the Ball is about to come to an end, if she doesn’t do something to
fix her tarnished reputation. Pairing up with the Season’s newest wallflower
seems like the perfect plan, until she finds out her demure friend is being
pursued by the very man she thought she’d never see again. Only, Derek Weston
isn’t who he used to be. He’s inherited a Scottish title and grown into an
arrogant man she barely recognizes; yet in her heart, she knows she still loves
him. Torn between her past and an uncertain future, can she find a way back to
the life she used to have and the boy who once adored her?
“You
couldn’t love me.” Meredith’s shoulders fell. “You haven’t seen me for over a
year—too much has changed. It’s too late.”
“A
year means nothing when I’ve known you for a lifetime,” he argued.
“A
year is a lifetime.” She shook her
head. “I’m not the person I used to be.”
“Of
course you are. After you come home—”
“Middlebury
is no longer my home and I can’t go back. There’s nothing for me there.”
“Except
me?” He’d meant it as a bold declaration of his intentions. But his confidence
was wavering and he knew the words were as much a question as they were
anything else.
“Don’t
you see—I can’t marry you.” Her words cut like a knife. “I’ve a real chance
here. Aunt Cynthia thinks I can be a duchess. An actual duchess! Can you
imagine? Think of all I can do for my mother.”
“I
had no idea you held such lofty aspirations,” he said quietly, the ring tucked
tightly within his fist.
She
looked down. “You said it yourself once—I deserve more than what life in the
village has to offer me. How can I settle for being the wife of an officer when
I have a real chance at a title?”
He
dropped the ring on the floor, the weight of it finally too much to bear.
“Somewhere along the way you seem to have forgotten what’s truly important,
Mere.”
“And
what’s that?”
“Love,
friendship, loyalty…”
She
shook her head. “My mother followed love and look where that got her. She has
nothing now but a crumbling house and stacks of bills. It takes far more than
love to make a life—it takes a fortune.”
And
then he knew. This shell of a woman was certainly not his Meredith. His Meredith
would never be so callous—so ruthless. It was her eyes, hair, and smile—but not
her spirit.
The
girl he loved was nowhere to be found in the woman in front of him.
Derek
cleared his throat. “You’ve changed.”
She
looked at him. “We’re just too different now. I had hoped that it would be
easy, that you’d just forget about me over time. Why do you think I stopped
writing all those months ago?”
It
was the final blow to their friendship. Meredith hadn’t been as busy with her
lessons as he’d thought. He knew the truth now—perhaps he’d known it all along.
She hadn’t been too busy to write, she’d been too busy for him. She’d been trying to end their friendship amicably by simply
ignoring the fact it had ever existed.
“I
shouldn’t have come here,” he said quietly.
“Probably
not.” She wrapped her arms around her middle, just as she had when she was
younger. His heart ached for the memory.
He
needed to leave, to be as far from this place as he could get. But there was
one thing he couldn’t leave without.
Taking
her by the arms, he pulled her close, and kissed her fiercely.
She
didn’t resist.
She
returned his kiss with just as much emotion, her arms snaking their way up his
chest. Before she’d left, he’d stolen a brief kiss. The chaste exchange hadn’t
lasted but a second, both of them so inexperienced. But he’d spent nights
dreaming about it, imagining all he’d do differently given the opportunity
again.
Now,
she kissed him with a skill that he didn’t bother to question. He knew someone
else had taught her, but he didn’t care. He wanted her to remember him,
remember this moment. He kissed her with every intention of scarring a memory
into her consciousness so that after this, every kiss she’d ever receive would
pale in comparison to his. He poured every ounce of himself into it—every
feeling he’d ever hidden, all the love he’d ever felt for her. His tongue
plunged deeper, exploring the secret places inside her mouth.
This
kiss was the requiem for what was to become his past.
When
he felt her knees start to buckle, he knew it was time. Derek pulled away. His
gaze locked briefly with hers. Her eyes were heavy with desire and her lips
were red and swollen from the pleasurable assault.
He
said nothing. Instead, he walked straight for the door— ready to leave the
place where his vision for the future had been shattered into thousands of
irreparable shards.
And
he’d be damned before he tried to pick them up.
BUY NOW
Jessica Jefferson makes her home in Almost-Chicago with her
husband, nine and three year old girls, guinea pigs, and English bulldog
Pete. When she's not busy trying to find middle-ground between being a
modern career woman and Suzy-Homemaker, she loves to watch "Real
Housewives of [insert city here]" and performing unnecessary improvements
to her home and property.
Jessica writes Regency-era historical romance with a modern
twist, infused with humor. She always tries to create endearingly flawed heroes
and one of a kind heroines that you'll want to continue knowing long after you
read the last page.
No comments:
Post a Comment