The Sins of Their Fathers an excerpt...

Due to release March 17th, 2008

The Sins of Their Fathers
By Emma Wildes and Lara Santiago

The Blurb:

[Erotic Historical/Futuristic Romance] A distant planet and a coveted throne. A savage island and an exile into a barbaric fight for life.
Once, the Commander of Tiburon and the infamous Earl of Charbeau were powerful men faced with dangerous choices that changed their lives forever. Will finding happiness exact a price, or will their offspring pay for the sins of their fathers?
From the incomparable Emma Wildes and Lara Santiago are the sequels to their all-time bestselling series: The Improper Ladies by Emma Wildes and The Tiburon Duet by Lara Santiago.


An excerpt:

From Kissed By Fate:

“This is your lucky day, Alex. You get twins.”

Emma Ruth strode through the door first. Lizzie followed, keeping an eye on the ceiling waiting for an ice bath. Even with no water poised to drench her, she figured that attending this frat party was still a bad idea. What was she doing here?

A rousing cheer went up when Emma Ruth grabbed the face of a tall, gorgeous stranger, presumably Alex, and prepared to plant her lips on his. Lizzie saw Dustin muscle his way to the front of the column through the throng of guys lined up to get a kiss.

“Kiss her. Kiss her.” The crowd in the frat house living room chanted. At the last minute, Dustin stepped between them and stuck his hand over Emma Ruth’s mouth to prevent the kiss and pulled her out of the line to kiss her himself.

Robbie laughed. “Sorry, Alex, you only get one twin.”

Emma Ruth and Dustin disappeared into the fold of the party leaving Lizzie alone at the threshold.

“Your turn.” Robby motioned with his bottle of beer. “Kiss Alex or you can’t come in.”

The words “What if I don’t want to come in?” burned on the tip of Lizzie’s tongue, until she glanced at the face of the attractive guy before her. Looming a half a head taller than anyone else in the room, the startled grin complete with dimples shaping his mouth was infectious. Her gaze traveled upward to his simmering chocolate brown eyes and lingered until her heart turned over with a thud.

His tall, dark good looks made her reconsider her previous dislike of kissing. The shape of his full lips, curved in what looked like interested astonishment, enticed her. Besides, his exotic male scent wafting around her made her throw any final caution out the door and in its place the sincere desire to try kissing once again.

The kiss would probably be like all the ones that Lizzie had endured over the course of her lifetime. Uninspired. But something in the determined set of his jaw and his steady gaze made Lizzie take a step closer. She tilted her head back, looking deeply into his eyes…and then the defensive end from the school’s football team plowed into her, propelling her forward into Alex’s arms.

“Hurry up. Kiss him and get out of the way. I’ve got some drinking to do.”

Twisting in Alex’s arms, she shot a glare over her shoulder at the muscle-bound doofas. He winked, smiled and skirted around her to head inside the door.

Several more football jerks entered all at once and Lizzie was shuffled to the side still clutched in the arms of the gorgeous stranger named Alex. The line formed again as another girl came to the door and they were forgotten.

Once they bumped into the wall, he said, “You don’t have to-–kiss me–-if you don’t want to...” he paused and his gaze went to her lips. Another enticing smile formed and he added, “Perhaps we could get a beverage.” His sultry voice went almost unheard in the ensuing loud kiss-a-thon from the football team now in line to receive their kiss from whichever girl entered the party next.

“Are you pledging this fraternity?” she asked.

He squinted as if processing her words for understanding before answering, “No. I’m a guest. I’m from out of town.”

Ah. An anonymous someone she’d never see again. Lizzie caught sight of Emma Ruth across the room in the arms of her latest unsuitable boyfriend, Dustin. Her sister’s suggestion from earlier to find someone to make out with for the evening rolled around in her head.

Lizzie focused her stare at the masculine Adonis she pressed against and something elusive tingled low in her belly. His scent assaulted her again. He smelled sensational. Earthy. Exotic. Desirable.

Thinking about Emma Ruth, she looked Alex with another fresh perspective. “Sorry you didn’t get to kiss my sister.”

His eyes squinted quizzically. “Who?”

“The girl ahead of me in line.”

His puzzled expression didn’t change.

“The girl you almost kissed right before I came in.” Her exasperation finally elicited a nod of understanding.

“Oh, right. Her.” His lack of enthusiasm over missing out on kissing Emma Ruth ratcheted him up a notch in her estimation. It was the first such reaction from any of the male species regarding her leggy blonde sister.

He gazed into her eyes. “I’d much rather kiss you.”

“Really?”

He grinned displaying his dimples again and Lizzie swore she heard music. Sultry tones meant to seduce. Not taking her eyes from his, she figured the music was coming from the party. She stared, unable to think of anything to say. For the first time since foolishly wanting to kiss Billy Ford in seventh grade, Lizzie wanted to lock lips with someone.

She shoved away her distant and horrible first kiss memory and concentrated on Alex’s sensuous engaging eyes. The lively world around her faded into the background as her pounding heart took center stage.

Something inexplicable came over her. Something carnal. She wanted to kiss Alex. She rarely sought kisses because of the continual disappointment they wrought.

Before the urge receded, Lizzie slipped her arms around his neck and pulled his head closer. She licked her lips quickly, closed her eyes and pressed her mouth to Alex’s before she changed her mind.

Electric sensation zipped across the lower half of her face as the barest of connection transpired between them. Alex groaned into her mouth. The vibration drilled down through the core of her body. Her tongue darted out for a taste.

Alex reacted immediately and crushed her to his chest in a tight embrace. Lizzie pushed her body even closer into his and seconds later a weightless feeling came over her. But apparently that was because she caused Alex to lose his balance when her exuberant embrace knocked him off his feet. The funny thing was the lurch didn’t cause their lips to part at first. Together they stumbled into a half open coat closet door finally jarring their mouths apart to keep their footing.

Lizzie, still awestruck over the sizzling kiss, stared with rapt attention, barely noticing the small walk-in space with coats shoved everywhere. Alex’s gaze scorched a hole through her as they balanced, holding onto each other.

A single bulb burned overhead, shedding scant light down over their loose embrace. Lizzie didn’t care about the dark. Without taking her eyes off Alex, she closed the door. The click of the latch drowned out the sounds of the loud party and cocooned them in low light. The only other sound in the small space was their panting breaths.

Lizzie leaned into his frame, slung her arms around his neck and placed her lips millimeters from his. “Kiss me,” she whispered.

He didn’t hesitate. His mouth lowered to hers again. Lizzie closed her eyes, wishing for one more sizzling rocket ride.

~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt for Can't Say No

Wade grasped the handle, put one foot on the step, and in the very act of climbing into his carriage he froze.

It wasn’t empty.

“Please don’t say or do anything so anyone knows I’m here.”

The soft entreaty was almost as puzzling as finding the vehicle occupied. He certainly arrived alone. Moreover his visitor was a woman, though in the gloom it was difficult to see exactly who she might be. Not sure what to do except honor her request, and admittedly curious, he did as she asked and simply climbed in.

Bloody hell, now what?

“Thank you.” She sat primly on the seat, her hands folded in her lap, a dark cloak draped around her slender shoulders. As his eyes adjusted to the gloom, he recognized her with a small glimmer of surprise. Even in the uncertain light there was no mistaking the signature pale gleam of her hair or her strikingly beautiful features. In the same soft tone, she asked, “Where can we go?”

Nonplussed, as he didn’t really know her other than one brief introduction months ago, he found himself at a loss for words momentarily. “I beg your pardon?”

The young daughter of the Earl of Charbeau, the reigning beauty of the haute ton, recently engaged to one of the wealthiest peers in England, explained in a matter of fact tone. “I guess I should have clarified my question. Where can we go that is completely private?”

They were already in motion, his driver apparently unaware he had company.

The word private and this young woman set off an entire chorus of alarm bells ringing. “I am quite sure I do not understand, for which, I think, you cannot blame me, Lady Helen. We are barely acquainted, it is late, you have no chaperone—”

“A chaperone would spoil the whole thing. I want you, in fact, to ruin me.”

Wade stared at her incredulously, not sure he wasn’t having some odd hallucination. “What?”

“Don’t worry, no one will ever know it was you. I just need someone to…well…bed me. I was certain you would know someplace discreet where we wouldn’t be seen together.”

He’d certainly been propositioned before, but not with such bluntness, and at least he usually had more than a passing acquaintance with the woman. He knew Helen Richmond even less than he did Lady Taylor. Wade lifted his brows and studied her lovely face in the dim light. “Let me clarify this. You wish to be ruined? It seems to me your future husband might take exception.”

“Exactly. If he knows I am no longer a virgin, you can be sure he won’t want me any longer. No one is more pompous and arrogant than the Duke of Resdale. Surely you know him.”

Finally a glimmer of light shone in the befuddling situation. Wade lounged back and rubbed his jaw. “Yes,” he admitted, not caring much for the man himself. In his opinion the adjectives applied quite well though the handsome duke was both popular and considered very charming by most of society. The exception apparently sat right in front of him and unfortunately it was Resdale’s betrothed. “It seems to me your approach to this is a bit drastic, my lady. Why not sever your engagement by simply calling it off?”

She decisively shook her blonde head, a silky curl brushing her slender neck. “You must understand, sir, as surely as the betrothal was forced on me, so would be the marriage. My father’s family is very close to the duke’s family, the Westerlands. The idea of the marriage has existed since the day I was born, and the whole situation is made worse by the fact Frederick has an apparent penchant for me. On my part, I think he is boorish and spoiled. In front of my parents, of course, he is charming and attentive, but beneath the polished public surface, he is completely different. No, I will do anything to make sure he is the one who decides against it.”

There wasn’t much doubting her conviction. Wade gave a small sardonic smile. “May I ask, pray tell, why was I selected for this honor?”

Actually, he didn’t really need to ask, damn Jason and James to perdition. Just because his older twin brothers were considered two of the most notorious rakes in all of Britain, he somehow had the same reputation. No one seemed to notice he did not pursue every attractive female in sight. In fact, he disapproved of their iniquitous lifestyles for the most part and shunned the idea of a retinue of different females constantly in his bed. He believed in feeling a genuine passion for a woman before becoming intimately involved, not merely passing lust.

For the first time, the very lovely Miss Richmond looked other than completely self-possessed. Her long lashes lowered a fraction. Under the cloak she wore a low-cut fashionable ball gown and he saw the upper curves of her ivory breasts quiver as she took a breath. “First, I chose you because of my mother.”

“Your mother?” He stifled a mirthless laugh. “This just becomes more interesting by the moment. I am perishing to know the segue between your mother, myself, and your determination to thwart Resdale’s passion for you.”

The Link:
The Sins of Their Fathers at Siren

Enjoy.
L