Regency romantic suspense
Tag
A Code of Honor now on audio
A Code of Honor, book 6 in my Regency romantic suspense series, the Code Breakers, is now available on audio. Narrated by Pearl Hewitt, the story becomes a whole new experience to enjoy!
If you are new to audiobooks, you can sign up for a free trial of Audible and select A Code of Honor as one of your free choices to get started.
Enter the emotional, suspenseful Regency world of USA Today best-selling author Jacki Delecki’s Code Breakers spy series. Undaunted by danger or scandal, these intrepid lords and ladies discover true love as they risk it all to save England from Napoleon’s treacherous designs.
Duty before desire…honor before truth.
Miss Abigail Lyon wants an education, not a husband. A respectable match would redeem her family’s besmirched reputation from her sister’s scandalous elopement, although surely none of the ton’s eligible bachelors count curiosity as a desirable trait in a wife. Abbie finds herself confronting an offer that may be too good to be true.
Jack Bonnington is a rake turned spy, recruited by the Crown to ferret out a traitor. To provide a cover for his clandestine mission, he must pursue the very brilliant and beautiful Miss Abigail. The ruse takes a dangerous turn when they discover their secret is at risk of being exposed. Is the heightened passion a pretense or a prelude to something more dangerous? Can a man bound by honor to his country and a woman ensnared by duty to her family accomplish an impossible mission that gives them the freedom to love and live as they choose?
Available on Audible and Amazon Audio.
Click here to listen to a sample.
Quite an Adventure ~ Excerpt from 'A Code of Wonder'
“You’ve had quite an adventure for a country miss.”
She squeezed Derrick’s immense arm and looked into his familiar comforting eyes. “Will there be a scandal? I just couldn’t bear to bring any more pain to my mother. She’s suffered badly after our banishment in the country… all because of the cruelty of my father.”
“No. Wessex is a gentleman. He can be trusted to reveal nothing.”
“And I won’t be forced to marry him? Won’t I be ruined if anyone finds out about Lord Wessex undressing me?”
Derrick paused on the landing.
“Did more happen between you and Wessex…? Did he…?”
To hear the brave man, viewed as invincible, stammer, made her smile for the first time in a while. The blush spreading across his cheeks was so out of character.
“Only that he kissed me.” She tried to sound nonchalant as if being kissed by a virile and handsome naked man was a routine occurrence in her life. “I can’t fault his desire since I believe any man near a naked woman might attempt liberties. And he did explain that he was only trying to wake me.” She would never forget how tenderly he’d treated her. The way he’d cupped her face between his big rough hands. His lips had been soft and warm, causing heady and unfamiliar sensations.
A Code of Wonder is part of the Regency holiday anthology, Snowed in with a Rogue.
You can read A Code of Wonder and six other romantic stories for just $0.99.
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA
An Unexpected Pleasure ~ Excerpt from 'A Code of Love'
Cord stepped into the hallway. “Lady Henrietta, what a pleasure to welcome you to Rathbourne House.”
She stood abruptly. By the astonished expression on her face, she hadn’t expected to see him. “My lord…” she mumbled, looking down at the floor. She fingered a necklace hidden under her pelisse, an anxious gesture, he was coming to recognize. “I’ve come to see your aunt.” Her chin went up in defiance.
He knew nothing of her friendship with his aunt. He glanced behind her to see if her maid accompanied her. She was alone.
She didn’t offer any further explanation but bit on her lower lip.
A very sensual lower lip, now that she had called attention to it. He found himself riveted to the pink plump lower lip. “My aunt is out on her social calls with Gwyneth. May I assist you?”
It didn’t matter what brought her here today. He wasn’t going to let her leave until he had time to probe the mystery of her unaccompanied appearance.
She stood motionless.
The air filled with expectation.
“Is your need to see my aunt concerning your uncle? I know they’re close acquaintances.”
It was hard to imagine that her large green eyes could get any larger, but they seemed to grow.
“What do you know of my uncle?” Her strident voice and stiffened stance challenged him. She was absolutely compelling with her fiercely determined eyes.
“I don’t believe I’ve yet had the honor of meeting the gentleman.”
She studied him, weighing his answer.
“I’m trying to understand what would cause you to arrive at Rathbourne House, seeking word with my aunt.”
“My visit is of a private nature.”
His impulse was to take her into his arms and console her about whatever problems she faced, to kiss away the anxiety furrowing her forehead. “May I offer you tea while we wait for my aunt?” He gestured with his hand to the marble staircase, which wound grandly up to the second floor.
A Code of Love
The Foolish Man - Excerpt from 'A Code of the Heart'
Stunned by his abrupt manner, and his obvious rejection, Amelia stood in shock and watc
hed Derrick walk away. What a striking figure he cut in his formal clothes. In black and white, he looked formidable and aloof, and more appealing. But she knew his soft and caring side, and she would’ve chosen a waistcoat with spring colors of gold or green for him.
All the young debutantes and married women watched him make his way with his forceful stride across the crowded ballroom.
Her feelings were reeling. Why had he treated her so cold and distant? She had gotten use to his intense stares and his enticing smiles. He seemed to be both hurt and angry. Aunt Euphemia had referred to better times.
Whatever had distressed him, he showed no inclination to talk to her. And what had he said to her after Aunt Euphemia left? “Congratulations…” Awareness dawned. He had witnessed Michael and her together and concluded that she still cared about Michael. Was that the reason for his hasty departure and his rejection of her?
She needed to talk with him, explain that she was finally clear about her feelings for Michael. But how could she explain to the foolish man when he wasn’t going to listen? She had to find a way to make him listen. She also needed his help in rescuing Elodie.
She’d wait for a
break after his dance with Lady Rowley. Why had his aunt arranged for him to dance with the flirtatious widow? Derrick didn’t seem to mind the crude cut of the dress or the way her wobbly breasts jiggled. In fact, his eyes hadn’t left Lady Rowley’s very voluptuous bosom the entire time they danced.
Her face burned to watch his obvious attraction and the woman’s blatant flirtation. The lady had feigned ignorance of the turn in the dance, allowing herself to bump against him, so he had to catch her from stumbling, affording him a perfect view down her dress. Derrick smiled at the lady in appreciation. Jealousy and anger formed a molten mix of hurt.
Just then Derrick looked up at her, as if he knew she was blazing with jealousy. He gave her a cold smile, filled with a grim satisfaction. The look scalded her. Why was he angry with her? He was the one flaunting himself with Lady Rowley.
Excerpt: A Cantata of Love (Regency Romantic Suspense)
Research is one of the reasons I love writing Regency-era romantic suspense. Digging into history is fascinating and these factual events often inspire my plots. A Cantata of Love, book 4 in the Code Breakers series, features spies that use music to transmit secret messages. Here is an excerpt for you to enjoy.
About the Book
Napoleonic France is no place for an Englishman, especially Michael Harcourt, the Earl of Kendal, who is on a clandestine assignment for the Crown. Already injured and facing imminent discovery by Napoleon and Fouche’s men, Michael finds his escape made even more perilous when he is charged with the safety of a young boy who must be spirited out of Paris.
Desperate to escape the terrible fate that awaits her if she remains in France, Lady Gabrielle De Valmont must disguise herself as a boy and rely on the cunning of a virtual stranger—an Englishman, no less—to smuggle her out of the country. When the Earl’s injury becomes severely infected, rendering him gravely ill, Gabrielle realizes it is now up to her to save them both.
Excerpt – Prologue & Chapter One
1803
In the seaside town of Berck, France
Gabrielle De Valmont brushed back Lord Kendal’s blond curls and applied the wet cloth to his burning brow. His long, golden waves and eyelashes accentuated his fiery red cheekbones. In their days of hard travel from Paris, the earl’s gunshot wound had festered into a nasty infection.
At this moment, he rested. For days, when the fever spiked, he thrashed about, calling out about sending a code book to a woman named Henrietta.
Desperate to soothe him, Gabrielle discovered that he would calm with the French songs of her childhood.
They couldn’t hide much longer without being discovered by Napoleon’s or Fouché’s henchmen. When the earl’s condition had worsened to the point where he could no longer travel, Gabrielle had brought them, under cover of darkness, to her former mémé’s tiny village of Berck, south of Calais.
For eight long days and nights, she had cared for the feverish earl. Their presence in the tiny town couldn’t be kept secret much longer. They must leave Berck, and France, soon. But how could they flee with the French soldiers on high alert, inspecting every boat crossing the English Channel?
Monsieur Denby, Lord Kendal’s valet, had assured her that he had a plan to divert their attention.
Exhausted and despondent, she beseeched the Blessed Virgin for their safe escape and the earl’s recovery.
She also prayed that the earl would forgive her and Mother Therese for their deception. She had to believe that Lord Kendal would never abandon her to her terrible fate.
***
Michael Harcourt, the Earl of Kendal, woke to a soft voice and the delectable smell of a woman. She smelled like wildflowers. And her voice was soothing and sweet. Last night must have been one hell of a night of dissipation since he remembered nothing. But he had dreamed of his French mother crooning to him.
What was wrong with him? He had been in bed with a French woman, and he’d thought of his mother. His head ached as if horses had trampled over him. He tried to remember her name—Yvette? Or was it Mimi? He cracked open one lid. Big blue eyes the color of cornflowers stared down at him, and a lush, pink lower lip pouted. How could he have forgotten this angel’s name? Yvette. Definitely Yvette. “Yvette? Or maybe Mimi?”
He needed her again to refresh his memory. He raised his arms to pull her against him. He grabbed for her, but his arms felt weak. Thank God the rest of his body wasn’t that tired. She yelped when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her on top of him. “Yvette, darling. Don’t fight me. I need you.”
Yvette gasped and tightened against him. He rubbed himself against her slender body. Not his usual type, he noted. Clearly not an opera dancer by the slender frame. What had he drunk last night that he couldn’t remember this delectable handful?
“Let go of me,” she hissed.
He whispered against her soft, tender neck, kissing her ear. “Were you this feisty last night?”
“Let me go, you brute.” She shouted in his ear, causing his head to feel as if it were cracking wide open. She jumped back, tripping on the bedclothes and knocking the water canister from the side table. The loud crash reverberated in his head.
Women didn’t fight him. He was a generous lover. Was he overlooking something from last night?
Michael looked at the disheveled, bewitching woman glaring at him. Hair the color of honey sparkled in the morning sunlight, but her bright eyes were now dark and stormy.
Damn, damn. She looked far too innocent and way too marriageable. What had he gotten himself into?
He rearranged the bedding to hide the obvious, then lifted himself to the head of the bed.
The mademoiselle didn’t look so much offended as just plain pissing mad. Her eyes had narrowed, and she glowered at him—the look of a woman who might impale him with the fireplace poker. He had gotten into a lot of scrapes, but this wasn’t how he imagined finding a wife.
The door to his bedroom swung open, knocking against the wall. The pain behind his eyes pounding like a son of a…
Denby, his valet, stormed into the room, swearing under his breath. “What the hell? Are you alright, Mademoiselle Gabrielle?”
She gestured with her hands and spoke in rapid French to Denby. Had she just called him, the Earl of Kendal, a “stupid horse’s ass”?
Denby took the irate woman’s arm. “I’ll clean up the mess. Now that he’s awake, you should prepare yourself to leave. We’ve a long journey ahead of us.”
With no word of farewell, the Mademoiselle Gabrielle huffed and left the room.
Denby chuckled. “Barely awake and already causing problems.” He bent to pick up the water container. “It is good to see you back, my lord. You scared the hell out of me. If it weren’t for Mademoiselle Gabby’s nursing, I’m not sure…”
“I’ve been sick?” He did feel a bit weak after his tussle with the delectable young woman.
“You developed a fever right after we escaped from Paris.”
The memory of fleeing Paris and Fouché’s men brought him totally awake. “My last memory is leaving Paris dressed as a nun.”
Denby handed him a glass that had survived the mademoiselle’s spirited response. “You developed a fever from your gunshot wound, and we had to hide out here. This is where Mademoiselle Gabby’s nanny is from and the people helped us.”
Gabby. He didn’t have any recollection of Gabby when they left Paris. “How long have I been out? And who is Gabby?”
“I’m glad you’re ready to travel. I’ve got a bad feeling if we don’t get out of here soon, all of Fouché’s and Napoleon’s men are going to descend.”
He only remembered Denby, and the boy, Pierre, fleeing for their lives dressed as nuns. He had stolen the code book from Le Chiffre, and everyone in Paris seemed to be after him. He wondered if Henrietta had received the book.
“Any news from England? Do we know if Henrietta received the package?”
“I haven’t been able to make any contact. We’ve been in hiding. I’ve arranged for a boat from Calais. They’ve been waiting for a signal that you’re able to travel. We go tonight with the tide. I want to get us out of France. I can’t breathe here.”
“Did you shake the villain who was posted at my house in Paris too?”
“Yes, but we can’t stay here any longer. I’ll change the bandages and get you some breakfast. You’ll rest up before we make the trip. We have to go by horseback, and I hope it won’t open your wound.”
He suddenly was assailed with the ignominy of the location of his wound. He had been shot in the arse by an unknown assailant while fleeing after he had stolen the code book. The code book, literally, was a pain in his arse.
He sure hoped to hell it gave England a tactical advantage against the power-hungry Napoleon.
For more information or to keep reading, click HERE.