Once She Was Tempted
Page 31
Even so, I distinctly remember the sinking feeling, the dread of knowing that my deep dark secret could be exposed at any moment. If you’ve ever had a little indiscretion that you just can’t seem to outrun (and who hasn’t?), you know how it weighs on you. It can be almost paralyzing.
In ONCE SHE WAS TEMPTED, Miss Daphne Honeycote has such a secret. Actually, she has two of them—a pair of scandalous portraits. She posed for them when she was poor and in dire need of money for her sick mother. But after her mother recovers and Daphne’s circumstances improve considerably, the shocking portraits come back to haunt her, threatening to ruin her reputation, her friendships, and her family’s good name.
Much to Daphne’s horror, Benjamin Elliott, the Earl of Foxburn, possesses one of the paintings—and therefore, the power to destroy her. But he also has the means to help her discover the whereabouts of the second portrait before its unscrupulous owner can make it public. Daphne must decide whether to trust the brooding earl. But even if she does, he can’t fully protect her—it’s ultimately up to Daphne to come to terms with her scandalous past. Just as we all eventually must.
In the meantime, I suggest seating your siblings on the opposite end of the Thanksgiving table from Grandma.
Happy reading,
From the desk of Mimi Jean Pamfiloff
Dear Reader,
After living a life filled with nothing but bizarre, Emma Keane just wants normal. Husband, picket fence, vegetable garden, and a voice-free head. Normal. And Mr. Voice happens to agree. He’d like nothing more than to be free from the stubborn, spiteful, spoiled girl he’s spent the last twenty-two years listening to day and night. Unfortunately for him, however, escaping his only companion in the universe won’t be so easy. You see, there’s a damned good reason Emma is the only one who can hear him—though he’s not spilling the beans just yet—and there’s a damned bad reason he can’t leave Emma: He’s imprisoned. And to be set free, Mr. Voice is going to have to convince Emma to travel from New York City to the darkest corner of Mexico’s most dangerous jungle.
But not only will the perilous journey help Emma become the brave woman she’s destined to be, it will also be the single most trying challenge Mr. Voice has ever had to face. In his seventy thousand years, he’s never met a mortal he can’t live without. Until now. Too bad she’s going to die helping him. What’s an ancient god to do?
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Acclaim for when she was Wicked
A Preview of Scandalous Summer Nights
The Dish: Where Authors Give You the Inside Scoop
Newsletters
Copyright
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2013 by Anne Barton
Excerpt from Scandalous Summer Nights copyright © 2013 by Anne Barton
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: October 2013
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ISBN 978-1-4555-1329-1