A Rake by Midnight

A Rake by Midnight
Gail Ranstrom

Indulge your fantasies of delicious Regency Rakes, fierce Viking warriors and rugged Highlanders. Be swept away into a world of intense passion, lavish settings and romance that burns brightly through the centuriesA short conversation with Gail Ranstrom will convince readers that she should have written a book titled "Jobs I Have Had. " Before taking up the pen, her work experience ran the gamut from a seamstress making waitress uniforms for a German beer garden, to inventory clerk at the University of Montana where she was attacked by a chimpanzee, stepped on dead lab rats in dark basements and located missing satellite spy cameras in–oh, wait, that's classified–to advertising coordinator and PR writer.Most recently Gail was a commercial property manager in the Los Angeles area, troubleshooting incidents as wide ranging as having a SWAT team surrounding one of her buildings, a naked men in the ladies' restroom and rattlesnakes coiled in front of tenants' doors. In between, she partnered with a good friend in an antique business. Don't even get her started on her experiences at antique auctions!She enjoys traveling frequently to see her children in Montana and Florida and to visit friends and a brother in London. As an unabashed Anglophile, she says she could easily spend months in the Cotswolds, an entire summer in Scotland or a year in London. Sometimes that "other Eden" feels more like home to her than her real home.Gail writes historical romance fiction because she loses herself in the past more completely than she can in the present or future. Combine that with her lifelong love of words and reading, the desire to entertain and the fact that she's too shy to do stand-up comedy, and what was left?To aid her in writing romance fiction, she credits fabulous friendships with remarkable women, from family and bridge clubs to work mates and writers' groups. They are the models for her heroines: strong, intelligent and beautiful, while still managing to be caring and vulnerable and very human. Gail says that it is their strength of character and grace under fire that have been her inspiration. And every hero must be a man worthy of them.Readers can contact Gail at GailRanstrom@cs. com.

“I don’t give a fig where you think I should go!” she exclaimed.

“Don’t you see the danger? Don’t you know what the mere sight of you does to a man?”

She opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but it was too late. His left arm went around her to hold her captive while his right hand cupped the back of her head, preventing her from turning away.

His mouth came down on hers with desperation she could feel in every line of his body. His lips were challenging, not punishing. They were firm, warm and tinged with sweet wine. She had never felt anything as exciting as this before and she was dizzy with the heady sensation.

Surer now, more confident, he softened his assault to coax an answering moan from her. She scarcely recognized her own voice in that sigh. Encouraged, he deepened the kiss and Gina knew she was being branded, claimed, owned entirely by this man. Only James Hunter could have robbed her of the will to resist.

Heavenly and wicked at the same time.

A Rake by Midnight

Harlequin

Historical #1013—October 2010

Author’s Note

As I near the end of the Hunter brothers’ stories, I have been asked by readers what I have planned for the future. That’s a difficult question to answer. By the time I finish one book, the next character is usually whispering in my ear, telling me a story that I just have to write. So when I finished A Rake by Midnight, Charles Hunter was telling me about this woman he knew, who… Well, you get the idea. And now that I’m nearing the end of that story, a new voice is calling my name. He inhabits the same world of Regency Noir, but he is reluctant to make a comment so early on. Very hush-hush, you know. Clandestine operations, and all that. Please check in for updates!

Meantime, I hope you enjoy A Rake by Midnight.

With affection and gratitude to my readers, who have embraced my characters and the world they inhabit.

A Rake by Midnight

Gail Ranstrom

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

Available from Harlequin

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Praise for

Gail Ranstrom

Lord Libertine

“[T]his dark tale…neatly juxtaposes the seamier side of the Regency period with the glittering superficiality of ‘polite society’…a good choice for the Halloween season.”

—Library Journal

The Courtesan’s Courtship

“This book should not be missed.”

—Rakehell

The Rake’s Revenge

“Ranstrom crafts an intriguing mystery, brimming with a fine cast of strong and likable characters and a few surprises.”

—RT Book Reviews

The Missing Heir

“Ranstrom draws us into this suspenseful tale right up to the very end.”

—RT Book Reviews

Contents