One Illicit Night

One Illicit Night
Sophia James

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 centuriesThey’ll always have Paris… After one uncharacteristically wicked night, the once reckless Eleanor Bracewell-Lowen now leads a safe and prudent life. On his return to London’s high society, Lord Cristo Wellingham looks different from the man she knew so briefly in Paris, but he is still as magnetic…In his cold amber eyes Eleanor detects something she has seen mirrored in her own – longing. His touch invites passion, but this is a man who could destroy her good name with just one glance…

Praise

Praise for Sophia James

HIGH SEAS TO HIGH SOCIETY

‘James weaves her spell, captivating readers with wit and wisdom, and cleverly combining humour and poignancy with a master’s touch in this feel-good love story.’

—RT Book Reviews

MASQUERADING MISTRESS

‘Bold and tantalising, plotted like a mystery and slowly exposing each layer of the multi-dimensional plot and every character’s motivations, James’ novel is a page-turner.’

—RT Book Reviews

KNIGHT OF GRACE

‘With its engaging, complex characters and complicated situations, James’ latest is a powerfully emotional story centring on a physically scarred heroine, an emotionally wounded hero and an unexpected love.’

—RT Book Reviews

ASHBLANE’S LADY

‘An excellent tale of love, this book is more than a romance; it pulls at the heartstrings and makes you wish the story wouldn’t end.’

—RT Book Reviews

‘Touch me and tell me that there is nothing at all left between us.’

Eleanor held her fists tight against her skirt. ‘The pull of flesh is only a fleeting thing. Honour and trust and duty are the tenets that a sensible woman lives by.’

‘And you are sensible?’

‘Very.’ The word was as forceful as she could make it, moulded by her depth of fear.

Unexpectedly Cristo smiled and took three steps back. ‘Logic and reason run a poor second to the heat of passion. Should you relax your guard for a moment, the truth of all you deny might be a revelation to you.’

Pursing her lips, she allowed him no leeway. ‘My life has changed completely since Paris, and I am a woman who learns well from her mistakes.’

‘Mistakes?’ He echoed the word, turning it on his tongue as if trying to understand the very nature of its meaning before finding a retort. ‘I have relegated our night together to neither blunder nor error. Indeed, I might have chanced something entirely different.’

AUTHOR NOTE

The Wellingham brothers rule Society with their wealth, titles and intellect.

You met Asher, the Duke of Carisbrook, in HIGH SEAS TO HIGH SOCIETY, and Lord Taris Wellingham in ONE UNASHAMED NIGHT.

Now it’s Cristo’s turn—the youngest brother and the most mysterious.

Returning to London after many lonely years in Paris, Cristo Wellingham, the Comte de Caviglione, meets the one woman he never expected to see again—a woman ruined by the dark secrets in his past.

About the Author

SOPHIA JAMES lives in Chelsea Bay on Auckland New Zealand’s North Shore, with her husband, who is an artist, and her three children. She spends her morning teaching adults English at the local Migrant School, and writes in the afternoon. Sophia has a degree in English and History from Auckland University, and believes her love of writing was formed reading Georgette Heyer with her twin sister at her grandmother’s house.

Previous novels by the same author:

FALLEN ANGEL

ASHBLANE’S LADY

HIGH SEAS TO HIGH SOCIETY

MASQUERADING MISTRESS

KNIGHT OF GRACE

(published as THE BORDER LORD

in North America)

MISTLETOE MAGIC

(part of Christmas Betrothals) ONE UNASHAMED NIGHT

ONE ILLICIT NIGHT

features characters you will have met in

HIGH SEAS TO HIGH SOCIETY and

ONE UNASHAMED NIGHT.

ONE ILLICIT NIGHT

Sophia James

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

This book is dedicated to Frances Housden and Barbara Clendon for their help with my writing.

Chapter One

Château Giraudon, Montmarte, Paris—early November 1825