Surrender: A House of Sin Novella (1001 Dark Nights #81)
by Elisabeth Naughton
Kindle Edition, 120 pages
Published June 12th 2018 by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
ASINB0778G654S
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Elisabeth Naughton comes a new story in her House of Sin series…
The leaders of my House want her dead.
The men I’ve secretly aligned myself with want her punished for screwing up their coup.
I’ve been sent by both to deal with her, but one look at the feisty redhead and I’ve got plans of my own.
Before I carry out anyone else’s orders, she’s going to give me what I want. And only when I’m satisfied will I decide if she lives or dies.
Depending, of course, on just how easily she surrenders...
Excerpt:
She was temptation personified. Everything I was not supposed to be enticed by. And yet, one look at her pale skin, blond hair, and deep brown eyes behind that butterfly mask, and I knew I had to have her.
Not just because she was my target. Oh, this yearning had nothing to do with that. As I studied her across the ballroom in the skimpy black dress that showed off her tiny waist, voluptuous chest, and shapely ass, a fire built inside me, one that burned hotter and stronger than the reason I was here.
She was the sexiest thing I’d seen in all my thirty years, even with that ridiculous wig and those fake contacts. And before this night was over, I was going to feel those sexy legs wrap around my waist and draw me in. I would hear her scream my name as she surrendered to me...even if the name she screamed wasn’t really mine.
I crossed the black and white checked floor toward her, unable to stay still by the column where I’d been watching the masquerade party in the shadows for the last hour. The room was filled with wealthy men and the women they preyed upon, all hiding their identities as they met up, paired off, disappearing to the lower levels of the mansion for whatever debauched activities they could imagine. I was already considering which room I would take her to. Would hers be a high-pitched scream? The kind that threatened to shatter glass? Or a low, throaty sound that vibrated through every cell in my body and triggered my own release?
My mission where she was concerned was obvious. She was the eldest child of the head of House Merrick, centered in the U.K., one of the five main Houses spread across Europe that made up the Entente. The other Houses were in Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. For over a thousand years, the Entente had been controlling the world from the shadows—manipulating world governments, militaries, even currencies and economies all for their gain. Most people didn’t know they existed. Those that suspected something nefarious was going on behind the scenes were labeled conspiracy nuts. This woman, though, was making waves for the Entente without her father’s knowledge. She was part of what had been labeled the Resistance—those working to undermine the Entente and destroy its power. And my House—House Salvatici in Italy—wanted her stopped before she ruined everything.
She was temptation personified. Everything I was not supposed to be enticed by. And yet, one look at her pale skin, blond hair, and deep brown eyes behind that butterfly mask, and I knew I had to have her.
Not just because she was my target. Oh, this yearning had nothing to do with that. As I studied her across the ballroom in the skimpy black dress that showed off her tiny waist, voluptuous chest, and shapely ass, a fire built inside me, one that burned hotter and stronger than the reason I was here.
She was the sexiest thing I’d seen in all my thirty years, even with that ridiculous wig and those fake contacts. And before this night was over, I was going to feel those sexy legs wrap around my waist and draw me in. I would hear her scream my name as she surrendered to me...even if the name she screamed wasn’t really mine.
I crossed the black and white checked floor toward her, unable to stay still by the column where I’d been watching the masquerade party in the shadows for the last hour. The room was filled with wealthy men and the women they preyed upon, all hiding their identities as they met up, paired off, disappearing to the lower levels of the mansion for whatever debauched activities they could imagine. I was already considering which room I would take her to. Would hers be a high-pitched scream? The kind that threatened to shatter glass? Or a low, throaty sound that vibrated through every cell in my body and triggered my own release?
My mission where she was concerned was obvious. She was the eldest child of the head of House Merrick, centered in the U.K., one of the five main Houses spread across Europe that made up the Entente. The other Houses were in Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. For over a thousand years, the Entente had been controlling the world from the shadows—manipulating world governments, militaries, even currencies and economies all for their gain. Most people didn’t know they existed. Those that suspected something nefarious was going on behind the scenes were labeled conspiracy nuts. This woman, though, was making waves for the Entente without her father’s knowledge. She was part of what had been labeled the Resistance—those working to undermine the Entente and destroy its power. And my House—House Salvatici in Italy—wanted her stopped before she ruined everything.
Books in House of Sin
ABOUT ELISABETH NAUGHTON:
Elisabeth Naughton is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. From Elisabeth: “I was never one of those people who knew they wanted to be an author at the age of six. I didn’t have imaginary friends. I didn’t write stories in my journal or entertain my relatives by firelight after Thanksgiving dinner. For the most part, I was just a normal, everyday kid. I liked to read, but I wasn’t exceptional at it. And when my teachers complimented me on my writing abilities, I brushed them off. I did, however, always have a penchant for the unique and absurd. And as my mother told me all throughout my childhood, I should have been an actress—I was a drama queen before my time.
“Years ago, my husband bought me Scarlett: The Sequel to Gone With The Wind. If you ever saw the book, you know it’s a long one. I sat and read that thing from cover to cover, and dreamed of one day being a writer. But I didn’t actually try my hand at writing until years later when I quit my teaching job to stay home with my kids. And my husband? After that week of reading where I neglected him and everything else until I finished Scarlett, he vowed never to buy me another book again. Little did he know I’d one day end up sitting at a keyboard all day drafting my own stories.
“My writing journey has not been easy. I didn’t just sit down one day, decide I was going to write a book and voila! sell my very first attempt. As most authors will probably agree, the path to publication is filled with hours of work, pulling all-nighters I thought I’d given up in college, sacrifices, rejections, but a love I discovered along the way I just can’t live without. Instead of a big, thick book to read by lamplight (I do read much smaller ones when I get the chance), I’ve traded in my reading obsession for a laptop. And I’ve never been happier.
“I’m one of the lucky ones. I have a wonderful family and fabulous husband who put up with my writing—and obsessive personality—even when life is chaotic. More than once my kids have been late to swimming or baseball because I needed just five more minutes to finish a scene. Their support and encouragement mean the world to me. I also have amazing friends and a support network I couldn’t survive without. So to all of you out there who have encouraged me along the way, sent me emails and fan letters, phone calls and congratulations, I just want to say, thank you. You make this whole writing gig that much more enjoyable. I truly wouldn’t be here without you.”
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