Marry Me, Marquis
By Misty Urban
Desperate to avoid being forced into marriage, Leo Westrop offers his hand to Miss Lillian Gower, hoping that her antiquarian parents might smooth the way for his own archaeological dig. Lillian, a skilled illustrator, agrees to protect Leo from marriage-minded mamas in return for his help with her own publication. She’s too practical to expect the heir to a marquess would want anything more from her—but Leo turns out to be better company than she expected.
When Lillian offers Leo assistance on his expedition, their shared attraction turns into a passion that consumes them both. But with his family set against their union, what happens to their staged betrothal when feelings become all too real?
Excerpt:
“Miss Gower?” he said, and her name rang like a bell through the room.
A screech echoed in Lillian’s ears, and she hoped it wasn’t her making such a sound. She swallowed the pastille, a sour path scorching through her insides.
“I beg your pardon?”
He held her gaze steadily, and she saw his desperation writ clear. He was begging.
“Would you do me the honor—the very great honor—of accepting my suit?”
She stood frozen as he moved toward her and the crowd parted, their wondering eyes moving from him to her and back again. It was a large room, but he’d crossed it before Lillian could connect two thoughts together. All that filled her vision was the plea in his eyes.
“I’ve surprised you, I know.” He reached her. He was quite tall. He lifted her hand, sticky with the sugar coating of the pastille, and placed a kiss on the back of her glove. The print of his mouth scorched like a cooking fire.
“Miss Gower. I would have chosen more discreet circumstances, but now we all must know your answer. Will you knit your life to mine and make me the happiest of men?”
It was a trick. She saw it now. The teeth of the man trap were descending about him, and he wanted to bring her between him and descending annihilation. He was drowning, and she held the rope that could save him.
He squeezed her fingers. His grip was tight, yet oddly, he did not hurt her. It was a trap. If she stepped into the noose with him, everything she wanted for her future might disappear.
And yet, with him holding her, she was certain she would be safe.
She could read his eyes. Trust me. Help me, his eyes said.
That was her lot, was it not? Lillian the helper. Lillian the soother. Lillian the calm and steady. Lillian, the eye of the storm, who sacrificed what she needed so another might have their wish.
“Very well.” The words emerged a whisper around the pinch in her mouth. The knot in her stomach might never unravel. “Yes, Mr. Westrop, I suppose I’ll marry you.”
Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Marry-Marquess-Ladies-Least-Likely-ebook/dp/B0DG31STYG/
Website: http://www.mistyurban.com
Elsewhere: https://linktr.ee/mistyurban
Meet Misty Urban
Misty Urban is a medieval scholar, freelance editor, and college professor who likes to write stories about misbehaving women who find adventure and romance. She lives in the Midwest in a little town on a big river, where she reads and writes in the company of one handsome park ranger, two young aspiring writers, and a rather heavy collection of books.