The Lady’s Rogue: A Fake Marriage Historical Romance by C.K. Mackenzie is a Historical Fiction/Romance Event pick #regency #historicalromance #giveaway

Title: The Lady’s Rogue: A Fake Marriage Historical Romance

Author: C.K. Mackenzie

Genre: Regency Romance

Book Blurb:

He’s no prince charming. She’s no damsel in distress.

Yara Conrad might not have been accepted into the Royal Veterinary School, but she knew her worth. Undeterred from living the life she wanted, she picked up her faithful dog, convinced her mother to chaperon her, and headed to Brighton. It wasn’t for the waters, rather a clandestine mission for the Crown. She hadn’t expected a handsome stranger to stop the fake kidnapping she orchestrated.

Scandal had finally caught up with Alexander von Stein. Furious with the whole situation, but mostly himself, he escaped to Brighton. Scandal he could handle, his own grief, not so much. When a gang of kidnappers threaten a young lady, alone in an alleyway, he intervenes—he could use a good brawl.

Yara didn’t need saving. And Alec certainly isn’t looking for an attachment. He’s searching for redemption. Except Yara isn’t at all what he expects. The longer he spends with her, the more Alec realizes perhaps life isn’t all about running blockades and spending his profits. After all, fate has a way of interfering just when he least expects it.

Until Yara’s simple courier assignment isn’t so simple and they’re both in danger. Evade the man trying to murder her? Easy. Stop her heart from falling for Alec? It's already a losing battle.

Excerpt:

“You’re going to be late.” Godred sighed, a deep sound of exasperation.

Alec ignored Godred’s harping—the bloody man was good at it—and returned to the pile of letters he’d ignored for weeks. He still ignored them, but they were a good excuse for also ignoring Godred.

He’d visited Sholot’s again yesterday and spent far too much time exorcising demons that would never be fully exorcised. Then he’d finally visited his own horse, Alastor, who was not thrilled at the visit. But then, Alec had ignored him for months.

It took some time, and several apples, a good rubdown, and a promise to never ignore him again, but in the end, Alastor seemed happy enough. Happier still at the ride.

None of which sorted out his thoughts on the lovely, vivacious, and engaging Yara Conrad. Promising her things he could easily deliver was one thing. Horse races, seeing his stables in London—all easily deliverable, with no strings attached. No promises beyond the moment.

“You promised Miss Conrad you’d take her to the races. It’s finally a beautiful day, and you’re inside.” He made a disgusted, guttural noise in the back of his throat. “Bah. Seeing to correspondence you haven’t bothered with in weeks.”

Godred snatched the letter Alec held but didn’t bother focusing on. “It’s upside down,” he snapped.

Alec scowled at him and went back to ignoring both Godred and his pile of correspondence.

He wanted her. Wanted to taste the smile on her lips and feel her passion explode beneath his fingers. In his mind’s eye, he all too easily envisioned her in his bed. Her tightly bound dark hair spilling over the pillows, her breasts flushed from his mouth, her body arching up for more—

Idiot.

That’s what he was. A damned fool for wanting any of that. He had nothing to offer her beyond indulging their shared enjoyment of horses. No marriage, no future. Not even that night of passion he craved so badly he thought he could taste her. Anything less only insulted her, but he had no more on offer.

“Stop dawdling.”

“These are important,” Alec insisted, keeping tight rein on his temper.

To what extent? What happened next?

In the days since walking the beach with her, he’d thought about his reasons. This wasn’t a courtship, yet escorting her to the races certainly made it seem that way. What did he want? Other than to forget his mistakes.

Alec snorted. He didn’t deserve silence or Yara Conrad. She deserved better. Deserved a man who offered her everything.

“More important than escorting the lovely Miss Conrad?” Godred snorted. “You’re mad.”

Yes. Yes, he was. Mad for wanting her in the first place. “I don’t want her thinking this is more than a simple trip to the races.”

Alec stood, stretching well-used muscles that now ached with his exercise. It didn’t help. That same tension that crowded his mind had returned the moment he’d left Yara’s presence. The screaming nightmares, the suffocating pressure of memory.

“What is it then?” Godred’s tone softened, curious now rather than tetchy. “Why agree if you don’t want more?”

“More?” Alec bit out a sharp sound that fell woefully short of a laugh. “What more can I offer her?”

“Alec.” His friend—his only friend and confidant—sighed. “Do you know why I stayed?”

He jerked his head around and stared at Godred. Godred’s eyes, a vibrant, crystal-clear blue, held his own with such concern, Alec wanted to punch something. His composure was hanging on by a thread.

“A lifelong desire to annoy and pester me?” The words came out harsher than Alec intended, scraping his throat, which closed around an emotion he’d rather not name.

“Besides that.” Godred didn’t grin, which didn’t bode well for Alec’s composure. “I stayed because you’re destroying yourself. Whatever it is about Miss Conrad, she makes you smile.” He held up a hand and scowled. “You’re late for your engagement.”

“It’s not an engagement,” Alec snarled, latching on to the easiest part of that sentence.

“Rendezvous? Assignation?” Godred winked. “Tryst?”

Before Alec realized it, he’d taken Godred—his only true friend—by the lapels of his coat and hauled him up against the wall. “Do not talk of Miss Conrad like that.”

“I won’t talk about her like that,” Godred said seriously. “But perhaps you should think about why you’re meeting with her. Are you stringing her along? A little diversion from all that’s happened?”

“She is not a diversion,” Alec ground out.

Alec dropped Godred and turned. The man brushed off his coat with an unconcerned flick of his fingers. A good two stone lighter than he, Godred couldn’t best him in a fight. Not a fair one, anyway, but he was lean and fast. Mean, too. Alec had only managed the upper hand now because—well, hell. Because Godred proved his point.

Damn the man.

“Before it goes any farther, perhaps you should think about it. Miss Conrad is a lovely woman.”

Confused, Alec frowned. “She is, but you don’t even know her. What makes you say that?”

Godred shrugged, his gaze level. “Any woman who keeps you on your toes is lovely.”

Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C7PF5TJG

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176526772-the-lady-s-rogue

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/c-k-mackenzie

What makes your featured book a must-read?

Yara Conrad is determined to live her own life, no matter what society dictates. Alec von Stein is determined to hide away from the life he used to lead and the mistakes he made. Fate has other ideas and their journey across southern England shows them just how compatible they truly are.

Giveaway –

Enter to win a $40 Amazon gift card:

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/92db7750259

Open Internationally.

Runs March 21 – April 2, 2024.

Winner will be drawn on April 3, 2024.

Author Biography:

Regency Romance author-corgi mom-librarian. Dreaming of when I can walk the beach any time I want.

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