The Countess Misbehaves
Nan Ryan
She was a proper ladyAs the mighty ocean liner sank to its watery grave, two strangers bold savored their final moments by making passionate love. Matching the raging hurricane outside with her own white-hot abandon, Countess Madeleine Cavendish willingly surrendered herself to the devilishly handsome Creole rogue–never dreaming of a fate worse than death. Never dreaming she'd survive.Except in his armsNow, amidst the glitter of New Orleans society, reunited with her oh-so-proper fiancé, Madeleine tried to forget the lover who awoke her to temptation. But trying to forget a man like Armand de Chevalier is impossible. Especially since he, too, survived and is seizing every opportunity to remind her of their shared desire.But as a treacherous web of deceit closes around her, Madeleine must turn to the one man she swore never to acknowledge again, daring to surrender to a passion that could shatter her world–or bring her its sweetest bliss…
He had kept her garter all this time.
“I know what that is on your upper arm!” Madeleine hotly accused. Armand de Chevalier smiled, said nothing. “How dare you wear my garter for all the world to see!” she raged.
“Now, Maddie, no one but you and I know that it’s your garter.”
Unconvinced, she charged, “You are bent on ruining my life simply because I…because we…”
“Made memorable love in a summer’s storm?” He softly finished her sentence.
“Shhh!” she hissed. “Give that garter back to me!”
“Can’t do that,” he said, lifting then lowering his wide shoulders. “It’s my good luck charm. Besides, it’s all I have of you.”
“It’s all you’ll ever have of me, de Chevalier!”
“Ah, you’re wrong there, Maddie,” he said with irritating cockiness. “You know you are.” A sudden warmth radiated from his eyes when he added, “One day we’ll be together again.”
Countess Madeleine Cavendish swallowed with difficulty. Then she narrowed her eyes and promised him in a soft, acid-laced voice, “You’re the one who’s wrong, Creole. That day will never come!”
“Yes, it will, chérie.” He smiled seductively and predicted, “Perhaps sooner than you think.”
Nan Ryan “writes beautifully. Her style, plotting and characterizations are skillfully developed.”
—Wichita Falls Times Record
Also available from MIRA Books and NAN RYAN
WANTING YOU
The Countess Misbehaves
Nan Ryan
www.mirabooks.co.uk (http://www.mirabooks.co.uk)
For
Katonna Smothermon
A super talented lady, a beautiful woman, an excellent mother and a treasured friend.
Contents
Chapter One (#ud12249c4-af24-5500-97ee-9237897b06b0)
Chapter Two (#uba04db23-3ea0-537d-9c9c-1815dd6d9fdd)
Chapter Three (#u8c4269ce-871d-5ff2-886c-aa7f71716df2)
Chapter Four (#uc5c7c1d6-1caf-5c67-8904-f683ddfa0ecc)
Chapter Five (#ubef66033-d5f0-5581-b34d-a5b494e2fd31)
Chapter Six (#uaff82e2d-5c44-5e58-aab7-c7c3530656b1)
Chapter Seven (#ua6c6b9d0-d1ab-5981-8e29-7fa465097152)
Chapter Eight (#uac79559f-49bc-57a0-aabb-eb768a80741c)
Chapter Nine (#u089fd5e3-3e91-50a0-a339-cac66b050f79)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Six (#litres_trial_promo)