Sinful (St. John-Duras Series #1) by Susan Johnson

Product Details

Synopsis

He was the most profligate rogue in London, but Sinjin St. John, duke of Seth, had never met a lady who could bring him to his knees... until Chelsea Fergusson slipped into his carriage, begged him to grant one small favor - and forever changed his life!

He tried to act the gentleman with the delectable minx, but Chelsea needed the rake in him to save her from marriage to a man she didn't love. When she moved impulsively into his arms, desperate to persuade him to help her, Sinjin felt his pursuit of pleasure and his passion for his racing stables pale beside his sudden fierce longing to possess her.

Swept by sensation and an outrageous wager into unexpected ecstasy, Chelsea lost her heart to a man who vowed he'd never be trapped into marriage - not even for love. But undaunted by the challenge of seducing Sinjin into admitting he wanted her, Chelsea dared him to satisfy his hunger - all the while insisting she wanted no promise of always. Could a spirited vixen who trained and secretly raced thoroughbreds rein in the most eligible bachelor in England? Sweeping from London to North Africa, from horse races at Newmarket to the Highlands of Scotland, Sinful is Susan Johnson at her sizzling, sensual best!

Annotation

Historical accuracy and lusty adventure are the hallmark of this sizzling new epic by the author of Sweet Love Survive and Blaze. Sweeping from 1780's Europe to the forbidden salons of a Tunisian harem, Sinful tells the story of Chelsea Fergusson, a young woman determined to soil her reputation, and the noble rake who refuses to assist her.

Publishers Weekly

Chelsea Fergusson, daughter of the impoverished Earl of Dumfries in this 18th-century romance, foils an unwanted marriage to the wealthy but loathsome Bishop Hatfield in an unlikely manner: she makes herself unacceptable by losing her virginity to London's leading rake, Sinjin St. John, Duke of Seth. When Chelsea becomes pregnant, her indignant father and brothers abduct Sinjin and forcibly wed the two, then separate them and imprison him. This sets off a series of escapades that climax in Sinjin's rescue by a band of desert bedouins led by an American Indian. Can the new duke and duchess now find bliss in licentious London? It hardly matters. Sinjin leaves to buy Arabian horses in Tunis, where he is captured by an evil Bey. Chelsea determines to storm the Barbary coast and ransom him. . . . but all ends well in this rollicking tale, which proves to be as robust, sensual and adventurous as its protagonists. Johnson ( Forbidden ) uses her fertile imagination to blend a strong heroine, unbridled sex, and a modicum of history into unadulterated fun. (Aug.)