new excerpt from a lascivious lady

For all you romance lovers out there, here is a new excerpt from A Lascivious Lady, the third novella in the Wedded Women Quartet, coming to Amazon in August! And don't forget to add ALL to your Goodreads to-be-read list. Just click here!

Her lips pinching at the thought, Josephine reached out and plucked the box from Traverson’s hand. It was lighter than she expected it would be, and her fingers fumbled clumsily with the latch before she drew back the top.   

“It is an insect,” she said, her nose wrinkling. “Traverson, you have gifted me with a bug.”

“A cardinal beetle, to be precise. Quite difficult to find. I preserved him in wax and glued an attachment to the back so you can wear it as a pin.”

Josephine closed the box with a sharp little click and did her best not to shudder. It really should come of no surprise that her husband’s first present to her would be one of the insects that he so loved to study. The man was positively fascinated with anything and everything that crawled in the dirt or lived under a rock.

Setting her new “jewelry” aside on a table, she skimmed a hand through her loose curls and smiled tightly. “How very kind of you, dear. Now if you do not mind, I must get dressed. Thank you ever so much for paying me a morning call, however I fear my day is filled with appointments and I must bid you adieu.”

“You are doing it again,” Traverson said softly.

“Doing what?”

“Lying. You do it so well and so often that usually you can look straight into the eyes of the person you are lying to, but you cannot do it with me. You always look down at the last second, or to the side, like you did just now.”

Josephine’s jaw dropped. “I – I am not – I am not lying,” she said scornfully. “I do have a very busy day!”

“You just did it again,” Traverson said mildly. Crossing his arms, he regarded her steadily, his gray eyes cool and unflinching. “I wonder why you cannot lie to me without giving yourself away.”

Something Josephine would very much like the answer to herself. Drawing back her shoulders, she stared straight at him and tried to repeat that she did indeed have a very busy day, thank you very much, but at the last moment her gaze veered to the side. Drats! “Oh, just go away Traverson! Even if I did not have a single scheduled outing for the next six months, I would still not have time for you.” Seething, she spun on her heel and fled back up the stairs, the edge of the sheet trailing in her wake.

“You forgot your cardinal beetle!” Traverson called.

She let the slamming of her bedroom door answer for her.