Claiming His Wife Cover & Teaser

Okay!  So if you haven't already caught it on Facebook or Twitter, here is the GORGEOUS cover for Claiming His Wife.  A huge thank you to RaineyCloud9 by Designer Crystal Rain for my pretty pretty covers, they make me so happy!

Today I hit 75k words... I think I'm getting VERY closed to being finished.  I've wrapped up almost everything except Grace & Alex, so I just have a few more chapters concentrating on them, the epilogue where I will (hopefully) managed to tie up any loose ends, and then lots of editing!

In the meantime, here's a teaser -

Cynthia was bored.  Which, in and of itself, was not unusual, but she did take exception to being bored when she was at a dance.  Looking wistfully over at the floor, filled with whirling couples, she wished she were one of them.  Instead, she was trapped within the Countess' circle, all of whom wanted to know every detail about the upcoming wedding.

There were even more of them than usual to flutter over her, as people had been pouring into Bath once they'd received their wedding invitations.  Most of them had made it a stop on their way back to their estates, following the Season.  Eleanor had told her that the wedding certainly wouldn't empty the capital, but it would tempt quite a few of the ton to depart earlier than they normally would.  Unfortunately, that just meant she had to be at the Countess' side for what seemed like endless rounds of interminable introductions and bland, socially acceptable interactions.  

She glanced over at her fiancé, who already knew everyone and didn't seem to be held to the same strictures.  No, he was able to speak with his friends, visit the refreshments table, and even dance if he wanted.  Although if he did dance with one more flirtatious beauty, fresh from London, Cynthia was not going to be responsible for her actions.  After all his threats about her talking to other men, she would have thought he'd be more circumspect with his own attentions.  

Granted, his friends were also dancing with women other than their wives, but Eleanor and Irene were also on the dance floor, and the moment the music ended, Edwin and Hugh were back at their sides, reclaiming their women.  Only Grace wasn't dancing, and that was because Alex was looming over her and glaring at any man who dared come within two feet of her.  Going by the increasingly irate expression on Grace's face, only the fact that they were in public was keeping her from exploding.  

Really, she should just accept one of Lord Brooke's many invitations to dance.  It was obvious that he wasn't going to let his wife dance with another man until he danced with him first.  Cynthia had even seen the scowling lord shake his head at Hugh when he'd begun to approach.  

If only she could do the same with her own fiancé.

Cynthia scowled at him across the room, where he was talking with some blonde beauty that was practically clinging to his - oh... that was Eleanor on his arm.  Well that was alright.  But still.  Shouldn't the Earl have asked his fiancé to dance at least once?  Perhaps he was too scared to approach the gaggle of women around his mother, but that didn't mean that Cynthia should have to pay the price for his cowardice.

"Excuse me, my lady," she murmured to the Countess, "I must visit the retiring room."

"Of course, my dear, hurry back," the Countess said, smiling benignly.  She was fully decked out in all her best clothing, a glittering array of gold and ruby red, guaranteed to attract attention.  Obviously, she was in alt over finally having her eldest son about to be married.  Bemused, Cynthia hurried away, sliding between the ladies and nodding inanely as she passed.

In her own dress of dark rose pink, edged with cream, Cynthia knew that she looked quite attractive tonight.  The color matched her nipples perfectly, which made her feel wonderfully naughty, even though no one else was aware of it.  Well, the Earl might be, but he certainly wouldn't say anything even if he realized.  

As she made her way across the room, the frustrating man materialized at her elbow.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Cynthia scowled up at him, not at all intimidated by his low, threatening voice.  "Anywhere but back there," she said, jerking her head back towards where his mother was standing holding court.  The Earl's lips twitched as he almost smiled.  Ha.  She knew he had a sense of humor in there, even if he did tend to present his stuffiest side to her.

Well, stuffy when he wasn't baring her backside, turning it bright red and then putting his... well.  Now her own cheeks were starting to match her dress as she looked up at him.  It wasn't like her to be easily embarrassed, but she couldn't think about him doing that without blushing.  

"You, of all people, shouldn't be left unchaperoned for even a minute," he said, taking her hand and putting it on his arm.  Since Cynthia didn't actually need to use the retiring room, she didn't protest.

"Well then you can chaperone me," she said, smiling up at him with such saccharine sweetness that she knew he'd be suspicious.  She'd noticed that he was always the most wary of her when she was behaving correctly.  It set him on edge.  "After all, you seem unable to go more than a minute without a female on your arm, it might as well be me."

The Earl's eyebrows raised and a little gleam entered his eyes.  He really was devastatingly attractive.  "Jealous?"

"Hardly," she said, airily, blatantly lying through her teeth.  It had surprised her, actually, how possessive she felt of him.  The good news was, she knew that he was just as bad and she intended to use that.  "There are quite a few gentlemen who would be eager to make up your neglect to me."