“You adore me,” he said, kissing her again.

“Someone has to.”

He placed a sweet kiss on her lips and then peppered over the sun spots covering her nose. “I hope our child has your smile and your courage. And most of all, I hope they have beautiful skin like yours and freckles like these.”

Daily walks on the shore had turned her skin golden brown and made her spattering of freckles stand out. Sarani hadn’t cared—he loved her skin and her in it. And she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that any child of theirs, regardless of what they looked like, would be beloved as well.

“I love you, Rhystan.”

“It cannot possibly be as much as I love you, my duchess.” Blue-gray eyes full of joy and love held hers. “Thank you, my love.”

She stroked her fingers over his jaw. “For what?”

“For loving me. For choosing me.” He placed a hand on her heart and then the small curve of her stomach and pressed his forehead against hers. “For giving me everything a man could ever hope for.” He let out a choked breath. “And for saving me.”

“Saving you?”

He gave a solemn nod, his eyes so full of love that her throat went tight. “You did, even when I didn’t know I needed saving, you were there. You will forever be my port in the storm. My safe harbor. My home. Always.”

Excerpt from Rules for Heiresses

Keep reading for a sneak peek at

Rules for Heiresses

Coming October 2021 from Sourcebooks Casablanca

One

Lady Ravenna Huntley, unwed sister to the Duke of Embry, was in the biggest pickle of her life, and that was saying a lot, considering she’d been a fugitive on one of her brother’s ships across the Atlantic. Now, she was about to lose a substantial fortune playing vingt-et-un while disguised as a man…unless she did something she’d never considered before.

Unless she cheated.

This win was a matter of survival. She was almost out of money, barring her last pair of earbobs. Notwithstanding her previous exploits, her brother would have her hide if his precious sister ended up getting thrown into the stocks on an island in the British West Indies.

But she wasn’t a cheater and never had been. Ravenna could understand how desperate times made people consider unpalatable options because at the moment, she truly was out of options. She hadn’t fully thought through her plan. Yet again.

She could win if she bluffed her way through it, but if she lost… Well, better not think of that. Why was it so bloody sweltering? It felt as though sweat was pouring down her back in rivers. She eyed the men gathering around the table in the gaming hell at fashionable Starlight Hotel and Club, and tugged at her collar.

Jump first and think later had served her marginally well over the past six months.

Not now, naturally.