After more than a decade of separation, can Nate Hamilton really put aside his hurt and learn to forgive the woman who destroyed his life then help her to find her heart's desire in Deadwood?
Deadwood, 1878, Nate Hamilton and his former sweetheart Evelyn Campbell meet up after more than a decade of separation.
Then the widowed Evelyn discovers that her tuition post has fallen through, she is left destitute and concerned about how she will provide for her son, until Nate offers her a way to earn some money—and a way to exact his perfect revenge for her betrayal—he will pay her to be his own private whore.
The combination of past hurts, secrets and rekindled passion causes fireworks in and out of the bedroom!
General Release Date: 30th August 2013
“Take your clothes off.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
Evelyn forced her mouth shut.
She looked around the room, buying time. The faded brown curtains hung limply over the windows, not quite touching, and the afternoon light filtered through the gaps, its beams turning the dust in the air into diamonds. She could hear the rattle of a wagon on the street below and the regular rhythm of squeaking bedsprings in the adjacent room.
“So? What are you waiting for?”
She stared at the man on the moth-eaten chaise longue in front of her. He was serious.
“But I thought…” She chewed her lower lip.
“What exactly did you think, Mrs Campbell? That I asked you to meet me at the Gem Saloon just to talk?”
She swallowed. “I had hoped…that it would be as we agreed, Mr Hamilton.”
“But it is.” He frowned, running a hand through his thick, black hair. “You agreed to meet me here and I agreed to pay you.”
She watched as he stroked his moustache. He examined her form and paused for a moment too long upon her breasts.
She pulled her shawl tighter across her chest and glanced at the door to her left.
“Now, look, Mrs Campbell”—his voice was soft as he straightened his waistcoat—“you are under no obligation. If you want to leave then do so. It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve let me down.”
Evelyn’s heart beat quickened at the muttered closing remark.
“No, I…I don’t want to go, Nate”—she shook her head—“Mr Hamilton.”
“Then keep your side of the deal, Mrs Campbell.” He leant back and lifted one foot, resting it upon his knee.
“Could you lock the door?”
He rolled his eyes. “Do you think that you have anything under those clothes that anyone in this joint hasn’t seen before?”
“I certainly do, Mr Hamilton!” Her voice cracked. “No one in this town has seen me…”
He put up a hand and shook his head.
“I didn’t mean your personal attributes. I referred to those of the whores.”
Evelyn’s cheeks burned and she blinked away tears of anger and humiliation, wondering how it had come to this. For years she had imagined meeting Nate again, seeing his handsome face light up as she walked into a room. Instead, here they were. He had offered her money and she had accepted.
He rose and walked over to the door and pushed the bolt across then he sauntered back towards her and stopped right behind her.
“Evelyn,” he whispered into her ear, causing ripples of excitement to course up and down her spine. Her nipples tightened and she felt a tingling beginning between her legs. She fought the urge to turn to look into his eyes.
“Evelyn?”
She struggled to breathe as he placed his hands on her shoulders and the tingling lower down intensified.
He applied a gentle pressure then moved to caress her collar bones. He rubbed his thumbs over the nape of her neck, whilst he stroked his index fingers into the hollow at her throat. She felt the power behind his touch, the heat of his skin.
An awful thought struck her—did he mean her harm?
No. That wasn’t his style. Unless…
“Let me take this.” He tugged at her shawl and she loosened her grip on the russet wool then he returned to his seat and smiled up at her like a satisfied cat.
Raising the shawl to his face, he inhaled deeply. “You still smell good, Evelyn. I didn’t think you would. Why, I don’t know”—he frowned, staring at the shawl—“but your scent still pleases me. Now…” He gestured at her clothing.
Nate leant farther backwards in his seat, trying to maintain the façade of nonchalance but blood was thundering in his ears and he was overwhelmed by the emotions coursing through him. When he’d heard that a young woman and her boy had arrived in Deadwood—where the mother was to take up the tuition of Mrs Riley’s spoilt brat—he’d thought of it fleetingly as bad luck for the new arrivals. The Riley brat had been claimed by smallpox just days before, so the poor tutor had travelled all the way from Custer City for nothing.
Molly Ann Wishlade has always been an avid reader and writer of stories. Her lifetime of reading has taken her from the magical worlds of The Faraway Tree and The Borrowers, to the Greek myths and legends, to Sweet Valley High and Judy Blume's Forever, to Asimov's science fiction, Jane Eyre's torment and Stephen King's masterpieces. More recently she has wandered through the vivid historicals of Philippa Gregory; the bubbly, gritty delights of Adele Parks and the fast paced thrillers of James Patterson. She loves getting lost in a novel and often regrets finishing one as the characters are usually missed like old friends. She regularly indulges her insatiable hunger for romance and passion in the delicious worlds created by romantic novelists and is working on several of her own!
What precious spare time she has is spent with her family (one gorgeous husband and two bright and beautiful children), taking long walks around the beautiful Welsh countryside (although she's still waiting for the rescue greyhound she wants to accompany her), cooking her own secret recipe curries, drinking Earl Grey (in copious amounts) and discovering delicious wines. Oh, and she also loves to ski and can't wait to go again! And buying shoes!
She wants to take readers on the rollercoaster that is life through the creation of her own characters, relationships and worlds.
She appreciates feedback, recipes and wine recommendations.
Reviewed by Customer
If you love erotic cowboy stories this is a really well written tight little story, very very sexy, but with strong emotional story too. Quite brilliant for a novella.
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Reviewed by Customer
A snippet of what's to come from this talented writer, new to the club. However I expect to see more work from this sassy author. Can't wait to get the rest of this gripping novella in August.
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Molly Ann Wishlade - Interview for Desire in Deadwood
The book is set in 1878, so please tell us about your research process into it.
I read a lot of blogs and websites about the Wild West and watched a few documentaries. I scoured the internet for photographs of Deadwood (old and new) and re-watched the series Deadwood, as well as a few of my favourite Westerns. I’m fascinated by the thought What if… and that helped me to work through the GMC and the character arcs, whilst keeping a vivid picture of the historical setting…
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