Ruined by the Baron
Legendary Lords of the Ton
A forbidden temptation. A dangerous masquerade. A love that defies every rule of Society.
Lady Victoria Wright is the last woman I should desire. The sister of a close friend and far too proper for a man like me. But when she faces an unwanted betrothal to a cruel nobleman, she turns to me with a daring plan to destroy her own reputation.
All I have to do is pretend to be her lover.
It should have been a harmless ruse, a bit of scandal to set her free. But every time she meets my gaze, every time she lets me touch her, the game becomes something else entirely. Passion blurs the line between pretense and truth until I can no longer tell where the act ends and desire begins.
Now I want her for myself. Yet claiming her means defying her powerful father and risking everything I swore I’d never lose.
Because the moment she became mine, the stakes changed forever.
RUINED BY THE BARON is the first book in Suzanna Medeiros’s Legendary Lords of the Ton series and is perfect for readers who love forbidden passion, pretend mistresses, scandalous lords, and honor-vs-desire romances with no third-act breakup.
Excerpt
“Sit down, Victoria.”
He’d called me Victoria, not Lady Victoria. If his goal was to shock me into silence, it worked. I lowered myself onto the edge of the settee and waited for him to settle into one of the two armchairs placed across from where I sat. Instead, he sank onto the settee next to me.
He’d left space between us, but nothing about sitting this close to an unmarried man could be called respectable—a handsome man who was filled with vitality and to whom I was very much attracted. An image popped into my mind that threatened to steal my breath. Moreland leaning toward me, closing that negligible amount of space, and pressing his mouth against mine.
“I apologize for distressing you just now.”
The image faded, and for a disorienting moment, I couldn’t remember to what he was referring. “Your news,” I said finally.
His gaze hadn’t left mine, and it felt as though he was trying to see right through me.
“I’ve learned that news of our arrangement has made it into the gossip columns.”
I gasped. “Which ones?”
His brows drew together. “I was told the news secondhand. Why?”
My heart raced in earnest. “Father reads The Mayfair Chronicle.”
“Of course he does.” Moreland rolled his eyes.
We both knew why Father chose to read the gossip column in that particular newspaper. He hated that Rexford had escaped his control and was obsessed with any news related to his son. The Mayfair Chronicle had taken a particular interest in Rexford, giving his circle of friends the moniker by which everyone now knew them. The Legendary Lords of the ton.
Every time Father read that paper, his mood soured. And since news about their exploits was an almost daily event, he was always in a foul mood.
He would be apoplectic with rage when he learned that I was being kept as one of their mistresses. It also meant that Moreland’s life could be in danger. That distressing thought hadn’t occurred to me until that moment.
“We need to stop this. I should have taken up Rexford’s offer to hide me away in the country.”
Moreland shook his head. “We’ve already discussed this. We both know that your father could explain away your sudden absence. Manufacture a family emergency while he turned England upside down looking for you.”
I closed my eyes, but I couldn’t deny the truth of Moreland’s words.
“And when he found you, he would continue with his plans undeterred.”
After I’d had a chance to recover from the beating he would no doubt give me. But he would be careful not to mar my face or arms. He wouldn’t want to damage the property he intended to barter for a powerful alliance. But he would have no such qualms when it came to Moreland.
“I’m afraid for your safety.”
He barked out a laugh, and I wanted to shake him.
Can’t he see that he’s in danger?
“Victoria—”
“You’re not safe. You might think you are because Father has done nothing to hurt Rexford. But my brother is his heir. Father labors under the mistaken impression that he can still bring him to heel. But you… He would have no misgivings about doing whatever was necessary to hurt the man who dared to impugn the family’s honor.”
His face softened. “Not your honor?”
This time I laughed. “His honor. We are but walking, talking extensions of his name. Rexford has some leeway because he is a man. Men are allowed to sow their oats, get into all manner of scrapes in their youth, but all is forgiven when they wish to return to the fold.”
Moreland shook his head. “Rexford will never return to the fold.”
“Perhaps not, but he will become the next Duke of Sherbourne. And no one will care what he did before that time—or after, for that matter. He has full impunity. But me?” With each word, I became more convinced about the futility of this whole exercise. “Father will have you killed for trying to ruin me and thwart his plans.”
“He can try, but I’m an excellent shot. And I can hold my own with a blade.”
This time, I feared my laughter held more than a hint of hysteria. “You think he’ll call you out? No, there are other ways to take a man’s life.” I’d read more than a few horrid novels, and in that moment, I could recall every ghastly death that had befallen those who’d wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Victoria—”
“No, we must stop this now. There’s still time if our names weren’t mentioned…”
My protests died when Moreland placed his hands on my cheeks and physically turned me to face him. We remained like that for what seemed like an eternity, his hands cupping my face and our thighs pressed together.
I already knew that his eyes were a light gray—it was impossible not to notice such an uncommon color. But now I could see that darker flecks swirled within them. And as we continued to stare at each other, I could see the way his pupils grew larger. If I were capable of speech, I would have asked him why. It seemed like such an odd thing to notice, but I couldn’t help but wonder if something significant was happening between us.
Surely I was imagining things, but the very air that surrounded us seemed to grow thick with tension.
“I’m going to take care of you.”
A soft whimper escaped, and I wanted to sink through the floor. What is wrong with me?
But the sound seemed to bring about a strange reaction in Moreland. His lids grew heavy, and his face came closer.
The sharp knock at the front door sent both of us scrambling backward.
© Suzanna Medeiros