Excerpt of Confessions at Midnight by Jacquie D'Alessandro

“Good evening, my lady.”

Carolyn turned, and realized that even if she hadn’t known
Lord Surbrooke’s voice, she would have known his eyes.
They gazed at her through a black mask that covered the
entire upper half of his face with the same heated
intensity that stole the air from her lungs every time he
looked at her. She’d have known his mouth as well. Not
only because it was perfectly formed, the bottom lip
slightly fuller than the upper, but because of how one
corner tilted upward, skewing all that perfection with a
hint of lopsidedness that shouldn’t have been attractive
but was. Annoyingly so.

Her gaze skimmed over his all black highwayman costume. He
looked tall and dark and dangerous--as if he were prepared
to abscond with whatever might take his fancy and the
consequences be damned. A thrill she couldn’t name raced
through her.

“Rather than good evening, shouldn’t you say ‘stand and
deliver’?” she retorted, proud that she sounded so calm
when she suddenly felt anything but.

He made her a formal bow. “Of course. Although by ‘stand
and deliver’ I actually mean ‘may I have this dance’?”