Christmas is barely a week away, and Ruby anxiously awaits her beloved's return; Captain Derek Price, an America sea captain, should have already arrived. Ruby, owner of London's most exclusive bordello Madame Rouge, is thinking of selling her establishment, but she's looking for a buyer who will take care of her girls as well as she does, which is easier said than done. With the inclement weather, Ruby expected it to be a quiet night, but it was not to be: Ruby's two best friends' husbands want to surprise their respective wives, one client is getting too loud, and a pregnant girl shows up at the kitchen door. To Ruby's astonishment, the girl is none other than her half sister, Lady Jasmine Winters, the duke of Scarlett's legitimate daughter! Ruby doesn't know what she will do with Jasmine, but at least Derek's come home.
After Ruby first met Derek in Revealing Ruby , I was looking forward for their next encounter, and I think it was a lovely idea to have them reunite at Christmas. A VERY RUBY CHRISTMAS is a novella, and there are two sizzling chapters that feature Ruby's friends, the Swanstons and the Scanlons, separately, not a foursome; I'm not quite sure if it was only to make the novella longer and/or spicier. There are a few little pleasant surprises: the appearance of Jasmine did not go the way I expected, and I'm very pleased how it turned out. Ruby and Derek make a lovely couple, and the sex scenes are torrid, playful, and their relationship is quite sweet.
The Bound and Determined series is very stylish and realistic historical erotica, and I really hope to see how Ruby and Derek will fare in the future, I wonder if we will see more of Jasmine.
A winter storm stirs passions long denied in this sensual
Yuletide romance, a short novel featuring the characters who
once led Library Journal to declare, βRuby and
Derekβs chemistry is just as explosive during their
unbridled trysts as with their slow, ardent lovemaking.β
Madame RougeβRuby to her intimatesβalways makes the secret
desires of her clients a priority. Now the time has come to
fulfill her own fantasy, one so private it brings a rare
blush to her cheeks. When Captain Derek Price returns from
his service to the sea, Ruby will sell Londonβs elite house
of pleasure, leaving behind her very home to marry the
sailor who has mastered every surging crest of her body.
Pity, then, the ill-timed arrival of Rubyβs estranged
half-sister, Jasmine, desperate for a warm bed and a
sympathetic ear. Ruby is loath to marry the poor girl off to
a stranger or, even worse, entrust her to the ignoble lord
who has bid on the brothel. She has no other choice than to
shelter Jasmine herself. As much as Rubyβs heart races at
the thought of a future with Derek, she now faces the
possibility that, once again, her happy ending has been
delayedβunless a Christmas miracle makes all their dreams
come true.
No excerpt available.
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