I’m welcoming Maggie Ryan to my blog today with an excerpt (involving a bench) from her book Lilly Blossoms – a Victorian romance, which is nectar to me!
Beauty isn’t perfection—it is the ability to see beyond the flaws.
“Rachel Marie, I suggest…” His tone told of his disapproval of the girl’s answer.
“But, Papa, you can’t! Not… not out here. Not in front of… of Uncle Phillip!” Rachel interrupted and then gave a startled yelp that seemed to pierce the air as the thorn had earlier pieced Lilly’s skin.
Lilly suddenly realized three things: the voices were becoming louder, she could hear the footsteps against the cobblestones of the garden path, and there was absolutely no way she’d be able to make it through the hedge in time to avoid discovery. Whimpering again, she had but a few moments to find a far better hiding place than the scant covering of the rose bushes. Dropping the basket she was holding, she moved a few feet away and went onto her tiptoes, stretching her arms up.
“Do not interrupt when I am speaking, little girl. Instead of telling me what I can’t do, I suggest you answer the question you’ve been asked. There is a bench right around the next bend, where we shall have yet another discussion and lesson to make sure you know the exact answer you know I’m expecting.”
Oh, sweet Lord! He means this bench! Lilly had just moved to the other side of the tree to plant her feet on the bench in order to reach the lowest branch above her head. Using every bit of her strength, she jumped and caught the branch, holding back her whimper as she climbed. Please, please, don’t let them catch me! I won’t steal ever again. I swear it!
***
Blurb:
Victorian England is not kind to those born without privilege, and yet Lillian Lancaster has made a home for herself and a scrawny feral cat. Lilly is happiest working in the gardens, knowing she can never match their beauty. She is one of the flower-girls on the streets selling the bouquets she makes with love for mere pennies. When her very livelihood is threatened by what was intended as a kindness, she assuages her conscience by crawling through the hedge and taking only what she needs to survive. On the day her presence is threatened to be discovered, she takes refuge in an oak tree and witnesses a scene that will change her life.
The moment Phillip Carrington sees Lilly hidden in the foliage, he is intrigued. The moment he holds her, he is captivated. The moment she gives him her trust, he knows he wants to spend the rest of his life convincing her that she is the most beautiful bloom in the garden.
Will his love be enough to teach this young woman that her past does not need to keep her trapped in fear? Will learning what happens behind the etched-glass doors of the special school run by Miss Eleanor Summers frighten her, or will it let her see that what she perceives as flaws are actually to be viewed as part of the beautiful soul that lives inside her? Will she place her trust in Lord Carrington and, with the gift of her submission, allow him to lead her away from the darkness?
Lilly Blossoms is the third book in Maggie Ryan’s bestselling Lessons in Submission series and yet it can also be read as a stand alone.
Disclaimer: This is a book based in the Victorian era and includes the dynamic of age-play. It includes the spanking of adult women and explicit sexual scenes, including anal play. If any of these offend you, please do not purchase.
Buy links
#kindle https://goo.gl/UqaKQM
BB http://goo.gl/CiKtaZ
#ibooks https://goo.gl/yBrMlq
@allromance https://goo.gl/wDJ829
#nook http://goo.gl/ORzyT5
Author Bio:
#1 International and award winning best selling author for Blushing Books. I write both contemporary erotica and historical spanking romances. I enjoy writing about characters that enjoy the provocative D/S lifestyle of today’s times as well as taking a step back into the past to write stories that take place in the Victorian era with age-play as a theme.
I live in the great Lone Star state with my wonderful husband. I have always loved reading. Growing up in a family with four children, it was difficult finding a place to be alone. I was probably one of the squeakiest clean girls on the planet as I would spend hours in the tub so I could read without being bothered. It wasn’t long before I began to make up my own endings to the books I was reading. From there, it just seemed natural to begin writing my own stories.
I never try to restrict myself to any one genre because there are just too many delicious possibilities out there and inside my head. I admit to being somewhat of a romantic though as my stories always must have a great deal of love, passion, corporal discipline and, of course, great, mind-blowing sex. I want my readers to be able to see, hear, feel and know the characters that I’m creating as well as I do when I bring them to life and transfer their stories to paper. I want my women to be strong of character but also strong enough to know that submission given in love and trust to your partner does not make you weaker, it makes you far stronger. I want my men to be sexy, strong, demanding alpha males who know how to take what they want while acknowledging it is a gift they have been blessed with by the women that have chosen to submit to them. I want there to be no doubt that they truly would die for the other no matter how others might view their relationship.
Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_Maggie_Ryan
Email: maggie.ryan.writes@gmail.com
Don’t miss these exciting titles by Maggie Ryan and Blushing Books!
Louisa Revealed: Women of Wintercrest Book 1
Lord Edward’s Law: Women of Wintercrest Book 2
Claimed: Women of Wintercrest Book 3
Lucy Surrenders: Women of Wintercrest Book 4
Becoming His: The Teaching of Rebecca
Lucy’s Journey Home: Hunter’s Ridge Book 1
Homecoming: Hunter’s Ridge Book 2
Reunion: Hunter’s Ridge Book 3
Blessed Beginnings: Hunter’s Ridge 4
Designed for Submission: Divine Designs Book 1
A Submissive’s Dream: Divine Designs Book 2
Haven’s Promise: Divine Designs Book 3
A Submissive’s Gift: Divine Designs Book 4
Rosie’s Resolutions (Masters of the Castle)
My Charming Valentine (Corbin’s Bend)
Miss Summers’ School: Lessons in Submission, Book One
Cherry’s Jubilee: Lessons in Submission, Book Two
Ever Lasting Hope (Corbin’s Bend)
An Author’s Angst (Corbin’s Bend)
Realizing Her Dream (w/ Laurel Jane)
A Little Sunshine (written w/ Abbie Adams)
Vintage Values (Corbin’s Bend)
Jewel’s Gems (The Red Petticoat Saloon)
Rescuing Ruby Red (The Red Petticoat Saloon)
Hi Jaye and Maggie, love the sound of this and enjoyed the excerpt, I definitely want to know what happens next! Love the tension in this scene 🙂
Hugs
Roz