Kidnapped: His Innocent Mistress

Nicola Cornick

If I accept his offer to be his mistress, I could have the finest silks, the best carriage and be transformed from ugly duckling to a pampered, pretty swan!And although I would feel a virtuous pride in turning down the wicked rake, I also have an unmaidenly interest in exactly what the role would entail. . . .Catriona is doing her best to resist the skillful seduction of the scandalous heir to the Earl of Strathconan. But kidnapped and shipwrecked with only this rake as company, her adventure has just begun. . . .

The moment in which I set out upon my journey to the house of Glen Clair and Mr. Sinclair behaves as no gentleman should.

I drew a deep breath. My heart was hammering. “Are you, by any chance, asking me to be your mistress, Mr. Sinclair?”

A disturbingly sensuous smile curled Neil Sinclair’s lips. “Would that be so very bad, Miss Balfour? I am offering you a comfortable home instead of a ruin in the back of beyond with relatives who do not want you.”

“You are not offering it for nothing!”

His smile deepened. He put out a hand and touched my cheek gently. I was so shocked at the physical contact that I jumped.

“All I ask in return,” he said, “is something that should be intensely pleasurable for both of us.”

Once again I felt that jolt deep inside me. I swallowed hard and pushed away the heated images of lust and loving.

“I thought,” I said, “that you did not even like me very much.”

I saw something primitive and strong flare in his eyes, scorching me.

“Then you know little of men, Miss Balfour,” he said. His tone had roughened. “I wanted you from the first moment I saw you.”

Kidnapped: His Innocent Mistress

Harlequin

Historical

To Elspeth and Sheila, the original Miss Bennies and

so much nicer than their fictional counterparts!

Author Note

A few years ago my mother-in-law gave me an ancient copy of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel Kidnapped as a birthday present. I had read and enjoyed the book many years before and now I picked it up again and was plunged into a world of romance and intrigue and adventure. When I finished it I thought how exciting it would be to write my own version, inspired by the original, and so the idea of Kidnapped: His Innocent Mistress was born. My husband’s family are Scots and we visit the Scottish Highlands every year, so I used all the places I know and love as the setting for my book. Writing a book set in Scotland was such a thrill that I definitely plan to write a sequel!

I hope that you enjoy Kidnapped: His Innocent Mistress, which is a homage to both Robert Louis Stevenson’s wonderful story and to Scotland, one of the most beautiful countries on earth.

NICOLA CORNICK

KIDNAPPED: His Innocent Mistress

Available from Harlequin

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All’s fair in love and matrimony in Nicola Cornick’s wildly romantic new series Brides of Fortune. Meet the ladies of Fortune’s Folly—spirited heiresses who are more than a match for society’s most dashing rogues!

Coming this summer from HQN Books!

THE CONFESSIONS OF A DUCHESS

THE SCANDALS OF AN INNOCENT

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Praise for Nicola Cornick’s HQN novels

“A beguiling blend of danger and desire.”

—Booklist on Unmasked

“Cornick expertly spices her latest Regency historical with danger, while the sizzle she cooks up between her sinfully sexy hero and delight