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Series: Lords Fall First #2
Publication date: July 2nd, 2026
Synopsis:
In Victorian London, Lady Petra, the daughter of the powerful and manipulative Earl of Kemberley, has spent her life as a silent pawn in her father's political games. While the ton sees a perfectly poised debutante, Petra is secretly a woman of industry who runs a sanctuary for abused servants in a derelict London theatre.
Julian, the Viscount Wolfridge, known to the world as Wolf, is a cynical rake with a secret heart of gold and a childhood spent on the Bristol docks. When he proposes a fake courtship to Petra to stir her indifferent betrothed into action, he doesn't realize he is stepping into a web of secrets far deeper than his own. As Petra's world of mystery and Wolf's path of redemption collide, they must decide if a marriage born of a trap can ever survive the truth.
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"I have to kiss you, Petra. You have from ten to tell me to stop. To tell me you do not want this. Ten."
"My lord?" A flush rose from her delectable decolletage, blooming up her neck.
"Nine. Julian, you mean. Or Jules."
"Is this to do with our pretend courtship?"
"Eight. Hang the pretense. There will be nothing pretend in this kiss."
If possible, Petra's eyes grew even wider in the dim firelight as she backed up against the wall adjacent to the fireplace.
"You wish to make it real." She said in a very controlled voice.
"Seven. I want you. That is what I wish. Six."
"I admit I do not know what I want. But I should like to find out." She said quietly.
"Five. Does me kissing you achieve this goal?" He had no desire to crowd her, yet it was as though his physical frame was magnetically tethered to her proximity. He braced an arm against the wainscotted wall above her, leaning toward her with slow deliberation.
"It could be particularly illuminating." She breathed, her face assuming a distinctly dazed expression.
"Four. There is one thing." Wolf paused his countdown as something hot and possessive shot through his blood. "If I kiss you, you will be thinking of me. John is the best of friends, but I cannot have you thinking of him with my lips upon you."
Petra drew in a shaky breath before she responded. "You are wholly unique. I do not believe I would ever consider thinking of anyone or anything else if I found myself in a carnal embrace with you, my lord. Three."
Drawing back to search her features. Wolf scanned her face with a singular intensity. It was patently clear that her continuation of the count served as a definitive assent, a silent surrender to the mounting tension between them. The unmistakable spark of curiosity and unmasked desire dancing within those mahogany depths providing the final, exhilarating confirmation he required.
And then she kissed him.
Before his mind could catch up with the explosions reverberating through his chest, Petra broke away briefly and utterly a soft, breathless plea. "Forgive me, Jules. I was never very patient for something I want."
ANNA VALLERIA is an award-winning historical romance author who believes that everyone deserves to see themselves on the page. Her mission is to write steamy Regency and Victorian stories featuring socially active heroines and devoted heroes that reflect windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors for all readers, including characters of different sizes, backgrounds, abilities, and neurodiversities. Her novel The Baron Takes a Wife was the 2025 winner of the Hearts Through History Romance Through the Ages Contest in the published Georgian/Victorian category.
Currently residing in a beautiful, historic city in the southeastern U.S. with her family and a rescue pup. If she's not writing, she's likely in a coffee shop, walking with her son or dog, or trivia with her team, Stone Cold Jane Austen.
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