Though he took vows of poverty and chastity, Cardinal Wolsey was far from being a saint. He was a man of great taste and held significant power until he failed to gain the annulment King Henry sought from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
Excerpt:
His touch was electric, but the
thrill was tinged with fear. She was not as comely as once she was and she was
afraid to undress fully in front of such a beautiful man. What would he think
of her? But those kisses were so sweet, his attentions so tender. The bloom of
passion kindled within her mind smothered her fear, and as his hand rose higher
along her leg, she chose not to restrain him, preferring to live in the moment
and leave tomorrow to look after itself.
His hand soon reached the top of
her thighs, and as he caressed her there, she was pressed gently down onto the
couch. She did not resist him, though she trembled every inch of the way. Yet
it was a sweet fear, and her greatest fear of all was that he would stop and
think better of what he was doing. But he did not stop. She sensed his need was
as great as her own, and his adept fingers teased and played with her, turning
her desert into a honeyed oasis, while his mouth kissed the orbs of her bosom,
releasing her nipples from her corset, and sucking her so hard she thought she
would cry out.
Blurb:
Blackmail, betrayal, and bedroom lust are standard
fare in the court of Henry the Eighth. Joan Larke has heard all her young life
that this is so, but she is completely unprepared to be dragged into the midst
of it. Dragged she is, though, when the beautiful girl falls into the hands of
the powerful and power hungry Thomas Wolsey, cardinal, confidant, and finally
lord chamberlain to the king.
Wolsey knows how many secrets are passed in the
bedchamber, and shamelessly enlists any woman who comes within his influence as
his spy. He turns her, under duress, into a whore who brings him information
from her pillow talk with the movers and shakers of the early 16th century. But
he needs love, too, and he keeps Joan to himself—for a time.
When Joan finds herself no longer wanted and in
peril of spending the rest of her life in a nunnery, she turns to Lady Anne
Boleyn, who is rapidly supplanting Queen Catherine in Henry’s affections. But
treachery is a two-edged sword, and the betrayer often becomes the betrayed in
the shadowy world of Tudor court intrigue.
Although Joan has secrets of her own she can trade,
in the end, she can do nothing but watch and tremble as the cardinal and the
would-be queen battle behind the scenes for the love of their king, and to keep
from winding up under the axe, as so many did in those dark days.
About the Author:
Adrienne lives in the North East, in a rural area
surrounded by cows and determined rabbits.
She has two cats, both masters of the contemptuous stare, who she
idolizes. When she’s not penning for monies she’s either baking something, or
driving very long distances for the hell of it. This renders a unique
opportunity to ponder her plots and characters; she prides herself on writing
the unexpected, and is always cooking up new ways to pleasure her readers. Her
favorite genre is twisted history - and applies varying degrees of heat to keep
you titillated from beginning to end.
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Or e-mail her directly at:
authoradrienneblake@gmail.com
Visit the other participants joining in the
Hi Kathryn and Adrienne, ooh, I love Tudor tales and absolutely love the premise and title. Enjoyed the excerpt, very hot :)
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Roz