ORDER A COPY: Too Dangerous to Desire (Lords of Midnight)
Publisher: Forever
Publishing Date: November 20, 2012
Paperback: 384 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Long ago, Sophie Lawrance chose prudence over passion, rejecting a rebellious young rogue for the sake of her family-no matter the ache it left in her heart. But after a specter from her father’s past resurfaces, threatening to destroy all she holds dear, the desperate beauty knows there is only one man whose shadowy skills can save her.
Cameron Daggett is a man of many secrets…and many sins. He’s never forgotten the pain of losing Sophie. But now, with a chance to win her back, Cameron sets aside his anger and agrees to help Sophie save her father’s honor. Together they embark on a perilous masquerade, leading them to a remote country estate near the sea. There, they must battle a cunning adversary-and their own burning desires. Will they be consumed by the flames? Or can they prove that true love conquers all?
Cameron Daggett is the most secretive of the Hellhounds, even his fellow Hellhounds only know what little Cam has decided to share over the years. That’s because Cam has come a long way from Cameron Fanning, the young boy of his childhood, the bastard son of the Marques of Wolcott. Cam has left that life long ago and has remade himself into the man he is today. With a little help from his quick fingers and clever tongue, he has stolen or seduced his way to some of the best treasures to be found…and to be sold for the right price. In fact, the only thing Cam was not able to steal was the heart of the girl he loved.
Sophie Lawrence might be on her way to being a rather young spinster, but she knows she made the right choice for her family in refusing to elope with her childhood friend and sweetheart Cameron. Cameron was too wild, too carefree, and Sophie’s mother had just died leaving her family in desperate need of her. She couldn’t abandon her father and young sisters, even for love.
A chance meeting has brought Cam back into Sophie’s life. They are both a little older, and hopefully a little wiser, even if Cam is still a little wild. But maybe a little wild is just what Sophie needs in her life before she accepts the mantle of spinster.
As they work together to save Sophie’s family, will they take the second chance they have been given or walk away from the only person they have ever truly loved?
THOUGHTS:
I just loved Cameron and Sophie together. Cameron was always a question mark in this trilogy. You knew he “acquired” things that didn’t really belong to him, and although he was not Robin Hood (since he stole from the rich to give to Cameron), you never felt he was bad since he wasn’t swindling little old ladies out of their savings. Cam would steal art and jewelry from the rich and sell it to other rich people for a tidy sum. He was also very good at cards and was able to increase his funds that way. But we never really knew anything about him, since the other characters in the story only knew so much about him.
Spending time with Sophie brings out a side of Cameron that is not so jaded. He makes fun of the other Hellhounds for finding love and settling down, but you can tell that Sophie was that one great love for Cameron.
I love that she didn’t judge Cameron for what he has been doing with his life since he left her. She enjoys his stories and isn’t shocked or upset and she doesn’t shame Cam for being who he is.
It was just so sweet that they were both still in love with the other but we’re trying not to get their hopes up that things could be different this time.
It was a lovely end to this trilogy and I truly enjoyed this series.
Received an ARC from netgalley.com, courtesy of the publisher. Thank you.
Favorite Scene:
“Come along, Sophie,” he said a little roughly. “I need to get you out of here as quickly as possible.” Two swift strides and he was back at her side. “Where’s your cloak?”
She gave a vague wave at the bed. “I left it over there.”
Averting his eyes from the temptingly plump pillows, he took her hand. “Well. Let. Us. Find. It.” He said through gritted teeth.
“I know, I know.” With a sigh, Sophie slumped against his side. “I look absurd. Me, a Damsel of Desire?” Her lust-red lips pursed. “Ha—and pigs might fly.”
“You don’t look absurd,” growled Cameron. “If you must know it, you look ravishing.”
“I—I do?” Her lashes fluttered. “I rather like the way my eyes appear when they’re all smudgy.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “They are as…seductive as sin.” A loud commotion in the corridor outside the door drew his attention from the intriguingly dark, dappled shadings. Wrenching his head around, he listened for a moment before letting out a low oath. “Damn, we had better wait for a bit before trying to leave.”
Several distinctly off-key male voices were raised in a bawdy song, their efforts encouraged by the titter of female laughter and demands for another chorus. By the sound of it, the performance might go on for a while.
Sophie leaned back against the velvet-draped mattress and looked up at the gently swaying brass lanterns. “It’s really quite pleasant in here.”
“Yes, well, it’s meant to be.”
“And the bed is exceedingly comfortable.” She bounced her bum against its side. “Have you tried it?”
Coming from anyone else but Sophie, the comment would be a flagrant come-hither invitation. She, however, was blithely unaware of what she was saying.
Or was she?
Fanning a hand over the deep “V” of flesh exposed by her unbuttoned bodice, she gave a cat-like stretch. “Aren’t you warm in that coat? Why not take it off?”
“Because,” answered Cameron, trying not to watch the slide of patterned muslin pull taut over her breasts, “we are going to be leaving here in another moment.” He crossed the carpet and took hold of her arm.
“What’s the rush?” she asked, shaking off his grip. “I have been thinking it over, and appearing on my uncle’s doorstep at this late hour might provoke too many unwanted questions. Perhaps we should stay here for the night and then I will go on in the morning.”
God must be punishing me for my many misdeeds.
“Sophie, this isn’t an inn, it’s a bordello.”
Her hands set on his shoulders and slowly slid inward. “Yes, and if truth be told, I find that rather exciting.” A sigh tickled his neck. “I’ve so rarely done anything reckless, anything naughty.”
Cameron drew a ragged breath as she twined her slim fingers in his hair. His self-control was hanging on by a mere thread. “While I, on the other hand, have spent my life breaking most every rule in Creation.”
“So break another,” whispered Sophie.
