A Dance with the Devil: Devilish Devalles, #2

By Catherine Gayle

As the Earl of Blackmore, Lucas Devalle is no stranger to the scandals propagated by Society’s elite, particularly since more than a few of those scandals have come about due to the Devalle family’s affairs. As such, it comes as no surprise when a young lady in search of a scandal attempts to entrap him at the ball he’s giving to honor his brother’s betrothal. He is surprised when second young lady intervenes in the name of freeing him from an undesirable fate. Why would anyone feel the need to safeguard his name when he is one of the devilish Devalles?

When she escaped into the gardens at Lord Blackmore’s ball, Miss Julianna Selwyn’s intentions had merely been to escape from an elderly, marriage-minded marquess’s unwanted advances. She never planned to eavesdrop on her host. But no matter how wicked Lord Blackmore is purported to be, he doesn’t deserve to be forced into the parson’s mousetrap when he’s done nothing wrong. Had Julianna not overheard every sordid detail of a young lady’s plan to ensnare the earl, however, she might have avoided initiating her own scandalous to-do.

With his curiosity piqued, Luke does what any reasonable man, rogue or not, would do—he seeks out an introduction to his charming liberator. Upon uncovering Julianna’s dilemma, he’s determined to return the favor as only he can: he makes certain his rescuer gets more than just A Dance with the Devil.

**This is a novella of approximately 19,000 words.**

• Language: English
• Publisher: Night Shift Publishing
• Release date: Apr 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9780989674485

Catherine Gayle

Catherine Gayle is a USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty contemporary hockey romance and Regency-set historical romance novels and novellas, with more than half a million books sold. She’s a transplanted Texan living in North Carolina with two extremely spoiled felines. In her spare time, she watches way too much hockey and reality TV, plans fun things to do for the Nephew Monster’s next visit, and performs experiments in the kitchen which are rarely toxic. Sign up for her newsletter to receive a free Portland Storm short story called ICE BREAKER, available only to newsletter subscribers. http://eepurl.com/GXcwr

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The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

A Dance with the Devil

Copyright © 2014 by Catherine Gayle

Cover Design by Adrienne Thorne

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without written permission.

For more information: [e-mail]

For Melissa.

As the Earl of Blackmore, Lucas Devalle is no stranger to the scandals propagated by Society’s elite, particularly since more than a few of those scandals have come about due to the Devalle family’s affairs. As such, it comes as no surprise when a young lady in search of a scandal attempts to entrap him at the ball he’s giving to honor his brother’s betrothal. He is surprised when second young lady intervenes in the name of freeing him from an undesirable fate. Why would anyone feel the need to safeguard his name when he is one of the devilish Devalles?

When she escaped into the gardens at Lord Blackmore’s ball, Miss Julianna Selwyn’s intentions had merely been to escape from an elderly, marriage-minded marquess’s unwanted advances. She never planned to eavesdrop on her host. But no matter how wicked Lord Blackmore is purported to be, he doesn’t deserve to be forced into the parson’s mousetrap when he’s done nothing wrong. Had Julianna not overheard every sordid detail of a young lady’s plan to ensnare the earl, however, she might have avoided initiating her own scandalous to-do.

With his curiosity piqued, Luke does what any reasonable man, rogue or not, would do—he seeks out an introduction to his charming liberator. Upon uncovering Julianna’s dilemma, he’s determined to return the favor as only he can: he makes certain his rescuer gets more than just A Dance with the Devil.

**This is a novella of approximately 19,000 words.**

A DANCE WITH THE DEVIL is the second novella in the Devilish Devalles series. The first novella, THE DEVIL TO PAY, can be found at all major ebook retailers.

LUCAS DEVALLE, THE sixth Earl of Blackmore, took a sip from his glass of whiskey and grimaced as the liquid filtered down his throat. The path left in its wake burned as much as it soothed. His brother, Gabriel, repeated the gesture in so similar a fashion they might have been the very same man. They both stared out across the sea of faces surrounding them, Gabriel sporting a grin while Luke bore his usual, perfect mask of boredom with the proceedings. Typically, there was very little that could take place within a Season that could jolt him out of that boredom, apart from a good game of chance.

Miranda seems certain her sister will attempt to entrap you, just as she tried with me, Gabriel said as a matron passed by them with her debutante daughter, both decked out in gaudy jewels and elaborate headpieces. The corner of Gabriel’s mouth quirked up on one side, and he raised a single brow at Luke. "My intended would love to protect you from her sister’s schemes. She thinks it’s her duty, as she will soon be your sister-in-law, but I’ve forbidden it. The last thing we need is for her to inadvertently start some scandal in which the ton can pit one brother against the other. You should be on your guard."

The two of them stood side by side along the fringes of the ballroom at Blackmore House, staring out at the sea of well-wishers who’d come to celebrate the impending marriage between Gabriel—who was no stranger to scandal in its many varieties—and the altogether agreeable Miss Miranda Hunt. Miranda was a perfectly proper and respectable young lady. No one in his right mind would have thought she would ever be caught doing anything with a Devalle, least of all marrying one of them.

At least reveling in the upcoming nuptials was the generally accepted reason for the presence of so many at the ball tonight. In all honesty, Luke believed with every fiber of his being that the vast majority of those attending were here with an entirely different purpose in mind: they wanted to discover what scandal had finally forced the hand of Gabriel Devalle, as it was commonly agreed among those knowledgeable about such things that none of the three Devalle siblings would ever come willingly to heel.

In terms of the numerous and seemingly never-ending gossip-worthy tidbits surrounding Luke’s family, the one that had brought Gabriel and Miranda together was rather pedestrian, all things considered. Gabriel had done nothing more than take the young miss off the beaten path at Hyde Park so that they were alone and away from the prying eyes of everyone who’d been out to enjoy the afternoon sun. Soon after their brief disappearance, her father and brother, and Gabriel and Luke’s mother, had come upon them—soon enough that Luke couldn’t believe anything more untoward had taken place than what the two guilty parties swore. They had claimed there had been nothing more than a kiss.

Granted, a simple kiss in private would have been damning enough to necessitate their marriage, of course, and a hasty marriage at that, lest the young