Bending Tyme

By Maria-Claire Payne

His soul-mate predicted to come "from afar", will Logan, Earl of Davenport, aided by his friend Lord Byron—and Logan's favourite riding crop—find his destiny when the independent Esme Tyme finds herself transported from contemporary Boston, Massachusetts to Regency England?

Esme Tyme, CEO of her antiques business, eschews romance in favour of building her success and asserting her independence by day. By night, her need for control at odds with her predilection for spankings and riding crops, her philosophy towards love is pure twenty-first century cynic—she wants her men to hit it (literally) and quit it.

Logan Davenport, hot—and hot-blooded—lord of the manor, channels his passion into breeding horses, resigning himself to the endless parade of insipid society women competing to attain his titles and his wealth, none caring to capture his heart.

To discover the love Logan's mother, blessed with the second sight, predicted would come to him "from afar," the couple, with a bit of help from one George Gordon, the Lord Byron, must reconcile Esme's twenty-first century sensibilities with Logan's high-bred sense when Esme finds herself transported from contemporary Boston, Massachusetts to Regency England—and into Lord Davenport's bed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing
• Release date: Oct 24, 2011
• ISBN: 9780857157904

Book preview

A Total-E-Bound Publication

www.total-e-bound.com

Bending Tyme

ISBN # 978-0-85715-790-4

©Copyright Maria-Claire Payne 2011

Cover Art by April Martinez ©Copyright October 2011

Edited by Rebecca Hill

Total-E-Bound Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing.  Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2011 by Total-E-Bound Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way, Lincoln, LN6 7FL, United Kingdom.

Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a heat rating of Total-e-sizzling and a sexometer of 2.

BENDING TYME

Maria-Claire Payne

His soul-mate predicted to come from afar, will Logan, Earl of Davenport, aided by his friend Lord Byron—and Logan’s favourite riding crop—find his destiny when the independent Esme Tyme finds herself transported from contemporary Boston, Massachusetts to Regency England?

Esme Tyme, CEO of her antiques business, eschews romance in favour of building her success and asserting her independence by day. By night, her need for control at odds with her predilection for spankings and riding crops, her philosophy towards love is pure twenty-first century cynic—she wants her men to hit it (literally) and quit it.

Logan Davenport, hot—and hot-blooded—lord of the manor, channels his passion into breeding horses, resigning himself to the endless parade of insipid society women competing to attain his titles and his wealth, none caring to capture his heart.

To discover the love Logan’s mother, blessed with the second sight, predicted would come to him from afar, the couple, with a bit of help from one George Gordon, the Lord Byron, must reconcile Esme’s twenty-first century sensibilities with Logan’s high-bred sense when Esme finds herself transported from contemporary Boston, Massachusetts to Regency England—and into Lord Davenport’s bed.

Dedication

For T.

Given a do-over, he would, without a moment’s hesitation,

drop my snarky, independent, obstinate ass

in that river…

and then pull me up again.

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmark mentioned in this work of fiction:

Mustang: Ford Motor Company

Chapter One

Esme pulled her favourite vintage quilt over her head, her peace disturbed by the cell phone set to vibrate and engaging in a jumping-bean dance on her nightstand. Reluctant to emerge from the delicious fantasy she had spun during those pre-dawn minutes, Esme nonetheless groped for the phone and read the latest in a stream of texts from her best friend—former best friend, Esme decided.

The text would probably contain the usual tirade from Charisse. She had only grown worse since Esme had announced the grand opening of their Massachusetts office to her Canadian staff.

Getting off to your ‘Lord of the Locket’ works great for your fantasy life, Esme, but let’s find you a man with a heartbeat for this party. To Esme’s chagrin, Charisse had compiled a list of suitable candidates as soon as Esme had made the announcement.

Sure enough, this latest message from Charisse read, C nu list—BB4B, Charisse’s text-talk for ‘buff bachelors for boffing’. Esme turned her cell off, eyeing the early nineteenth-century ball gown and undergarments gracing the mannequin across the room. She grimaced at the corset laces hanging down the wire form, wondering how many awkward turns around the dance hall would result in her breasts popping right over the top of the bodice. Not for the first time, Esme regretted her decision to let Charisse take the reins for this launch party. Ah well… Esme let her gaze fall to the itinerary on her nightstand. Just this one bash stood between her and a much-anticipated three-month globe-trotting vacation while she turned the reins over to Charisse and her husband Timone. Esme eyed the corset again. I can handle even that for just one night.

At least the heirloom locket draped around the wire neck of her body-double was intriguing. Esme climbed out of bed, snagged the locket and stretched the nude length of her body before sinking down on the tufted stool in front of her vanity and opening the ornate locket.

One side silver, the other gold, the unusual, mismatched ovals of the locket afforded a vexing puzzle even for Charisse and her husband—Esme’s resident experts in nineteenth-century antiques. However, three additional jewellers in the field had each documented the piece as genuine, despite its eccentric design. Esme’s interest, however, lay not in the unusual mix of metals or the locket’s certificates of authenticity, but in the miniature portrait nestled in the gold side of the locket.

This unique piece had come into Esme’s possession eight weeks ago. The crew she had hired to repair