Betrayal in the Ballroom

By Audra Hershey

Two timelines… Two intimate romances… Two masquerade balls… Before Mickie and Sebastien meet and find true love, they are unforgivably betrayed!

 

London, Modern Day. Finally, costume designer Mickie will play Cinderella and come to the fundraising masquerade ball hosted by her theater company. But her anonymous attendance leads to the heartbreaking discovery that her Prince Charming is a double-dealing Don Juan! Crushed, Mickie feels forced to leave the theater and her unfaithful lover behind.

 

Kent County, England, 1812. Though Sebastien Ferrer Wellington is the son of a Duke, the scandal of his birth excludes him from the Regency elite. But the other houseguest at Waverly Court, the estranged wife of the Prince of Wales, cares nothing about his place in polite society – her intentions toward him aren't at all polite! Only then does his betrothed show interest, only to cuckold him as a false fiancée.

 

As Mickie and Sebastien grapple with love and loss in their separate timelines, they emerge wounded and bitter. Filled with regrets about romance, Mickie focuses on a new career, while a spurned Sebastien plots villainous vengeance targeting his unfaithful fiancée.

But when they meet In Regency England, their next chapter offers the possibility of solace in each other's arms, leaving past betrayals behind for a future filled with true love across time!

 

BETRAYAL IN THE BALLROOM is the prequel to A TIMELESS MASQUERADE, a standalone Regency steamy time-travel romance bringing the midnight mystery of the masquerade and an erotic enemies-to-lovers romance!

 

Read BETRAYAL IN THE BALLROOM and begin the story of true love across time told in A TIMELESS MASQUERADE today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Audra Hershey Romance
• Release date: May 18, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224093427

Audra Hershey

Audra Hershey has been sending modern women back in time to fall hopelessly for hot historical men since 2021. Beginning in 2024, her steaming hot time travel romances will be joined with steamy historical romance novels, as well as multiple series where each book takes place in a recognizable setting but can be read in any order. Her preference for steaming hot romance and love of historical research combine to make her a writer for readers looking for steamy sex combined with tales of true love across time! Audra holds a master's degree and lives in Colorado. When she's not researching or writing her next spicy hot book, she spends her time on home improvements, walking her dogs, spoiling her cats, and biking and hiking with her husband and son. She abandoned law school to spend a year tracing her family history – first to colonial Massachusetts and Quaker Pennsylvania and then across the Atlantic to find Norman knights, Viking sailors, and Scots warriors scaring the Romans enough to build Hadrian's wall. She is fascinated by history – you'll find her passion for historical research throughout her books.    Contact her at [e-mail]! She loves hearing from readers like you! Happy reading!

Book preview

Part One:

Mickie

London, Modern Day

Chapter 1

Justine scowled at her reflection in the costume shop mirror. Really, Tatiana the Queen of the Fairies shouldn’t be wearing a dress better suited for Tinkerbelle.

Privately, Mickie had to agree. It had been lucky that the Tatiana costume fit Justine’s willowy frame, but the actress was several inches taller than the girl who originated the part. She was long gone now, no longer in the theater world as far as Mickie knew, but Tatiana couldn’t appear as if she had grown out of her clothes like a teen either.

Mickie had tacked the underskirt up, with the extra fabric underneath making it poof in the style of Tink’s curves. And the streamers of ribbon, lace, and chiffon that made up the entirety of Justine’s visible skirt completed the look. All she needed was the height and the magic wand to be Peter Pan’s companion herself.

Mickie tried to put a positive spin on it. You don’t look like Tinkerbelle, just a fairy princess.

Now Justine took a brief moment to twirl, watching the effect of the motion on the ragamuffin design of the skirt. She complained, A very half-dressed one.

That was true enough, but that was the tradition. The theater’s rich male patrons gave more when they could easily view attractive ankle and leg. The darker rumors of the masquerade fundraiser always spoke to at least one of the actresses ending up backed into a corner by a tipsy rich patron hoping to find out what the actress was wearing under the skimpy skirts.

Of course, some of them wore tiny thongs, or nothing at all, and tales from every ball since they’d instituted it had included the tale of an actress finding herself a rich husband or lover. There was in theory a stern and forbidding no fraternization policy, beyond company members dancing with the patrons. Mickie heard it was blatantly violated.

Knock, knock. Brandon swept in without waiting for an acknowledgement, and took in Justine’s costume, and the form in it, with admiration. Looking good.

Oh, please. Mickie had no idea why, but somehow Brandon and Justine had started out on the wrong foot when she and brother Jacob had joined the company some months back. Their animosity toward one another seemed to have cemented into a solid hate-hate relationship, and wherever Brandon was, Justine wasn’t.

This was another of those times, as Justine hurriedly gathered her street clothes and stomped off, brushing past Brandon in a huff.

Brandon had cut off her fitting time, but fortunately Justine was ready for the evening’s ball. Mickie had made it to the finish line this year with hours to spare. There were only two company members left to check on final fittings, and since both were men wearing existing costumes, confirming they were ready for tonight would be easy.

Brandon closed the shop door behind him and locked it. Mickie might have wondered at his intentions, but she knew exactly what he planned, and had made her own preparations for his fitting.

Work first. Brandon would be the Phantom of the Opera tonight, so his typical t-shirt came off immediately. The idea was for him to don the Phantom’s Victorian style linen shirt and vest. Though, unsurprisingly, he refused to don the Phantom’s shirt, insisting first that she stand close to his bare chest and pay homage.

Homage, really? Mickie had been waiting for this all day, but Brandon preening about himself like peacock was a bit much. Still, she did step forward to wind her arms around his neck, raising her lips to his.

Brandon and Mickie had been together for years, but his presence near her never failed to make her want him desperately. While they made out like high schoolers hiding from the chaperones at prom, his hands slid expertly under the oversize man’s shirt Mickie wore, easily found the fastening of her bra in the front, and expertly snapped it open to push the fabric aside and cup her breasts in his palms, thumbs rubbing the hardening tip of each nipple. Mickie groaned into his mouth as his marauding tongue fought with hers.

Mickie couldn’t resist and released her hands from Brndon’s neck using her nails to gently scratch at his back until she reached the waistband of his pants, then slid her fingers down to touch bare buttock.

In response, Brandon abandoned her breasts to unbutton his waistband and loosen his fly, but before Mickie could demand he touch her breasts once more she felt him pull on the hem of the jean skirt she’d chosen to wear for today’s fittings. And soon he would discover the secret that had waited for his arrival.

Dirty girl. Brandon caught her lower lip in his teeth as his palms encircled her bare buttocks. You aren’t wearing any underwear.

Mickie would have made a retort, but instead she gasped as Brandon found the space between her legs and plunged his fingers into her. It was all Mickie could do to not collapse at the knees at the tingling tightening sensation building at her core, anticipating Brandon to find her and bring with his intimacy the immense eruptions that inevitably followed.

She moaned in disappointment as Brandon withdrew. He backed her against her worktable, and then lifted her up to sit on it, pushing her back to lay flat, while he took her by the knees and lifted them high.

Mickie was hot and ready for him. She had wanted this all day, and when Brandon leaned over her and thrust deep inside her, Micke almost screamed. He pounded hard as a piston while Mickie felt herself close to climax.

Brandon could go on like this for hours, Mickie knew from personal experience. If Brandon had been her last appointment of the afternoon, he might have left her door locked and trapped her on the worktable as he took her over and over again, each release more ecstatic than the one before. As it was Mickie grew closer to her ending, while Brandon pumped harder and faster, driving himself deeper within her, until Mickie finally went over the edge into wild contractions deep inside her that caused her to moan at volume.

Brandon stroked on, needing to reach his own ending. Mickie found herself wondering at his stamina, as her walls continued to contract and quiver around him. The sensation was delectable – being with Brandon like this was dangerous too, as they could be caught by anyone in this compromising situation, but Mickie didn’t care as she arrived at her second climax and arched up off the table in response to the wild frissons of delight fluttering from her core through all her nerves to her nerve endings.

Mickie herself was gone, the thinking, feeling consciousness had been taken over by the gasping writhing creature, legs wrapped around Brandon’s waist, lifting herself into him as Brandon braced himself against the edge of the table to bring himself to climax.

As if his forceful thrusts weren’t arousing enough, now he pulled away almost to withdrawal, and used both his body weight and his grip on the motionless table to hammer hard and fast and deep, with Mickie unable to remain silent as the gasped and moaned and cried while he pummeled her into a growing pinnacle that exploded at the same time Brandon lost control and shuddered as he finally came to his own ending.

He collapsed on top of her, and they tried to catch their breath. Brandon shook his head and kissed her cheek. That was so good.

Mickie nodded. For the two of them, this had been a quickie. The nights she visited his flat, she spent the entire night with Brandon giving her non-stop orgasms as he couldn’t take her hard enough, or fast enough, or deep enough. The idea brought her to orgasm again, her walls contracting around Brandon’s member still deep within her and made her swoon.

Of course, when he came to visit her in her own flat, their lovemaking took place in erotic slow motion, from the whisper light touch of skin on skin during their foreplay, to the deliberate attempt on Brandon’s part to delay her climax – and his own – as long as possible. Mickie considered the results of those nights to be the most intimate and tender she had ever experienced. She had no clear favorite between them though, Mickie loved them both, and couldn’t imagine that anyone but Brandon could make her feel this way.

They spent the next several minutes in the same position, though Mickie had to admit lying on her table wasn’t the most comfortable. But she had no desire to move. Brandon remained deep in her, and he had unbuttoned her shirt to expose her breasts so he could, in the afterglow, suck and lick at her now tightened nipples while driving her toward yet another climax as he casually toyed with her blossom.

Impatient knocking sounded at the door, along with an annoyed male voice complaining, Are you done yet?

Mickie groaned. God, what time is it? She glanced at Brandon’s watch. Jacob’s fitting should have been 20 minutes ago. And instead, he’d found a locked door, and no doubt knew exactly what was going on behind it.

Mickie struggled to get up, but Brandon didn’t move, as he massaged her engorged bud. Brandon bent down to speak quietly in her ear, But you aren’t done yet.

For the next several minutes there was no conversation between them as Brandon pleasured her and Mickie’s already excited libido flared into fiery life as once again her walls shuddered and both lovers groaned in satisfaction.

But now Jacob was in danger of missing the start of the ball, as was Brandon himself. There was no time for lingering. Mickie found herself bereft as Brandon withdrew, and dressed as if he hadn’t been half naked and completely brazen as they’d gone at it wildly on her worktable.

But he didn’t put on his shirt. Apparently Brandon was still smarting from the contest which he had lost to Jacob over who had the best chest. There could only be one shirtless company member, or the masquerade would look less like a ball and much more like a strip club.

Mickie rolled off the table and fumbled with her open shirt. The fastening on the bra was too delicate for her, she didn’t even attempt it.

She heard, rather than saw, Brandon greet the annoyed Jacob, and brush by him on his way out the door to the dressing room where he’d prepare for the ball.

Mickie knew what kind of picture they made. Brandon would have sauntered to the younger man, his smug expression and boastful swagger advertising the prowess with which he’d made Mickie cry for him. And behind him, Mickie herself tried desperately to hide her half nakedness. It was a miracle that covering her lower half by simply yanking on her hem was easy enough.

The door closed. What do you see in that guy?

Mickie wasn’t going to explain herself to Jacob. He’d had a seeming crush on her since he and Justine had first arrived and moved downstairs in the Victorian row house owned by Robert, the theater manager. He’d mistakenly assumed that because Mickie didn’t share a flat with a boyfriend or husband that she was available and had latched on to her as a potential love interest.

That hadn’t gone over well with Brandon. Nor had Jacob appreciated finding out that Mickie and Brandon were... together. Mickie wouldn’t do more to classify their relationship. She loved him dearly, she wanted him