Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Will
    Will
    Will
    Ebook91 pages1 hour

    Will

    By Alice Gaines

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Sarah collects and sells antiques, and she lives in a fantasy world of her own creation. When she’s transported to another universe, she meets the man of her dreams, but he wants to teach her how to find pleasure in her “real” life.

    Will Loudon is Sarah’s pleasure trainer. He’s also an honest-to-God English earl -- the exact sort of man Sarah reads about in her forbidden books. He does such a good job of teaching her to find real pleasure, neither of them wants her to go home.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChangeling Press
    Release dateJul 14, 2023
    Will
    Author

    Alice Gaines

    Award-winning author Alice Gaines has been writing erotic romance since the mid-nineties. She loves stories that show emotional growth as physical loves blooms and matures between real people on their journey to happily-ever-after. Alice is thrilled to be part of Harlequin's publishing program. Alice has a Ph.D. in personality psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. She lives and gardens in Oakland, California and shares her life with two stray cats and two delightful pet corn snakes, Casper and Sheikh Yerbouti. Alice's hobbies include reading, reading, reading and gourmet cooking. She has a kitchen full of machines and gadgets, including her very favorites-a professional-grade standing mixer and a hand-cranked pasta roller. She uses them to make handmade pizza, fettuccine and lasagna. Her next project is learning to make gnocchi. If you have a foolproof method for poaching eggs, please pass it along to her! AliceGainesChambers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Alice loves to hear from readers.

    Read more from Alice Gaines

    Related to Will

    Titles in the series (3)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Fantasy Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Left To Lose

      Jul 10, 2022

      Around the time she gives up her name, it starts to feel like this entire revolution isn’t worth it anymore. The world is probably lucky that Kelian—she still remembers Kelian, in spite of everything—is there to pick up the pieces, the way he always

      11 min read

    • Article

      The Duplex

      Jun 9, 2020

      I moved to Los Angeles to sing. When was this? August? June? I was twenty-nine, and those were shapeless months, when the days blended together and I refused to pull them apart. My landlord was unusually close to her adult son. His name was Jeffrey,

      21 min read

    • Article

      O Fortuna, Velut Luna

      Sep 15, 2018

      What is Miss Treece’s trouble, according to a popular notion? The man A has failed to show up. Arousing herself at the restaurant, she fixes her lipstick when her solo supper concludes and takes herself down the stairs situated behind the bar. There,

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Library of Gromma

      Jul 10, 2023

      Zac was sweating and panting as he reached the top of the hill. The crooked beams of the library loomed over him. He dropped the buckets of water, swore at the few drops that spilled, and escaped the piercing morning sun in the shade of the library.

      22 min read

    • Article

      Best Of The Best

      Oct 29, 2022

      Best Of The Best
      8 min read

    • Article

      That Particular Sunday

      Jul 6, 2023

      That Particular Sunday
      26 min read

    • Article

      Changing ROOMS

      Sep 14, 2022

      Changing ROOMS
      6 min read

    • Article

      Summer Reading Guide

      Jan 2, 2022

      Summer Reading Guide
      6 min read

    • Article

      Jack of Knives

      Jun 3, 2021

      WINNER £100 Jennifer is the author of four middle grade children’s novels published by Maverick (writing as Jenny Moore). Her latest book, The Misadventures of Nicholas Nabb, is set during the same period as her winning story and also includes a scen

      6 min read

    • Article

      Alice And The Jabberwocky

      Apr 10, 2022

      ‘Twas brillig, and the slithy tovesDid gyre and gimble in the wabe:All mimsy were the borogoves,And the mome raths outgrabe. Once again, Alice found herself in her bedroom, feeling rather mimsy indeed. Every day now, at two o’clock, she would sit at

      18 min read

    • Article

      Cast Out

      Jul 10, 2021

      Verity pushed back the quilts, rolled off her straw mattress onto the floor, felt for the poker, and stirred the ashes. The embers glowed. She wouldn’t have to go fire-borrowing again. Her chilled hands were clumsy. One glowing bit of wood rolled fro

      21 min read

    • Article

      The Library Of Gromma

      Feb 10, 2021

      Zac was sweating and panting as he reached the top of the hill. The crooked beams of the library loomed over him. He dropped the buckets of water, swore at the few drops that spilt, and escaped the piercing morning sun in the shade of the library. He

      22 min read

    • Article

      Australia Reads At Home

      May 18, 2020

      Australia Reads At Home
      7 min read

    • Article

      Healing

      Apr 8, 2020

      Healing
      9 min read

    • Article

      Appreciating Hate

      Sep 10, 2021

      Felix thought of his mind as though it were artwork – a painting. His skull was the frame, the canvas inside the frame was the grey matter, the applied paint was his education, and that insubstantial feeling evoked by the art piece was his consciousn

      7 min read

    • Article

      The Family Plot

      May 7, 2020

      The Family Plot
      10 min read

    • Article

      Drawn to THE MOORS

      Feb 8, 2022

      Drawn to THE MOORS
      11 min read

    • Article

      Four Poems

      Mar 1, 2022

      I met the Bishop on the roadand much said he—same old porridgeI heard as a child, my little bodya “foul sty.” “Love has pitched his mansion.” MaybeLove pitched her silken tent.Love has raised its dwelling inthe place of reproduction, which can be fit

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Silence of Witches

      Dec 10, 2019

      The Silence of Witches
      6 min read

    • Article

      Meet the Writer

      May 27, 2023

      Meet the Writer
      4 min read

    • Article

      Six Dart Out

      Sep 10, 2023

      Marc figured the girl was a vegan. Her puke had overflowed the sink and run onto the floor—tomatoes and rice marinated in microbrew lager. He’d told Vegan Girl to slow down, but her friends had won the turning-21-peer-pressure battle. Admittedly, Mar

      9 min read

    • Article

      The Man I Should Have Married

      Dec 29, 2019

      The Man I Should Have Married
      11 min read

    • Article

      THE Well-wishers

      Nov 17, 2021

      THE Well-wishers
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Will

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Will - Alice Gaines

      Chapter One

      The dust in the old attic made Sarah Meadows sneeze, but she wouldn’t have been happier anywhere else in the world.

      You sure you want to look through this ancient stuff? Mr. Gamble, the owner of the house, asked from where he stood on a ladder behind her, his head poking out of the entrance to the attic.

      You said your wife saved everything, Sarah answered as she scanned an assortment of old trunks, boxes, and antique furniture someone had found the strength to haul up the ladder.

      Never could get her to throw away anything, he answered. As soon as you’ve found everything you can use, I’m going to clean it all out.

      I’m very grateful to be the first dealer you’ve had up here, she said. I’ll pay you a fair price for anything I find.

      Guess that’s all it amounts to… a little bit of money. He sighed. Anything’s helpful these days. I’ll leave you to it.

      Which he did. Left her all alone in the relics of his wife’s life. Poor man. She’d probably find something she could sell in her shop. Then, she’d refer Mr. Gamble to a few businesses that could help him empty his attic in preparation for selling the house. This couldn’t be a joyful enterprise for him. It might be for her.

      Dressed in grungy clothing for a dirty job, she got to work. The first box held a bunch of record albums. Vinyl was making a comeback these days. She pulled one of the discs out of its protective sleeve and did her best to scan it for defects in the dim light. Looked pretty good.

      The next box had pots and pans. Nothing much there. She hauled herself to her feet and approached what looked like a lady’s dressing table. The wood was dinged, but it could be restored. Polished, it could make a lovely piece for a period boudoir.

      One drawer held a hand mirror. Again, wood. Potentially salable. She glanced into it and almost dropped it. It wasn’t a mirror, after all, but the framed picture of a man’s face.

      Okay, that shouldn’t have startled her. Maybe the lady who’d owned the piece kept her lover’s face framed in her dressing table. It sure didn’t look like Mr. Gamble, though. In fact, his wicked smile and scandalously long-ish hair fit more with a wealthy rake of another century. Maybe the piece was older than she’d thought.

      Don’t be frightened, a man’s voice said from somewhere in the attic. A voice with a very distinct English accent.

      Her heart started beating like crazy. Who’s there? Mr. Gamble?

      That sure hadn’t sounded like Mr. Gamble. Neither did the laughter that followed her question. Even without having heard the actual voice of a wealthy rake, she recognized it as such. She’d read about such voices in her favorite novels. She’d never expected to hear one. She put her hand over her heart and did her best to keep breathing.

      That wasn’t a picture, the voice said. It was my reflection.

      You’re being ridiculous, she said with as much authority as she could muster. Who are you, and where are you?

      Over here, came the answer. But there was still no indication of the direction it came from. Rather, it seemed to be everywhere.

      Crap. She wasn’t staying up here with some stranger who could be deranged, for all she knew. Who hid out in attics? Instead, she got up and walked slowly toward the ladder. She’d tell Mr. Gamble he had a prowler, and once the police had evicted said prowler, she’d return.

      Don’t go, Sarah.

      He knew her name. How? She stopped in her tracks but didn’t turn around.

      I’m not here to hurt you, the voice said. I’m here to fulfill your dreams.

      What did a formless voice know about her dreams? She hadn’t shared them with anyone because they sounded ridiculous, even to her own ears. To live in a former time that seemed to glitter so much on the pages of novels and in the movies. Back then, most common folk, like her, had led difficult lives with no real education and folk remedies as their only health care. But -- the gowns and the balls. The architecture and art. The manners. Today seemed so coarse compared to that.

      Come find me, Sarah.

      Oh, that accent, like butter on a scone to be covered with jam and clotted cream. Wise or not, she was going to find him, so she might as well set about it. But where? He wouldn’t be in any of the boxes.

      One item offered some promise… what looked like an antique, free-standing mirror -- a cheval mirror -- in a corner draped with a sheet. The voice remained silent as she approached it. Waiting for her? She reached up to pull the covering away to discover she’d been right.

      Not only had she found a treasure of an antique, but the man himself stood in it, like a reflection. And in the mirror reflection, she was at his side. Sarah Meadows in her grubby clothes standing next to her wealthy rake. Impossible, but when she moved, so did her image.

      He held out a hand. Come join me.

      This isn’t possible,

      It isn’t just possible. It’s true, he said. Wouldn’t you like to experience this yourself?

      Yes, her mind screamed.

      Please, he said. I’ve been waiting for you.

      Longing took control over her good sense, and she extended her own hand toward his. The moment their fingers touched, the world melted around her as she was swept up into a spiral of images blurring into each other. A loud whooshing sound filled her ears. His fingers gripped her, tugging her to him until she found herself in a bedroom filled with antiques that appeared new. Her wealthy rake still held her hand and now gazed at her as if he’d found a treasure.

      She put a hand to her forehead to make the room stop spinning. I don’t believe this.

      But you must. He eased her toward him and lifted her chin with his thumb. Sweet Sarah. We’re finally wed.

      He wore fine evening clothes appropriate for a wedding. He didn’t seem to notice her decidedly not-appropriate clothing. But never mind all of that. If what he said was true, this was their wedding night. And that meant… holy crap.

      And what woman wouldn’t want to spend her first night of wedded bliss with a man like him? Taller than her by a head, he had

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1