Review: Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt

From the New York Times bestselling author of To Desire a Devil comes this thrilling tale of danger, desire, and dark passions.


A MAN CONTROLLED BY HIS DESIRES . . .

Infamous for his wild, sensual needs, Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, is searching for a savage killer in St. Giles, London's most notorious slum. Widowed Temperance Dews knows St. Giles like the back of her hand-she's spent a lifetime caring for its inhabitants at the foundling home her family established. Now that home is at risk . . .

A WOMAN HAUNTED BY HER PAST . . .

Caire makes a simple offer-in return for Temperance's help navigating the perilous alleys of St. Giles, he will introduce her to London's high society so that she can find a benefactor for the home. But Temperance may not be the innocent she seems, and what begins as cold calculation soon falls prey to a passion that neither can control-one that may well destroy them both.

A BARGAIN NEITHER COULD REFUSE

Ms. Hoyt is on my automatic buy list because she never fails to disappoint.  I love the fairy tale inserts, the hero's and heroine's interactions, and the sexual tension between them -- Hoyt is a master at sexual tension, I think.  While it took me a little longer to get into this book, the end was well worth it, especially for moments like these between Temperance and Claire.

"Flattered though I am by your martyrish impulses, Mrs. Dews, I have no need of your help. Bed and a brandy will no doubt see me right."

"Really?" Temperance eyed the idiot man, swaying on his own doorstep. Sweat dripped down his reddened face, the hair at his temples was plastered to his head, and he literally shook against her.

In one swift move, Temperance elbowed him in his wounded shoulder.

"God's blood!" Lord Caire doubled over, choking.

"You," gasped Lord Caire, "are a vindictive harpy, madam."

"No need to thank me," Temperance said sweetly. "I'm merely doing my Christian duty."

"Why?" she asked urgently. "Why did you make me watch? Why me?"

"Because," he murmured, "you draw me. Because you are kind but not soft. Because when you touch me, the pain is bittersweet. Because you cradle a desperate secret to your bosom, like a viper in your arms, and don't let go of it even as it gnaws upon your very flesh. I want to pry that viper from your arms. To suckle upon your torn and bloody flesh. To take your pain within myself and make it mine."

It was strange. Another man had just kissed her on the mouth, but this pressing of lips with Caire was entirely different. His mouth was firm and warm, his lips stubbornly closed against hers. She placed her hands on his wide shoulders for leverage and leaned a little closer. She could smell some kind of exotic spice on his skin--perhaps he'd rubbed it on after shaving--and his mouth tasted of heady wine. She licked the seam of his lips, once, gently.

(See the sexual tension??? Amazing, heady stuff!)

I cannot help but hope we see Temperance's sister Silence again in the series, whether it be with her own book or as a minor character.  Such a strong woman with a great sense of love and a moral compass to be named Silence.