Title: North and South: The Wild and Wanton Edition Volume 1
Authors: Brenna Chase and Elizabeth Gaskell

Blurb
Margaret Hale’s life changes dramatically when her father quits his living as a parson in the idyllic New Forest in the South of England and moves the family to the northern industrial town of Milton, intending to become a private tutor. There, she is appalled at the poverty surrounding her and at first finds the local mill workers too rough, but soon she can’t help sympathizing with their plight.

John Thornton is a magistrate and owner of a prosperous cotton mill. Forced to become the head of the household at a young age and driven to keep his family from becoming impoverished again, he’s had no time for love. He certainly has no time for a lady who looks down on both him and the industry in which he earns his livelihood. Their beliefs lead them to inevitably clash, but their arguments over his treatment of his workers mask a deep attraction neither wants, and eventually, one that neither can deny.

Although it is labeled as a social novel, North and South simmers with sexual tension. Through the backdrop of a labor strike and a riot, through a possible murder and its fallout, through the deaths of loved ones, and the rise and fall of fortunes, the romance between John Thornton and Margaret Hale still entrances readers as it did when first published in 1855. In this updated version, read the steamy scenes that Ms. Gaskell, a minister’s wife, could not include in the original work, from John and Margaret’s first desperate, yet tender, lovemaking, to their sizzling reunion in London.

Excerpt
What Mr. Thornton would have liked was to forget Margaret Hale, but that would take some doing, as she insisted on invading his thoughts and dreams. Even now he wanted her. Not just her body, but all of her, including that sharp mind of hers that took pleasure in twisting his words, in challenging him. It was one of the things he loved about her.
Ay, he loved her still, and it was an ache that even the idea of her unfaithfulness and deceit could not stamp out of him. And he still wished to marry her, if only she would give him a chance. He was no gentleman, she had taken pains to let him know that, but he would have done anything to make her happy.
He thought of going to her, and the more he thought of it the more appeal the idea had. He would go to her and demand … What? He gnashed his teeth together. He did not know what he would demand, but he needed to see her. Now. The house was quiet and dark as he went out and shut the door behind him, and the mill yard was equally silent, with only the odd beam from the streetlights shining into it. The two miles were little distance, eaten up easily by his quick, determined strides. There were a few lights on in the house, though it was late. He knocked softly.
“I’ll see who it is, Dixon,” he heard Margaret say. “Go on to bed.”
The door opened and Margaret stood there. Her mouth formed an “o” and her chest heaved up and down beneath her dark blouse, drawing his attention briefly to her bosom before he looked back up at her face.
“What are you doing here?”
He removed his hat. “I need to see you.”
“You said you wanted nothing more to do with me. That we were nothing to each other.”
He did not need the reminder. The words he had said to her had played in his mind on his walk over, mocking him for his weakness.
“Very well. Come into father’s study where we can talk.”
She turned to him when he stepped into the room behind her and closed it. Margaret opened her lips to speak and he stepped closer, his mouth crashing down on hers before she could say anything he did not want to hear. He did not mean to start that way but he had missed her. Margaret’s capitulation was swift; she pressed close, her arms winding round his neck as she parted her lips for his, fingers tugging at his hair until his scalp protested, but he did not care. He relished her response, revelled in it as he pressed her against a wall.
She whimpered as his mouth left hers and found the pulse at the base of her throat.
“Margaret.”
“This is wrong,” she said, but she clutched at his head as it moved lower and paused at the peak of a breast. The heat of his mouth seemed to sear her even through her garments.
“What’s wrong is denying this.” He raised his head until his eyes were level with hers. “Denying us. Why do you?”

Available at Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/nxth9x6
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iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/m2ra5wz

Bio
Brenna Chase is a Southern transplant to the Midwest. Married with two kids, she enjoys knitting, bicycling, classic literature, movies, and rock. She has always loved romances. Find out more about her at http://www.brennachase.com.

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