Captured Hearts: The Substitute Bride's Gambit - Chapter 14 - Jungle Pharmaceutical Ceases Cooperation

BOOK TWO OF THE HAMILTON SERIESWARNING: A Regency Era novel. Adult content with detailed smut…Read at you own risk⚠️⛔️Genre: Historical Romance / Smut / Enemies-to-Lovers / Mystery / Comedy[Book Two of the Hamilton Series. Can be read as a standalone, but better enjoyed after Lady Ines’ Scandalous Hobby.]To the world, Duke Rowan Hamilton is the perfect gentleman. But in the bedroom, he is a man possessed.Rowan Hamilton has it all: a Ducal title, the face of a fallen angel, and a smile that makes debutantes faint. He is the “Golden Duke”—charming, responsible, and utterly adored by society.But it’s all a lie.Beneath the coats and polite manners, Rowan is a man haunted by a ghost. For three years, he has remained faithful to the memory of a masked woman who stole a kiss, bested him at a game of chance, and vanished into the night. He doesn't want any one as his wife; he wants her.When his domineering aunt tires of his bachelorhood, she hires London’s most notorious underground matchmaker to force the issue.Enter Miss Delaney Kingsley.She is sharp-tongued, infuriatingly competent, and entirely unimpressed by his title. Her mission? To drag Rowan to the altar with the season’s “Diamond,” Lady Celine, within three months to collect the juicy payment Rowan’s aunt had to offer.Rowan intends to fire the meddlesome woman. But when Delaney looks at him with those hazel, intelligent eyes and orders him around like a young lad, he feels the first spark of life he’s felt in years.He decides to play her game. He will let her “coach” him on how to woo a lady. He will let her teach him how to dance, how to flirt, and how to seduce.But he has no intention of using those lessons on Lady Celine.“You were hired to find me a Duchess, Miss Kingsley. But the only person I want in my duchy and in my bed... is you.”As the lessons turn into forbidden nights and the bickering turns into scorching passion, Rowan begins to suspect that his matchmaker is hiding a secret of her own.She moves like a shadow, handles a rifle like a soldier, and tastes exactly like the ghost he’s been hunting for three years.What to Expect:* The Golden Retriever Duke: Who turns into a possessive Alpha behind closed doors.* The Matchmaker Trope: She’s trying to marry him off; he’s trying to take her clothes off.* High Heat: Slow burn that explodes into intense smut.* Competence Kink: He falls harder every time she bosses him around.* Cameos: Featuring the chaotic domestic life of Duchess Ines and Duke Carcel (and their baby Harry!).Excerpt:“Your Grace, please focus,” Delaney snapped, adjusting his cravat with efficient, gloved hands. “Lady Celine is waiting in the ballroom. You must look at her as if she is the only woman in the world.”Rowan caught her wrist, stopping her movements. He stepped into her space, backing her against the heavy oak door of the study, his “Golden Boy” mask slipping to reveal the hunger beneath.“And how, exactly, does one do that, Miss Kingsley?” he whispered, his voice rough. “Show me.”“I—I cannot show you, I am merely the coach—”“Then teach me,” he growled, lowering his head until his lips brushed the sensitive skin of her neck. “Teach me how to pretend I am not burning alive every time you walk into a room.”

Cassian had lived his life in the most miserable way. He had scrubbed the floors and washed the clothes in the cold winter and done everything just to please his uncle’s family, but in return, they sold him to a merchant only for a pouch of coins.And the merchant decided to gift him to the king of Aetherlyn, a faraway kingdom from his small village to show his loyalty and curry favor from the king. And he was the lucky one from the group to be choosen by the king. Thus he got the position of palace servant.Cassian thought maybe his life in the palace would be different, but he was bound to be disappointed as the people in the palace were far more sinister and ruthless. Scheming ran in their blood.And can anyone tell him why his path always crossed with the notorious first prince of the kingdom? The seemingly cold prince had an unpredictable temper. And why was he always drawn to him like a moth to a light?Will Cassian be able to survive in the palace where the true faces are hidden behind masks, or will he become more entangled in their schemes and just become a mere pawn in their game?

Rocco Di Malvento lived a short, but loving life in his previous world, surrounded by a caring family. Despite suffering from a terminal illness, he found solace in books, especially his favorite BL novel >. But when he dies, he wakes up in an unexpected new life—as the weak, neglected second son of a powerful mafia family.Now reborn in the world of the novel, Rocco finds himself in a terrifying situation: he's the useless younger brother of Sylas, the main protagonist, and likely doomed to die young unless he changes the course of his life. So, what's his plan? Simple—befriend the protagonist, avoid being a spoiled brat, and secretly recruit Sylas's future allies to protect him.First target? Georgio the Hyena, an infamous killer. Rocco's strategy: charm the terrifying man and make him his ally instead of Sylas’s.It's a ridiculous plan, but hey, at least Rocco is trying. Can he survive the mafia world and avoid his tragic fate? He hopes so. After all, he’s just a kid trying to make the most of his second chance!