Her Only Desire
Galene Foley


PRAISE FOR GAELEN FOLEY
His Wicked Kiss-
a USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller!
"Foley maintains the delicious tension between Jack and Eden throughout; that, along with the mystery of Jack's past, propels the novel to an exciting conclusion."
-Publishers Weekly
"This is adventure romance at its best, a mix of Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean that stirs you and leaves you sighing with satisfaction."
-Romantic Times
"Compelling, absorbing and a delicious smorgasbord of different settings and characters, His Wicked Kiss is another nimble writing adventure from Gaelen Foley."
-RomanceJunkies.com
"Always fabulous."
-JULIA QUINN


One Night of Sin
"Delectably entertaining, lusciously sensual...an irresistible author skilled at blending passion and intrigue."
-Booklist
"One Night of Sin is pure perfection."
-The Historical Romance Club
"An absolutely fabulous romance! Don't start this tale late in the day, or you'll be up all night finishing it."
-FreshFiction.com
"A compelling romance."
-TheBestReviews.com
"One Night of Sin is a wonderful historical novel that takes readers on an adventure they will never forget...sure to be a favorite among readers."
-RomanceJunkies.com


Devil Takes a Bride
"With its wonderfully complicated, unforgettable characters, sharp wit, and a riveting plot rife with menacing danger and sizzling passion, Foley's latest Knight Miscellany historical Regency is simply superb."
-Booklist
"A truly sensual romance, possessing depth of plot and character."
-Publishers Weekly
"Complex and engaging characters...Intense emotions and great depth of poignancy enthrall from beginning to end."
-Romantic Times Top Pick


Also by Gaelen Foley
Published by Ballantine Books
The Pirate Prince
Princess
Prince Charming
The Duke
Lord of Fire
Lord of Ice
Lady of Desire
Devil Takes a Bride
One Night of Sin
His Wicked Kiss





Her Only Desire is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

A Ballantine Books Mass Market Original

Copyright © 2007 by Gaelen Foley

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

BALLANTINE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

eISBN: 978-0-345-49728-4

www.ballantinebooks.com

v1.0


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe a lot of people thanks for helping me to shape this book into what it needed to be, most of all my insightful editor, Charlotte Herscher, who always seems to know what's needed, and my eagle-eyed agent, Nancy Yost, for her excellent suggestions on a few story points, as well. I would also like to thank author Meredith Bond for her gracious and unstinting help with my research on India, my dear friends and fellow authors Marjorie Allen and "Angel" Kihl-strom, and my favorite military historian, Bill Haggert, for providing me with some hard-to-find details on the Regulars in India during this period. Any mistakes that may arise are entirely my own.


CHAPTER
ONE
India, 1817
B eneath a bold sky of peacock blue, the sun-baked city of Calcutta unfurled along a palm-lined meander of the Hooghly River like a living tapestry, or a rich silk shawl that billowed on a spice-laden breeze.
Flocks of birds swirled around the curving spires of ancient Hindu temples, under whose profusely carven gateways worshipers in flower-bright robes bathed on the stone steps leading down to the water. The noisy bazaar also hugged the misty riverside, a tumult of haggling, jumbled stalls and tents offering everything from Afghan carpets to aphrodisiacs made of rhinoceros horn.
Farther away from the crowded banks, the river bustled with all the teeming commercial activity of the British capital of India. Monopolies long held by the East India Company had just been lifted; there were fortunes to be made, and now it was anyone's game. Merchants and traders all along the docks loaded square-rigged vessels with their goods, bound for distant worlds.
Amid all of this chaos and exuberance, a low-slung schooner docked quietly.
A tall, formidable Englishman stood leaning at the rails with his hands planted wide, his chiseled jaw taut. His imposing size, hawk-eyed stillness, and the gentlemanly reserve of his London attire distinguished him from the commotion as the grubby, barefoot sailors raced around behind him at their tasks, dropping anchor, taking in sails.