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Chapter 1

June 1820 Devon

Abstinence

It didn't even sound comfortable

Alasdair Reginald Cynster, widely knoith good reason, as Lucifer, pushed the word fro his pair of highbred blacks down a narrow lane The lane led south, toward the coast; Colyton, his destination, lay along it

Around him, early summer clasped the countryside in a benevolent embrace Breezes rippled the corn; ss rode the currents high above, black darts against the blue sky Thick hedges bordered the lane; from the box seat of his curricle, Lucifer could only just see over the to see in this quiet rural backwater

That left hi the blacks to a slow but steady pace along the winding lane, he considered the unwelco to survive without the type of feminine company to which he was accustomed It wasn't a pleasant prospect, but he'd rather suffer that torture than risk succu to the Cynster curse

It wasn't a curse to be trifled with-it had already claimed five of his nearest roup that had, for so many years, lorded it over the ton The Bar Cynster had cut swaths through the ranks of London's ladies, leaving the, devilish, invincible-until, one by one, the curse had caught them Noas the last one free-unshackled, unwed, and unrepentant He had nothing against e per se, but the unfortunate fact-the crux of the curse-was that Cynsters did not simply marry They married ladies they loved

The very concepthe would never willingly accept

Yesterday, his brother, Gabriel, had done just that

And that was one of the two principal reasons he was here, going to ground in deepest Devon

He and Gabriel had been close all their lives; only eleven months separated them Other than Gabriel, the one person he knew better than anyone in the world was their childhood playmate Alathea Morwellan Now Alathea Cynster Gabriel hadhad opened Lucifer's eyes to how potent the curse was, how irresistible it could be Love had blooround The curse had struck boldly, ruthlessly, powerfully, and had conquered against all odds