Spotlight & Giveaway: It Takes a Rake by Anna Bennett

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you Anna Bennett’s new release: It Takes a Rake

The swoony, frothy finale to the Rogues to Lovers series from award-winning author Anna Bennett.

She’s about to face her biggest challenge yet…

Since she was a girl, Miss Kitty Beckett has been adept at finding trouble: sneaking brandy, running away, and getting under the skin of the boy who, like her, was an apprentice to an architect. Now Kitty’s a talented heiress who can take a dry building plan and breathe life into it with her pencils and paints. Also? She can spot a rake at a hundred yards—and she won’t be tricked or charmed into marriage. Certainly not by a man who might interfere with her dreams. When Bellehaven Bay announces its first ever architectural design contest, she vows to win—with a little help from her childhood rival.

Turning her buttoned-up nemesis into a certified rake.

Leo Lockland, a hardworking architect with a gift for numbers, has returned home after a few years in London, and he has secrets. The biggest? He’s been in love with Kitty since they were both apprentices. She refuses to give her heart to any man, but Leo’s determined to beat the odds—even if it means learning how to be a rake. Fortunately, Kitty’s willing to tutor him in the nuances of fashion, flirtation, and seduction in exchange for his help with the contest. But the whole plan would fall apart if she knew how he felt, so he’ll have to be very convincing.

Let the lessons begin…

Leo proves to be a surprisingly quick study in the ballroom, on the beach, and in the bedchamber. Before long, he’s softening Kitty’s hard edges with his wicked words and kissing his way past all her defenses. Perhaps she’s a bit too skilled at teaching, because her lessons are threatening to backfire, putting her closely guarded heart in grave danger…

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from It Takes a Rake 

From It Takes a Rake by Anna Bennett. Copyright © 2024 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.

“Would you like me to bring you some water?”
She shook her head. “I just need a moment to catch my breath.”
His palm made soothing circles at the base of her spine, and her eyes closed of their own accord. She resisted the urge to lay her cheek against his bare shoulder. It seemed impossible that only a few minutes ago she’d been resisting the urge to commit bodily violence against him.
But Leo had always had that effect on her. He could spark her ire one moment and talk her off a ledge the next.
“I understand why you were angry about me moving your things,” he said slowly—as if tiptoeing around a minefield. “But I’ve never seen you quite so upset. Did something else happen today?”
“Hazel’s having a baby,” she said, painting on a smile.
For several heartbeats, he said nothing.
Then, he gazed at her earnestly. “Nothing—not even a baby—will come between you and the countess. You are akin to her sister, daughter, and best friend, all rolled into one person. She’ll need you more than ever if she’s going to deal with a small, demanding, nappy-wearing human.”
Kitty’s eyes stung again, but she nodded, grateful that he’d cut to the heart of the matter without making her say the words out loud. “She will, won’t she?”
“You’ll be the best sort of aunt, too.” His arm was still draped around her like a shield protecting her from the outside world. “You’ll spoil the baby when it’s little. And when they’re older, you’ll be the one they come to when they’re in trouble.”
“Trouble happens to be my area of expertise,” she said with a reluctant smile.
“I can’t think of anyone more qualified.”
She met his gaze. “Thank you. For everything.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, exhaling. “I suppose we should clean up this mess and return to the shop.”
She clung tightly to his neck. “Wait.”
He shot her a puzzled glance. “Wait?”
“I’m not sure why I said that.” She only knew that it felt good to be close to someone who understood her. And she wasn’t ready to let him go.
In fact, she was feeling rather like she had on that day in the office when she’d almost kissed him. Like she wanted to.
“You can stay here for a while if you need time to collect yourself,” he offered.
“Actually,” she began, “I was thinking this would be an opportune time for a lesson.”
His muscles tensed. “What sort of lesson?”
All of the air seemed to have been sucked out of the room, and a delicious shiver stole over her skin.
She swallowed and blinked slowly. “A kissing lesson.”
“I see.” His eyes grew dark, and his gaze dropped to her lips, unleashing a whole new host of butterflies in her belly. “I’m not opposed to the idea.”
“It would be purely for instructional purposes,” she added quickly.
“Tell me more,” he urged, sending a shiver over her skin. Those three innocuous words were somehow more seductive than anything whispered in her ear by a rogue or scoundrel.
She cleared her throat and hoped her voice would not betray her nervousness. “We would engage in a kiss with each other. Afterward, I could provide you with an evaluation of sorts. After all, kissing is something you’ll need to master if you’ve any hope of becoming a rake.”
His mouth quirked in a half smile. “You’re going to critique me?”
“How else can you be expected to improve?” she reasoned.
He nodded, thoughtful. “Well,” he drawled, “if I’m going to be given a rating, I’d better do my best.”
A frisson of awareness rippled through her. “Yes,” she murmured, leaning closer. “Impress me.”
The words were barely out of her mouth before he touched his lips to hers. Softly at first, then more insistently, teasing her lips apart. He cupped her cheek in his palm as though he intended to savor every touch, every taste.
With the warm pressure of his mouth, the teasing flick of his tongue, and the sensuous caress of his fingers, he made her feel treasured. Revered. Like she was the center of his world.
She’d been kissed a time or two before. But never quite like this.
Leo didn’t attempt to dominate her or stake his claim. Rather, he seemed eager to please. To spark desire in her rather than satisfy his own.
And, against all odds, he was succeeding.
With a ragged breath, she speared her fingers through his hair and let go. Of her worries, fears, and ambitions. She simply let herself feel.
Pleasure buoyed her like a gentle ocean swell. It tickled her chin, lifted her feet off the ground, and left her body tingling with possibility.
She curled her fingers into the hard, smooth flesh of his shoulder, pulling him closer. A soft sigh escaped her throat as she tangled her tongue with his.
It was naught but a kiss, she reminded herself. And yet, its effects traveled well beyond her lips. Her body thrummed, her heart raced, the tips of her breasts tightened to hard little buds.
“Kitty,” he murmured against her mouth.
She flinched. Maybe it was the use of her familiar name, or maybe it was the way he’d uttered it—almost like a plea. Perhaps it was the sudden recollection that he was enamored of someone else. Whatever the reason, she came to the unwelcome realization that he might not be as consumed by the kiss as she was. And she abruptly drew back.
His eyes were slightly dazed, his expression unreadable. “I hope I didn’t overstep.”
“You didn’t,” she assured him, willing her pulse to slow.
He rubbed the back of his neck as if he were trying to recall precisely how they’d ended up kissing on his sofa. “How do you feel?”
“Fine.” She couldn’t bring herself to confess that she was exhilarated and embarrassed at the same time. That, even now, her lips tingled and her belly fluttered.
He nodded slowly. “You’re not angry?”
“Why would I be?” she asked as nonchalantly as she could manage.
“I imagine you were expecting a kiss that was shorter and rather more….chaste.”
“I’m tutoring you in the ways of a rake,” she said dryly. “I certainly wasn’t anticipating a perfunctory kiss on the cheek. Rest assured, I’m far from scandalized.”
For several seconds he said nothing but appeared to be pondering her words. Then he frowned. “Should I have taken the kiss farther?”
She shrugged philosophically. “A true rake would have.”
His mouth curled into a slow, potent smile. “Then I suppose I’ll have to try again.”

Copyright © 2024 by Anna Bennett
From It Takes a Rake by Anna Bennett. Copyright © 2024 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.

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Meet the Author:

Anna Bennett (she/her) is the award-winning author of the Debutante Diaries and Wayward Wallflowers series. Her dream of writing romance began during a semester in London, where she fell in love with the city, its history, and its pubs. Now Anna’s living happily-ever-after in Maryland with her family, who try valiantly not to roll their eyes whenever she quotes Jane Austen.

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