The Harvester - Chapter 17: Hunger

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.”

At sixty, Xu Mu was old and frail, with one foot in the grave, still stuck at the beginning stage of Qi Cultivation!

He had reached a dead end on the path of immortality. Giving in to life’s hardships, he decided to get married and have children, and live out his remaining days.

However, on the day his daughter was born, it was a double celebration. The doors to his cultivation were reopened!

[Congratulations! You have achieved: Blessed with a Daughter!]

[Blessed with a Daughter: Increase your Luck Value by 10 points every day!]

[Luck Value: Can be used to increase skill proficiency, it cannot directly improve cultivation!]

To survive, to live a better life, to reach the pinnacle, and gain longevity, Xu Mu embarked on the journey of marriage and parenthood, achieving milestones along the way!

…

Current achievements: [Blessed with a Son, Perfect Family…]

—

[The new book has been released, (I upgraded my storage bag to the cosmos). Respectful seniors, if you have time, please give guidance!]

On the eve of their wedding, Yan Changsheng brought back a girl and publicly called off the marriage.Only then did Shen Qinghe realize that Yan Changsheng was the crazy male lead from a book, and the girl was the irresistible female protagonist.As for her, she was just early cannon fodder fated to die, and her elder sister was the malevolent female supporting character whom everyone wanted to beat up.Tsk, the plot is just freaking ridiculous!After awakening, Shen Qinghe busied herself with cultivation, protecting her elder sister.Yet, unknowingly seizing the female protagonist's luck, she attracted several crazy male leads, each of them forcibly taking what they wanted from her.She thought Dongfang Wuya was relatively normal, but who knew he was crazier, actually seizing the position of Heavenly Emperor and then forcibly marrying her to become the Heavenly Empress!**As the high and mighty belle of the cultivation world, Dongfang Wuya had countless admirers and fans. Yet he was devoted to cultivation, treating love as if it were dirt.Initially thinking Shen Qinghe was deeply in love with him, he sternly advised her, “Focus on your cultivation, do not get distracted by romantic entanglements!”Later, irked by her dedication to cultivation, he pressed her into his arms and kissed her, seductively coaxing with a playful smile, “Be my Daoist companion, and I'll aid you in cultivation, hmm?”[Asura Field, Cremation Ground, Male Rivalry, Su Wen]

I was the reason my idol cancelled her stream…?