The Unquenchable Fire by Shannon Farrell, Book Two of The Fire of Love Series

Riona Connolly's saga, first begun in The Fire's Center, continues as she struggles to make a life for herself in Dublin without her beloved Lucien. Through the enmity of Dr. O'Carroll and Lucien's sister in law Antoinette, who has always wanted Lucien for herself, the couple seemed destined to separate forever.

Lucien Woulfe continues to battle between temptation and social convention. He aches for Riona with a fevered passion bordering on obsession. But how can he ever marry his former assistant at the clinic?

Yet his life with Riona seems so empty and hollow, he begins to question the very nature of the life he has led for so long. But despite being an educated doctor, love seems to be an emotion he knows nothing about.

Yet Riona knows she can't live without it. The more Lucien demands of her, the more he drives her away, until she is desperate to escape from the life she was so sure she longed for.

Lucien's brother Quentin proves an unexpected ally and confidant, and soon Riona finds herself returning to her beloved Donegal to fight the Famine there once more, this time on her own terms.

Riona begins to re-build her life slowly. But a shipwreck in the Atlantic sets in motion a series of fateful events which will have earth-shattering consequences for both families.

Only the unquenchable fire of Riona's spirit and the love she and Lucien share can ever help them overcome the devastation which surrounds them, and threatens all they hold dear.

Can their fiery love win through to a bright future, or will it too become yet another casualty of the Great Blight?

"Life is a risk, one big gamble. All I want to think about is the here and now, Lucien. Let the future take care of itself for a change," Riona whispered before kissing him passionately.
His arms went around her at once, pulling her tightly to them so that there was no mistaking his desire. Hers too, for her breasts burgeoned against his chest, and she arched her back and gave a low moan from deep inside her throat as the fiery passion scorched them once more.
Yet this time, it was a conflagration which they simply could not seem to quench. Scattering their clothes in every direction, they hurried to gain the joyous sensation of bare flesh on flesh.
Riona was sure that she could never get enough of the magnificent man caressing her.
"I'm ready now, please," she begged, her whole body clenching and unclenching with need as his hands travelled over her, rousing, exploring, setting her smoldering...

The Unquenchable Fire
Part 2 of The Fire of Love Series
Shannon Farrell
Genre=Historical Romance
Setting=Victorian Ireland, Irish Potato Famine
Rating: Very sensual
Word Count=72,400 words

"He will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the grain store;
but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matthew, Book 3, verse 12

May 1847, Dublin

Chapter One

After the devastating scene at the costume ball, Riona harbored no more illusions that she and Lucien had any future together. His scheming sister in law had trampled in the mire what little respectability she might have had as a supposed Woulfe cousin.

And Dr. O'Carroll had seemed hell-bent on ruining her as well, in a different way. It was bad enough being penniless. A penniless harlot put her so far beneath the great doctor Lucien Woulfe that she might as well have been the draggle-tailed guttersnipe they all treated her as, instead of the respectable governess who had fallen on hard times due to the Potato Famine.

No sooner had Lucien left after his accusatory tirade, than she had locked the door behind him after uttering her final farewell. Then she had given way to a paroxysm of emotion and grief.

But now the fury of her weeping had at last spent itself, and she lay prostrate on the pillows for a time longer, snuffling softly to herself as she wondered what to do next.

But deep in her heart, she already knew. Lucien had given her the answer, at least in part. His brother Quentin had agreed to take her on as governess to help with his children Lisette and Neville. Though she hated the thought of living under the same roof as Antoinette, or being beholdened to her for anything, the fact was that she needed a place to live immediately, and some form of paid employment.

And though Lucien had treated her barbarically, she was still supposed to be their cousin. She couldn't really seek any other posts in the capital without setting tongues awagging.

Riona couldn't afford to do that after what had just happened in front of the cream of Dublin society. Besides, it was unfair to make the two brothers suffer just because she had got ideas above her station.

She lifted her head at that, wiping her teary eyes with one sleeve of her dressing gown. With a sigh, she rose from the bed and went over to the chest of drawers in which she had placed Lucien's uncle Oliver's sketchbooks.

She flicked open to the page she had inserted the marker ribbon into, and stared for a time. With a sudden pang, she recalled the last night she and Lucien had spent at Oliver's, in the Wicklow hills.

How they had been so free. Free to love, and be loved...

How Lucien had tried to be sensible and get ready for their return to Dublin to resume their duties, but had instead reached for her passionately with an agonised groan.

Riona had melted into his arms, limbs and gown seams straining as they sought to get closer and closer, tumbling onto the bed in a welter of limbs, until at last he was inside her, their heartbeats thundering in time with his ardent thrusts, which she eagerly arched into.

Nay, she even begged for more, for just as he had broken down her barriers earlier that morning when they had dared to make love in the bright sunshine, her passionate kisses and caresses coaxed him to at last flinging off his own restraint completely.

He plunged and reared, plunged again, and then laced both her legs around his elbows. One broad hand splayed across the small of her back. The other slipped between them to caress the nub of her desire.

"God, Riona, oh God," he gasped, as her whole body tightened and clenched around him.

"Yes, Lucien, please, yes, all of it, now, please!" she urged, not sure what she was pleading for, but knowing it was close.

She felt him swell inside her, and their sanity slipped. The storm broke over them both like a crashing wave of fire, scorching in its intensity as their climaxes blazed in furious abandon for a dazzling moment that seemed to go on for ages, yet ended all too soon.

Lucien collapsed on top of her with a groan of sheer raw delight, his whole weight on top of her, heart to heart, with him still buried deep in her most secret space.

"Oh, God, Riona," he gasped again, so spent he couldn't even open his eyes.

"It's all right, my love, rest now, rest," she had soothed, reveling in the sensation of every inch of her body being caressed by his.

Thus entwined, they slept the dreamless sleep of lovers whose every desire had been fulfilled at last.

Yet the very next morning, he had become cold and distant once more.

She shut the book with a snap. It was coincidence, nothing more. Certainly not the sign of fate she had taken it to be. That she and Lucien belonged together, that somehow love would find a way. She had let herself be carried away by the romance of the place, and look what a fine mess she was in as a result.

She thunked the book atop the dresser dismissively, and now opened the next drawer, and began to gather up all her things.

She thought for a time about taking the Croziers up on their kind offer to accompany them south, or to use their townhouse whilst they were away.

But at the sight of the torn gown she had borrowed from one of their daughters when she had fled from the ball, she sobered.

Once again, fear of scandal had to be the deciding factor in her next course of action. That and the fact that her father was over in England with his new employer.

Sooner or later, he ought to be coming back to Dublin. She could do a lot worse than wait for him here. At least she would be in a decent home, and able to send all her wages to the rest of their family back in Donegal.

And she was a governess after all, she reasoned, as she emptied the last drawer. It was what she had been trained to do, and Lisette and Neville were delightful children.

Her heart went out to them now as she recalled how terrified they were to even touch their own mother. Riona thought of her own sainted mother, Alanna. Beautiful by name, beautiful by nature.

She and her father had never seen eye to eye, but she and her mother had shared such a special bond....

At that thought she recalled the scribblings from the sketch book, and started, slamming another drawer shut as she flinched. Riona began to do some mental arithmatic insider her head, and groaned.

"Oh, good Lord." She grabbed her valise now from off of the top of the wardrobe, one trembling hand resting on her belly. "Oh, good Lord," she sighed again as her contemplations led her to yet another startling conclusion.

She sat back down on the bed, winded by all she suspected. She put her spinning head in her hands.

And to think she had had such high hopes for her life when she had left Donegal and met Lucien on the road to Dublin.

He had dazzled her with his good looks, that was it. What woman wouldn't fall prey to his charms? He was the most handsome man she had ever seen in her twenty-two years on the earth. How could any female fail to be moved by his magnetism?

She recalled her first impression of him as if it were yesterday. Lucien's black hair fell in thick, lush ebony waves over one eye, swept over from the side, and it shimmered so darkly it was almost blue in color. His raven brows were moderately heavy, and arched gracefully over the most unusual eyes she had ever seen, tawny gold in color, which gave Riona the distinct impression of a tiger stalking its prey.

The nose was thin, particularly narrow at the bridge, and the tip was almost razor sharp. It was not, however, too large, and suited his thin cheeks, which were completely clean-shaven. He was without the heavy sideburns which were so fashionable amongst the Victorian gentlemen she had seen.

She noted a firm jaw and chin, which possessed a deep cleft. He had even white teeth which glinted when he spoke, and his rich sonorous voice added to his already ample attractions.

His stock was of the finest linen, snowy white. Indeed all his clothing was rich, but by no means gaudy. His coat and trousers were black, his waistcoat burgundy silk, but with no fancy embroidery, merely a paisley embossed pattern. The trousers were sleekly cut, and molded against his muscular legs to perfection.

Here was a man who led a busy, active life. He was, no doubt, an excellent horseman, and a wealthy, successful doctor, Riona had judged from his magnificent hands, huge and capable-looking.

And he had only got better looking the more she had fallen in love with him....

But even more alluring than his spectacular maleness was how he had appeared to treat her with regard, and open up a whole new world to her, only to slam the gates in her face and deem her unworthy. She had thought their time together in Wicklow had finally put an end to his doubts about the depth of their feelings for one another, and he had been so loverlike all day, that she was certain the fundraising costume ball that evening would have been the beginning of her new life with Lucien.

Now it had ended in disaster. Worse still, after all that had been said and done, there was no going back.

For without love, respect, regard and trust, there was nothing to go back to....

Riona sighed and shook her head, then rose wearily once more to finish packing. Dwelling on what had happened that night was fruitless. Lucien clearly didn't love her. In fact, she was sure now that he didn't even know the meaning of the word.

But she did, and was unwilling to settle for anything less. And while Riona felt floored at the moment by all that had happened, she knew people didn't die of broken hearts. She couldn't give way to her feelings, no matter how much she ached inside.

Not when so many of her family were counting on her. Nay, so many victims of the Famine and the resulting fevers as well. She couldn't give up. Not when Lucien had given her the gift of medicine, or at least made her realise her natural talent for healing.

She knew she had a talent for teaching as well. Being governess to Lisette and Neville would be good for them all, she was sure. They clearly didn't know the meaning of love any more than their cynical uncle did.

Well, she would teach by example, love, compassion, even though she felt like a part of her had died.

Hope, yes, hope had died within her, the delicate flame extinguished by Lucien's callousness.

Extinguished? she wondered as she gathered her boots out from under the bedstead. Or merely transferred to a different kind of love and longing....

She would not let fear and uncertainty get the better of her, she would not. She would concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other as she marched toward her future.

But despite trying to put a brave face on it, as she looked around the small chamber which had been the site of so much joy in Lucien's arms, she could not stop the tears from falling once more.

It was certainly going to be a hard road less travelled, and one she had never though to have to traverse without her beloved Lucien by her side.....

She donned her cloak, gathered her cases, and shut the door with a final click which echoed around the hall of the townhouse like a death knell.

Reviews:
The Unquenchable Fire
This is another beautifully sensual historical novel by the remarkably talented Ms. Farrell, continuing the wonderful saga of Riona Connolly and Lucien Woulfe. I was on the edge of my seat and couldn't wait for the happily ever after ending. -- Carolyn Stone, Under the Covers Book Reviews
Another beautiful novel, with a mastery of character and setting which is always a delight to read. With her heroines, I always feel like I know them, and even want to be them, despite all their misfortunes. They are well-matched with flawed but courageous heroes they manage to redeem through the power of love.
Riona and Lucien are no exception, and once again, this sensual couple must walk through the fire's center to be together. Full of surprises, you will be gripped by every word. Evelyn Trimborn, Harlequin Hearts

Another winner in this series. The title is an apt one, because the fire between the couple just can't be quenched, despite all the trials and tribulations they endure in order to win each other's love. Intense, sensual, passionate. Enjoy! Jacinta Carey, The Starbuck Saga
The Unquenchable Fire by Shannon Farrell
During the time of the Irish Potato Famine, a young woman takes a post at the clinic of a handsome doctor. But their growing attraction to each other is forbidden in the strait-laced society of Victorian Dublin.
This is Book Two of The Fire of Love series, and is a worthy sequel to The Fire's Center. Riona and Lucien were torn apart by their enemies at the end of that book, and though it appears for a time as if the couple will find their way back to one another, Riona knows that she can never marry Lucien so long as he continues to view her as less than his equal.
I can't think of a better title for this novel, because it really sizzles, and Riona's spirit and determination make her a force to be reckoned with.
The hero is so resistant to the idea of being in love that he nearly throws away any chance of happiness with the woman who is obviously his soul mate. But Lucien grows and develops in a believable manner that makes us fall in love with him as well (who hasn't met a 'clueless man' in their life!)
Lucien endures a trial by fire in more ways than one thanks to the evil Dr. O'Carroll, and only Riona's spirit can help save him from losing everything he has ever worked for.
Riona is a brave woman willing to risk everything for her principles and her beliefs, that Ireland can once again be strong if everyone works together for the benefit of all.
An interesting cast of secondary characters act as the perfect support for Riona and Lucien, and I am sure we will be seeing more of these intriguing people later in the series.
The historical accuracy is well-done, and the novel features Ms. Farrell's singing prose, never better than when she is writing her passionate and sensual love scenes.
The Unquenchable Fire is a page-turning read with an unforgettable hero and heroine who fight against all odds, and their enemies, to win each other's love and the happily ever after they so richly deserve.
The love the couple have for each other transcends all boundaries, and makes us yearn for a better world full of compassion. Gritty, realistic, yet romantic, this is another winner from this wonderfully talented author.
Annabelle Stevens, Love's Sweet Song
A beautiful and compelling novel
Riona Connolly, desperate for work so she can support her family, is thrilled at the chance to work at Dr. Lucien Woulfe's clinic, even if it is in the poorest slum in Dublin.
Some of his friends and family look down on her as being a peasant, but Lucien can see things that others can't: her courage, intelligence, selfless devotion to others, and her beauty and passion. Draw to her like a moth to a flame, he is scorched by desire, and terrified that he is falling in love.
His last relationship to the faithless Antoinette ended when she married his brother. This is a minor inconvenience to the scheming woman as she plots to win Lucien back as her lover.
Riona, far from being overawed by Dublin's upper-class, finds them vain, selfish, and debauched. As Antoinette moves against her, and the evil Dr. O'Carroll blackens her name, Riona knows that she and Lucien can never be happy together with so many people trying to pull them apart.
Determined to carve out a good life for herself through hard work and study, she leaves Lucien to return to her family in Donegal.
Only when Riona is gone does Lucien come to recognize her true worth. But circumstances have raged out of control, and he nearly loses almost everything he has cared about before he sees at last what a wonderful gift of love they share.
This is a beautiful novel, with two compelling characters and a set of events which propel them toward growth, understanding and love.
We are not just following a moving romance and passionately sensual love affair, but the march of history, in this exceptional work by this remarkably talented author.

The Unquenchable Fire
Part 2 of The Fire of Love Series
Shannon Farrell
Genre=Historical Romance
Setting=Victorian Ireland, Irish Potato Famine
Rating: Very sensual
Word Count=72,400 words OR
by THREE books for the price of one with the Shannon Farrell Book Bundle:

Back to The HerStory Books Home Page

© HerStory Books 2008 http://www.herstorybooks.com All Rights Reserved.
This is a secure shopping site powered by PayPal-Shop securely with confidence now.

Custom Search