At this point in her career, E.L. James needs no introduction. Her books have been ultimate bestsellers and have even become one of our favorite movie franchises of all time. And while we wouldn’t mind returning to that world anytime soon, her latest series, Mister & Missus is satisfying all our cravings.
Cosmopolitan has an early look at the series’ highly anticipated sequel, The Missus, which is set to be released on June 20, 2023. After a four-year wait, fans will finally get to know what happened to Maxim and Alessia after that wild ending that left them now married and starting a brand new life together. But both of their wild pasts and all the history between them, will this end up being a happily ever after or something different?
If you’re already itching to turn the page to find out what happens next, then get ready because the official description from Bloom Books will get you even more excited:
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The follow-up to the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Mister, a passionate and thrilling love story from E L James, author of the phenomenal bestselling Fifty Shades Trilogies.
Alessia regards her husband through heavy-lidded eyes.
You’ll have to fight for him. Her mother’s words from their call this morning ring through her head. And fight, she will. Using every available weapon she has.
She loves him. She knows this. She wants him.
And she wants him to want her.
What happens once the glass slipper fits…?
Maxim Trevelyan, reluctant Earl of Trevethick, has pursued the woman he loves to the wilds of Albania. Having fought for and won her, he now has to wed her, at the sharp end of a shotgun.
But can a reformed rake like Maxim ever make a good husband ― or will his own notorious reputation and the scandalous secrets of his aristocratic family destroy his newfound happiness?
Alessia Demachi has defied and outwitted kidnappers and traffickers, and won the heart of the man she loves, but can she make this marriage work? Confronted by Maxim’s lurid past, his forbidding family, and the looks and whispers of London’s elite, will she ever be seen as Maxim’s countess ― or will she always be his former cleaner?
From the majestic mountains of Albania, through the rural idyll of the English countryside, to the shady glamour of contemporary London, The Missus is a spellbinding journey of love, longing, acceptance, and redemption.
Before you run to preorder The Missus, don’t miss out on an exclusive excerpt below!
An Excerpt From The Missus
By E.L. James
Reaching up, I run my thumb over her trembling bottom lip. “You didn’t sign up for any of this, did you?”
She inhales sharply, and I dread what she’s going to say. But she runs her tongue across my thumb, then purses her lips and kisses the tip. The jolt travels like lightning to my groin, heating everything in its path, and I suppress a groan, taken completely by surprise.
Alessia’s eyes, intent on me, widen a fraction.
Not from fear or anger.
From the same jolt of desire.
Her sharply exhaled breath dries the spot on my thumb moistened by her kiss, sending my blood racing.
South.
Her eyes follow, and my dick rejoices as I drop my hand.
“Alessia,” I whisper, and I don’t know if it’s a plea or a warning. Her darkening eyes lift, pinning mine. Gone are the unshed tears; there’s just her burning gaze full of carnal promise. I step closer so I’m bathed in her scent and the warmth of her body. I want nothing more than to grab her, strip off her jeans, and fuck her on the kitchen counter. But I want her to make the first move. “What do you want, my love?”
Tentatively, she raises her hand and traces my bottom lip with her thumb. “No, I didn’t sign up for this. But I did sign up for you.”
The words are softly spoken.
And in them. There’s hope. For us.
My senses heightened, I feel the air thicken between us, full of lush anticipation.
And heat.
And expectation.
It’s heady and addictive.
I’ve never felt like this with anyone else. My sweet, siren wife. She has no idea about the potency of the magic she weaves and the spell she casts over me.
Or maybe she does.
“What do you want, Alessia?”
“You,” she whispers, and using one hand, she runs the tips of her fingers down my sternum, firing synapses throughout my body. Then across my chest, so my nipples pucker at her touch, and down my stomach, my belly, and my happy trail to the button on the waistband of my jeans. Keeping her eyes on mine, she undoes the top button in one nimble move. And her fingers skirt lower, cradling my heavy erection through the denim.
“You have me.” I tilt my pelvis, finding some friction against her palm, and close my eyes, fisting my hands to stop myself from wrapping her in my arms.
Text copyright © 2023 by E L James. Reprinted by permission of Bloom Books, an imprint of Sourcebooks. All Rights Reserved.
The Missus, by E.L. James will be released June 20, 2023. To preorder the book, click on the retailer of your choice:
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Entertainment Editor
Tamara Fuentes is the current Entertainment Editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers TV, movies, books, celebrities, and more. She can often be found in front of a screen fangirling about something new. Before joining Cosmopolitan, she was the entertainment editor over at Seventeen. She is also a member of the Television Critics Association and the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.