A Night With the Bride by Kate McKinley

Author:Kate McKinley [McKinley, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Erotica, Historical, Romance, General, Regency
ISBN: 9781455574292
Google: 4TJVAQAAQBAJ
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2014-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Nicholas paced in his room for hours, all through the night, until the first orange-pink hues of sunlight seeped in through the crack in his thick brocade curtains. He’d refused to allow anyone inside the room, including Larson, for fear of triggering another outburst. There was no fire lit, no candles burning. He’d been alone in the darkness, alone and pacing.

For hours, his thoughts swirled around Gabriella—her scent, her luminescent smile, the gentle lilt of her voice. Just the thought of her soothed his overwrought nerves and allowed him to focus.

He needed her. More than anything, he wanted to possess her, to slide into her body and taste heaven. Just once. Then he could resign himself to his fate, whatever it was, a happy man.

Before he could convince himself otherwise, he strode out of the room and down the corridor. He found her room easily—Larson had informed him where it was days ago. Indeed, he knew everything about her—how late she slept, what she ate. Larson was as thorough in his research as he was loyal.

He stopped in front of her door and contemplated knocking. In the end, he decided to try the door. Mercifully, it was unlocked. He pushed open the thick, oak slab, the hinges creaking as it revealed the room beyond. He stepped over the threshold and clicked the door shut behind him. He slid the bolt into place.

The first tendrils of sunlight spilled in through the opened windows, casting the room in a pink, dreamlike hue. It was early yet, just past five o’clock in the morning.

He glanced at the large, four-poster bed situated at the far end of the room. She laid in the middle of the mattress, prone, a white sheet tangled around her body.

He shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t accost her in such an intimate place. But he had to apologize. His mind would never settle, the world would never be set to rights, if he didn’t speak to her. For some unknown reason, the urgency of it weighed on him like an anvil on his chest.

He came around to the side of the bed, and smoothed a strand of honey-colored hair away from her face. He let his finger trail down the curve of her cheek, to the line of her jaw. Her skin was smooth, creamy with just a flush of color. She was beautiful. Exquisite.

More than anything, he wanted to sink into her body and forget. Forget that he was completely, irrevocably broken. She made him feel whole and alive. She made him feel free.

He pulled the coverlets off her and immediately regretted it. Her shift was pulled tightly across her body, accentuating every enticing curve and crevasse—the swell of her hips, the dip of her flat belly, the generous curve of her breasts. He groaned.

“Wake up, love.”

At the sound of his voice, she slowly blinked open her emerald-green eyes and focused on him. It took her a full minute to realize her state of undress, then she sat up and yanked the covers back over herself, clutching the sheets to her chest like a shield.

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