Abducted by a Prince

Author:Olivia Drake [Drake, Olivia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Historical romance, Victorian
ISBN: 9781466851320
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2014-04-28T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Ellie took great care in readying herself for dinner that evening.

Using needle and thread, she spent the better part of an hour altering the bodice of a sapphire-blue gown to create a daringly deep décolletage that showcased her bosom. Then she sat in front of the speckled old mirror at the dressing table, combing and pinning until the artful cascade of curls finally pleased her. Lastly, she slipped her feet into the sparkly garnet slippers that Lady Milford had given to her.

How long ago that day seemed. Yet only a little more than a week had passed since she and Beatrice had come outside after paying their call, and Ellie had spied the menacing, black-clad stranger sitting in his carriage, watching her cousin. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined that less than ten days later, she’d be waiting in the tower of a faraway castle, hoping that same man would make passionate love to her.

No, she had done more than hope. She had set into motion a brazen scheme to lure him into her bed. A tremor of doubt and desire eddied through her. Did she truly dare to go through with it?

A rapping sounded on the door. Her heart fluttered, although a glance at the high window confirmed the time to be twilight, about half past five so late in February. That meant the visitor could only be Mrs. MacNab. Ellie had requested an early dinner on the excuse that she was weary and wished to retire for the night as soon as darkness fell.

She’d also sent Damien away in mid-afternoon, on the excuse that she was weary and needed a nap. Oh, and would he please be so kind as to return at six o’clock and bring pen and ink so that she could start on the final renditions of her preliminary sketches?

Leaning on the stick that he’d fashioned for her, she made her way across the bedchamber. Her insides felt like a tightly wound spring. She truly was a brazen hussy for fibbing to both of them—and for such a wicked cause. What if Mrs. MacNab suspected from Ellie’s risqué gown the purpose she had in mind?

Good heavens. Why, oh, why hadn’t she considered that before now? It would be mortifying if anyone else guessed how much she craved to indulge her sinful passions. She wanted it to be a secret known only to her and Damien.

The mere thought of the Demon Prince made her knees wobbly. Ever since that ardent episode on the parapet, she had been too distracted to work on her illustrations. Instead, she had existed in a dreamlike state, reliving his kiss again and again: the forceful hunger of his lips on hers, the rasp of his whiskered jaw against her cheek, the stimulating stroke of his finger across her bare nipple. Most thrilling of all had been the moment when he had cupped her bottom and lifted her against him, and she had felt the hard pressure of his loins against hers.

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