Claiming Joanna by Renee Peters & Rae Stilwell

Author:Renee Peters & Rae Stilwell [Peters, Renee & Stilwell, Rae]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-04-25T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

Joanna stared into the washbasin at the water that had been tinted pink for her efforts at cleaning away the blood. Blood.

Blood, and fangs, and red eyes.

The woman wiped her palm across her cheek and lower — to the place the Queen had touched before she pulled away to study her burn scars. Thoughtlessly, she reached to brush the place where her ribbon had been and found only its absence.

It was enough to break through the peaceful haze. Her fingers curled around the column of her throat, and she turned, searching the surfaces in the room for it. It had to be with her clothes. Wherever the maids had taken them.

With a cold sensation settling in her stomach, Joanna pivoted on her heel. The rug nearly slid out from underneath her feet as she bolted for the door. This time when she pulled it, it swung open for her, and she all but crashed into the hard body that had stood there, fumbling with the latch.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, there, little Frog.” The voice that rumbled above her was touched with amusement and curiosity. “Celia can be impressive, but I didn’t think she was panic-inducing. Where’s the fire?” His hands were resting lightly on her shoulders, but there was no denying the strength that restrained her there.

She lifted her eyes to his face and felt the breath leave her. Not because he was a Spaniard with an olive-skinned complexion and a length of black waves, but for the captivating darkness of his eyes. Her heart skipped, and it was all she could do to reign in the foolishness of her reaction behind a press of her hands to her face.

Jakob. Marjolaine.

Jakob who had fled France with her and their unborn child in tow to avoid the war with the Spanish and the other Habsburg allies.

“Non,” she murmured and lowered her fingers so they rested on her lips. “My… clothes. Mon seigneur… Seigneur Dorian. My daughter. Her ribbon. I wore it. I need. Je vous en supplie.”

“Dorian will do,” the Lord answered easily, but she noted that he had not released his hold on her. “I’ll send for a maid, but you’ll be lucky for it to have escaped the fire,” he added. “Besides, there’s bound to be finer quality in these.”

His dark head nudged toward the wooden trunks at his feet. Finally, almost too carefully, his touch fell away from her arms and he reached past her to tug on the bell pull near the entryway.

She stepped back from him with her arms folded to allow him his entrance. He lifted both trunks easily upon his shoulders. Watching him set them down in silence, the woman tilted her head toward the door to listen.

When the maid arrived, Dorian asked after the ribbon. The young woman only frowned and curtsied before offering to check the rubbish to see if the fires had been lit already.

Marjolaine’s ribbon was likely gone. Joanna could tell from her expression, and rubbing the back of her neck, she sat on the ottoman, uninterested in the maid’s departure or the trunks.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.