Gambler's Tempting Kisses by Charlotte Hubbard

Author:Charlotte Hubbard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Evan Marshall Agency
Published: 2016-01-13T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

When she awoke, the room was lit by a single lamp and Dillon was watching her emerge from her dreams, appearing dreamlike himself as he smiled at her. He scooted onto the edge of the bed and reached for her hand. “Are you all right, sweetheart? You’ve been asleep so long, I was ready to wake you.”

“What time is it?” Charity rose up on her elbows, shaking away her drowsiness as she took in Dillon’s earnest expression. He was dressed in a clean white shirt and gray striped trousers, looking freshly shaved and rested.

“It’s nearly eight. I brought us up some breakfast, but if you’re not hungry—”

“I’m starved,” she insisted, sitting up to emphasize her reply. Languid sensations lingered in her body, reminding her of how they had spent the previous evening. She recalled their exchanged promises, which, though centered upon carnal matters, were somehow every bit as sacred as the marriage vows they’d taken. And to think Phoebe Thomas had only pretended to be satisfied when she was with Dillon . . .

Charity then realized it was Sunday morning, time to prepare for worship, and she didn’t want to enter God’s house with unexpressed apologies on her conscience. “Yesterday after you went into town, I finally realized how stupid I was to blame you for Phoebe’s slatternly behavior,” she said quietly. “That’s why I went out alone to look for you. I’m sorry for the way I assumed—”

“The apologies are all mine, sweetheart.” He reached over to knead her lovely bare shoulders, gazing directly into her eyes. “Phoebe hasn’t changed a bit since our Abilene days, and I should’ve found someone else to ask about your mother’s whereabouts. I can’t blame you for being furious with me, although I certainly don’t regret the way we made up. Do you?”

Charity grinned coyly, recalling each intimate nuance of their lovemaking. “I was more jealous than angry. She’s very . . . fetching—that was the word Papa used.”

“You told your father about our visit to her store?”

“Only because he quizzed me about why I wasn’t speaking to you. And I left out the stories about Mama being at Mattie Silks’s place.” She glanced toward the tray of food Dillon had left on the bedside table and lifted the linen cloth from it. Hunger stabbed her empty stomach when she smelled the warm bread, and she took a generous slice. She was pleased they wouldn’t have to rush downstairs to eat, because these quiet times talking to her husband were moments to savor.

The lamp cast a golden aura around his hair and shoulders; the rain-cooled breeze from the window brought out his vital, masculine scent—another reason Charity preferred to remain in their room just now. “We had quite a talk about you, Mr. Devereau,” she continued in a soft voice. “Papa’s very happy to have you for his son-in-law, and he convinced me how unfair I was being, holding you accountable for Mrs. Thomas’s wicked ways.”

Dillon chuckled, biting into the bread she was holding in front of his mouth.

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.