Hearts and Blades: Romantic Novels and Novellas that Span Generations by Elizabeth Rose & Barbara Devlin & Laurel O'Donnell

Author:Elizabeth Rose & Barbara Devlin & Laurel O'Donnell [Rose, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-02-21T16:00:00+00:00

ONE-KNIGHT STAND

CHAPTER FOUR

Through a haze of pain a familiar voice came to him, and how well he knew its owner. How many hours he had passed listening to her gentle lilt he could not estimate. As fond memories warmed his heart, he smiled. Fluttering his lids, Lance opened his eyes.

In a bedside chair Cara sat, picture-perfect and poised, reading some heart-rending tale of love lost and never found. For a moment, he savored the smoothness of her elegant inflection. Gowned in pale blue muslin, with her black curls piled high atop her head, she was a fantasy, an ethereal vision powerful enough to make him doubt his consciousness and his sanity.

How he loved watching her, a habit that reigned supreme for the better portion of his life.

With a pair of crystal blue eyes, a delicate, heart-shaped face, a neck like a swan, and the body of a sylph, she was the sort of lady every young man dreamed of marrying. But at five and twenty, she had yet to take a husband, and for a woman her age, society considered her on the shelf.

Every year, as the Season came to a close and betrothals were announced, he held his breath in anticipation of the dreaded news of her impending nuptials. And to his begrudged relief, no such pronouncement presented itself.

He knew one day she would speak the vows, and it had to happen at some point soon, as Admiral Douglas would not allow her to waste away. So Lance prepared for the inevitable and knew exactly how he would react. He wanted the best for her and would not settle for any less than what she deserved. Neither would he accept just anyone wedding his Cara.

And she was his Cara.

They had been the closest of friends for as long as he could remember, and whomever she married would have to understand and tolerate their friendship, because they would always share a special bond. Never would he give her up, and it would take a confident man to live with their relationship.

Once she was safely wed, and his youthful fantasies dashed, perhaps then he, too, would find a spouse.

She turned the page and rubbed the back of her neck. When her hand again rested in her lap, he focused his gaze on the rise and fall of her bodice. To the creamy skin, soft as silk, he knew continued beneath the edge.

As children, they had spent many afternoons swimming naked in the pond at Pembroke, the Elliott ancestral home. Of course, their other friends were there, as well. But somehow he had, without fail, managed to accidentally swim next to Cara, and when their wet flesh came together for however brief an instant, she always gasped with charming shyness and pulled away.

For his part, it was an innocent maneuver, with no ulterior motive other than an immature desire to be near her. For as long as Lance could remember, he considered Cara the most fascinating creature of his existence. There was something special about their friendship.

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