Heiress 01 - To Marry A Duke by Julianne MacLean

Author:Julianne MacLean [MacLean, Julianne]
Format: epub
Published: 2010-01-07T07:17:54+00:00

James stood in the center of his bedchamber, staring at the door for minutes that seemed more like hours, then he collapsed into his chair by the fire and downed his brandy.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. God, his heart was aching! He should have known marrying Sophia would be a mistake, and giving in to his desires on their honeymoon had been an even bigger mistake. He should have known he would not be capable of meeting her needs for intimacy and love. He could not love. There had been no seeds for it sown into his heart as a child, nor had he ever come to understand it through experience as a man.

All he knew was cruelty, and he had been cruel tonight. Just as he had always suspected he would be someday. The irony of it was that he had been cruel in some deranged effort to be kind. His life made no sense.

Kind was what he wanted to be. He had thought that by pushing Sophia away, by forcing her to give up the idea of a true bond between them, he would be protecting her. Protecting them all. If only it was not so complicated. If only she did not want so much from him.

He poured another glass of brandy and took a long sip, then settled back in his chair, praying that its numbing effect would come quickly, for he could not bear to think of Sophia in her room. Alone, and no doubt crying. Another fierce ache squeezed inside his chest. James shut his eyes in an attempt to overcome it.

He could not give in to the temptation to go to his wife and hold her and plead for her forgiveness.

For if he gave in to such feelings, hell would surely follow.

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.