Lords of Desire by Virginia Henley & Sally MacKenzie & Victoria Dahl & Kristi Astor

Author:Virginia Henley & Sally MacKenzie & Victoria Dahl & Kristi Astor [Henley, Virginia & MacKenzie, Sally & Dahl, Victoria & Astor, Kristi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary, Fiction, Romance, General, Historical, Historical Romance, Anthologies (Multiple Authors), Love Stories; American, Short Stories, Anthology
ISBN: 9780758229663
Google: uJaQi6AaZmMC
Amazon: 0758229666
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2009-01-26T16:00:00+00:00

Nell walked and walked, but found no peace.

How could Ian think she’d done…that with Mr. Pennington? How could he think she’d done that with anyone? Surely he’d never credited Mr. MacNeill’s daft tales that she was dallying with all the males around Pentforth Hall, had he?No, Ian believed she’d been unfaithful because he’d been unfaithful. Many, many times, starting with the Countess of Wexmore. And while his current mistress was a widow, many of the women he’d gone to bed with had been married when he’d climbed between their sheets. Did he think she was like them? That she was as…soulless as those Sassenach whores? Did he know her so little?

Ian was welcome to the London women. She’d been beyond stupid to consider letting the man give her a child. Divorce was a very welcome solution to their problem. She could hardly wait to be free of him.

She followed a path through some trees and emerged by an ornamental lake. A swan glided along the water’s surface. Beautiful—but swans could be quite nasty. Like many London ladies. She gave the creature a wide berth.

Had she been just a little nasty herself?

No, of course not. She’d had good reason to leave Ian. She’d—

She’d refused to see him when he’d come to Pentforth Hall—but the wound had still been too raw then. He hadn’t come again. But had she given him any encouragement to come? She’d burned all his letters unread. She’d never written to him—the post did travel from Scotland to London. She could have written.

No, if she were honest—completely, painfully honest—she had to admit she was at least a little to blame. She’d been almost happy when she’d heard about the countess. Well, not happy, really. She’d felt betrayed, but she’d also felt just a little bit relieved. She’d not been willing to have Ian in her bed. She’d not been ready to be a wife to him again.

Had he really betrayed her, or had she abandoned him?

Did she hear splashing up ahead? What…oh. She ducked behind a large willow and peered out from behind its trunk. Someone—some man—was swimming. Ian. His arms flashed out of the water as he stroked across the lake. Then he dove beneath the surface, his back, buttocks, and legs flashing white before disappearing.

The water must be very cold, but that wouldn’t bother Ian. He’d liked to swim at Kilgorn, where the loch was frigid. He’d try to lure her in to join him, but she’d only go if the day was very warm. Even then she could never last long.

She tilted her face to the sun, a smile curving her lips. Mmm. When she had gone swimming, Ian had been very, very good at warming her once they came out of the water. They’d lie on a blanket in the sun and heather, a slight breeze teasing their hot, entwined limbs, and make love till the chill of dusk finally sent them inside.

How she had loved him. He had been her life until she’d lost their baby.