Moonlight on My Mind by Jennifer McQuiston

Author:Jennifer McQuiston [McQuiston, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Historical romance, Victorian
ISBN: 9780062231307
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2014-03-24T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Patrick awakened to an unexpected trinity of sunlight, servants, and Julianne.

The beam of sunlight poking its way through the bedroom curtains was more a curiosity than a puzzle. He knew the sun came up. It bloody well did every morning. It was more that it usually came up after he began his day. Likewise, he could hear two servants scratching about somewhere in the room, stirring the fire, pouring water, speaking in hushed tones. It had been almost a year since anyone had done those things for him, and he resented both the presumption and the intrusion.

Unlike the servants and the sunlight—which were jarring but understandable—waking in a bed with Julianne was a conundrum he could not wrap a coherent thought around. He lay still a long moment and stared at this puzzle who was his wife, unwilling to blink lest he shatter the moment into too many pieces to reassemble.

She lay on her stomach, her face to one side and her arms pushed up under the pillow. It had been late by the time they had returned last night, but he was surprised by how soundly she still slept. Her hair glowed like polished copper in the light of dawn, and a dappled skein of sunlight fell across her nose, illuminating the scattering of freckles there.

He was reminded of the moment he had discovered those freckles, at the Blue Gander. Then, he’d seen only the evidence of her vanity. Now he held a deeper appreciation for her myriad, maddening layers. He’d made a study of her in coaches and rail cars these past few days, and understood that while she ruthlessly denied those flaws egress by day, they were apt to slip out in private moments. She might have a well-earned reputation for giving people the cut across a crowded ballroom, but it was likely because she couldn’t actually see them. She was flighty and steadfast, cold and passionate.

Predictable in her unpredictability.

He wrapped a long red curl around one finger, lingering over the pleasure of it against his skin. Her deep, steady breaths lulled him right up to the abyss of hope. Last night had been a revelation, but had it changed things between them? He wanted a future with this woman, beyond the lies and the conundrum of a likely murder charge. He wanted her in his bed every night. And, if he was honest with himself, he wanted to visit that folly again, but this time with an armful of blankets.

As the sound of the servants’ exit reached his ears, he leaned in to press a kiss to Julianne’s nose, tracing the path of those freckles with his mouth. The warmth of her body beneath his lips told him this was no lovely, transient dream, and the soft, satisfied sound she made further told him she might be amenable to more.

She stirred. Opened her eyes. Smiled.

“Good morning,” he told her, his heart stretched taut by those upcurved lips. And it was a good morning. The press of grief he felt over the loss of his brother and father had not been completely assuaged.

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