Only Seduction Will Do by Jenna Jaxon

Author:Jenna Jaxon [Jaxon, Jenna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2018-01-12T20:27:20+00:00

Chapter 15

Alethea swam out of her exhausted sleep to a furious knocking on her door. Shaking her head to clear away the mist of sleep, she sat up, puzzled by the noise. When she slid to the floor and her feet encountered the cold floorboards, she roused even further. The knocking continued as she stumbled toward the door, not pausing to light a lamp or slip on her robe. Feeling her way to the door, she called, “Who is it?”

“Jack.”

Grogginess fled. Straightening up, she swept her hair back over her shoulders, her stomach clenched. He could only be here at this time of night for one reason. Pray God he would be gentle, not rough like last time. She wouldn’t cry out this time, no matter what, and maybe together they could find a way to bring pleasure to each other. Resolute, she depressed the handle and opened the door.

Her eyes widened as bewilderment overtook her.

Her husband stood in the doorway, in the light of the candle he held, fully dressed. “May I come in?”

“Of course.” She swept the door open, puzzled that he had bothered to change into a new set of clothes just to come to her room. Why didn’t he come in his nightshirt and banyan? Was this the normal way of it? Eithne had said nothing of how a man dressed when he came to his wife’s bed.

“I hated to disturb you”—he strode into the room—“but didn’t want you to wake in the morning and find me gone.”

“Gone?” Trembling seized her and she pushed the door shut with such force it boomed throughout the corridor. Thoughts tumbling around her head so fast she couldn’t snare one to speak, she trailed him around the room. Finally, she found her tongue. “Where are you going? What has happened?”

“Dalbury is downstairs with his carriage. We need to make haste to Wiltshire. Lord Trevor has challenged a man to a duel. Dalbury and I are to stand as his seconds. I should be gone several days only, though with the weather—”

“A duel?” Fear licked through her and she grabbed Jack’s arm, her fingers digging down into the whipcord steel muscles.

“Yes, but not of my own making, I assure you. I go as Trevor’s second only.” The blue of his eyes had deepened almost to black, excitement bubbling there. “There is no danger, Alethea. Seconds rarely fight these days.”

“No.” A nasty metallic taste flooded her mouth and she grasped his other arm, making the candle quiver, throwing wild shadows on the walls. “You cannot go, Jack, you cannot fight.”

“Alethea.” He set the candle down and pried her hands off him and gathered her into his arms. “I promise you I will return unscathed, but I must go. I am obligated.”

“To whom? Lord Trevor?” She couldn’t let him go to his death—no matter to whom he felt indebted. “You will place duty to him above duty to your wife? From what you’ve told me, he seems more Lord Dalbury’s friend than yours.”

“No, my dear, the obligation is to…a woman.

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.