Sweet Home Highland Christmas (The Pennington Family) by May McGoldrick

Author:May McGoldrick [McGoldrick, May]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2018-07-02T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Jolted awake by Ella, Freya stood in the tub, looking dazedly after her escaping niece. She’d fallen asleep in the bath. When had she ever done that? Never, before tonight.

Pulling her nightgown over her head, Freya hurried to the door leading to the sitting room. She opened it and saw them.

Ella, wrapped in a blanket, was already cuddled beside the captain on a settle. She stood still, leaning against the doorway, incapable of intruding on an experience that she knew was a first. Gregory was the only man outside of the family that she’d ever seen Ella warm up to. The child was listening with rapt attention as he related a story of a land of animals and a greedy tortoise. The melodic rise and fall of his voice, the way he made her sigh one moment and gasp the next, was entrancing to witness.

Then he saw Freya and the intensity of his lingering gaze set her body on fire. Her hair was a tangle of wild curls, still dripping from the tub. Her nightgown molded provocatively to her wet skin. It didn’t matter. She stood still, unable to hear the words, feeling naked before him. She couldn’t move. It was as if a chain were being forged between them, each link glowing red with heat she’d never experienced.

When the story was done and Ella stood up, Freya silently backed into the room and pulled a shawl around her. A moment later, her niece skipped in through the door with a happy smile. With a cheerful “good night,” the cherub jumped into the bed.

As her eyes began to droop, Ella again murmured a few words about the benefits of choosing the captain as a husband over Colonel Richard. Freya wasn’t the only one enthralled with Gregory Pennington, but she couldn’t bring herself to remind the child that she had no choice.

When Ella dropped off to sleep, Freya’s gaze moved to the door that stood slightly ajar. She wondered if Gregory was still out there. Gathering the shawl around her, she tiptoed over, intending to close it. At the last moment, she couldn’t help but look. He was standing by the window, and his gaze immediately lifted to hers.

His feet were bare. His shirt, hanging loose over his trousers, was only buttoned halfway. Freya never imagined she could find the state of a man’s undress so exciting.

She supposed she owed him a word of thanks for making certain Ella didn’t get into any mischief by escaping their bedchamber. Well, that was the fib Freya told herself as she padded into the sitting room, closing the door softly behind her.

Before she could say a word, Gregory strode across the room. His hand reached for hers and whatever she was going to say was lost forever. He never paused as their fingers entwined and he pulled her toward his bedchamber.

It was madness, but she didn’t want it to stop.

He drew her through the door, leaving it slightly open and backing her against the wall.

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