The Bartered Bride - Bride Trilogy 03 by Mary Jo Putney

Author:Mary Jo Putney
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2011-11-25T23:54:44+00:00

CHAPTER 20

Eventually Gavin's weariness drove him to his bed, though not to sleep. He was haunted by visions of Alex being brutally ravished. How could any man do such things to a woman? Though he'd known his share of callous, violent men, he still found such behavior incomprehensible.

He was, to his shame, still painfully aroused. If Alex had been able to finish what they'd begun, perhaps the worst would be behind them. Now he wasn't sure he'd be able to bring himself to initiate physical intimacy again, since her rejection had been as harrowing emotionally as it was physically. It was up to her to make the next move when she was ready-if she ever was. Though he'd talked confidently, now that he knew the full scope of what she had endured, he recognized bleakly that she might never recover enough to be the joyful lover he longed for.

He reminded himself that despite their problems, they had the foundation of a good marriage: commitment, mutual desire, and the ability to talk honestly to each other. Enough to counterbalance what they didn't have.

For now, he could allay the pain of arousal, though he found no real satisfaction in doing so. But at least his whirling mind finally slowed enough to rest.

After a few restless hours of sleep, he rose early and dressed, then wrote a note to his friend Maxwell-no, blast it, Wrexham now-while keeping an ear tuned to the sounds of Alex rising and preparing for the day. When he judged that she was ready, he tapped at her door, "Come in," she called.

He entered and found her wearing another fashionable gown, this one a soft, expensive blue that enhanced her fair skin. She looked like a stylish London beauty-except for the shadows in her eyes which spoke of things no society matron could know. For an instant he was paralyzed by multiple images of Alex in slavery that obscured the woman she was now.

When he saw how warily she regarded him, he clamped down on his reaction to the past and gave her a light, husbandly kiss on the cheek. "Shall we go down to breakfast, my dear?"

Smile bright with relief at his casual manner, she took his arm. "I long for a huge English breakfast.

The food on the Helena was good for a sailing ship, but still ..."

"A long way from a decent breakfast," he agreed. They chatted easily as they went downstairs, united in an unspoken agreement to keep their problems private.

After Gavin gave his note to the butler for delivery, he and Alex entered the sunny breakfast parlor.

The adults of the household, plus Katie, were helping themselves to a variety of foods set in warming dishes on the sideboard. More hugs all around. Gavin had never seen a British family so affectionate.

Maybe the hugs would end when the Kenyons were used to having Alex back. Gavin hoped not; he found that he quite enjoyed being hugged by Lady Michael, with her warm serenity, or the duchess, who radiated sunny, good-natured charm.

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