The Seduction of Shay Devereaux by Carolyn Davidson

Author:Carolyn Davidson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-09-03T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Lolling away an hour in the swing when he should have been sweating in the sun was a luxury Shay could not afford. But Marshall’s delight in the lazy moments negated any sense of impatience Shay had carried with him from the house and out to the side yard. Sitting beside Jenny, he nudged the ground, sending the swing into motion, holding Marshall with one arm, lest the boy slide from his lap. Tugging the child’s mother close to his side, he surrounded himself with the family he’d taken possession of.

Is this what you wanted, Carl? The query floated through his mind, surprising him with its potency. Carl had been a forgotten issue for the past days, only his dogged pursuit of Jenny filling Shay’s mind. Perhaps this was what Carl had planned, with his talk of promises. For all Jenny’s doubts where Carl’s love was concerned, no man could have this woman and not recognize her value.

And if this was what Carl intended, if Shay had been chosen that day in Elmira to fill this place in Jenny’s life, he could not fault the man’s motives.

Shay’s arm circled her shoulders, his fingers resting against her collarbone. It was fragile-seeming through the faded material of her dress, yet he knew her slender form held a strength capable of chopping cotton and harnessing mules to a plow. He knew her as Carl had not, and for a moment received a perverse joy from that truth.

In more than one way, she was a different woman than the girl Carl had married seven years ago. In her eyes this morning was a knowledge he recognized, a look of feminine awareness that spoke to his masculine being. She’d responded to him last night, withholding nothing, offering her body up for his pleasure. And yet, that surging delight dimmed beside his joy at discovering the unawakened woman he’d had the good sense to marry.

His selfish heart gloated, recalling her astonishment. And his hand was tempted, even now, to slide inside the front closure of her dress, to enclose her breast within his palm. As if Jenny sensed his thoughts, she glanced up at him, a small frown marring the smooth line of her forehead.

“Do you feel really married?” she asked, her eyes searching his face. “Are you sure this is what you wanted?” Her outstretched hand encompassed the three of them. “Getting a ready-made family isn’t what you bargained for when you came here.”

“Maybe not,” he agreed, pushing his foot against the ground, keeping the swing in motion. “But it’s what I got.” His arm tightened around Marshall. “I don’t know how good a father I’ll be, but I can tell you right now, I’ll give it my best shot.”

“Are you gonna be my really papa?” Marshall asked, one hand lifting to touch Shay’s cheek. His eyes squinted as he scrutinized the scar that caught his attention. “Will this go away, like the peckin’ spots on my feet did?” He held his bare foot

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