To Tame a Dangerous Lord by Nicole Jordan

Author:Nicole Jordan [Jordan, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-345-51920-7
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2010-06-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

It is extremely disheartening, Maman, when I cannot even keep my husband in my nuptial bed on my wedding night.

When she awoke the next morning after a mostly sleepless night, Madeline lay there a moment taking stock. The strange bed. The unfamiliar delicacy of her body. The heightened sensitivity between her thighs and across her skin. The hurt in her heart.

The memory of Rayne’s wonderful lovemaking made her chest ache. Her wedding night was as perfect as nothing else in her life had ever been … until he had abruptly left her.

A renewed surge of misery struck Madeline as she clutched a pillow to her middle and squeezed her eyes shut. It was not uncommon for spouses of the noble class to have separate bedchambers, but it was rather mortifying that her new husband had retreated to his own rooms immediately after the consummation. Rayne’s abrupt departure for London directly after their wedding night, with scarcely a farewell, did not bode well for their marriage, either.

Yet she was to blame for her current misery, Madeline scolded herself, trying to drum up a trace of her former spirit. It was her own fault for building air castles. The impossible dreams she had woven in her mind of Rayne loving her, of Rayne wanting a real marriage with her, were just that—impossible.

She should never have set her hopes so high. She’d known how painful it would be when reality intruded.

You should have heeded Rayne when he warned you of his dispassion. It serves you right for acting so hastily and accepting his proposal.

Throwing off the covers, Madeline sprang from the bed so she could wash and dress. She was highly annoyed at herself for falling in love with Rayne. And she was determined to crush the painful combination of need and longing she’d felt in his arms last night.

Even so, as she found her undergarments that Rayne had removed so seductively last night, she had never been more conscious of a deep, abiding sense of loneliness. After his magical lovemaking, she found it even harder to deny her deep-rooted need not to be alone, to matter to someone.

“But that someone will not be Rayne,” Madeline reminded herself sternly. If she expected him to suddenly offer his heart in addition to his hand, she was doomed to disappointment.

She was winding her hair into its customary knot when she recalled Rayne’s suggestion that she wear it down to soften her plain features. Her sinking feeling of despair returned full-force, as did her misgivings about her appearance.

Yet there was no point in lamenting her lack of appeal, especially if she had no husband here to try and please. Besides, she was not one to wail about her fate.

She intended to put on a game face and to keep her day full, Madeline swore, setting her jaw. Immediately after breakfast she would write her brother again. The duel and her abrupt wedding had almost made her forget the danger Gerard was in, and she was supremely anxious to hear from him.

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.