A Shot to the Heart by Catherine Stein

Author:Catherine Stein [Stein, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: adventure, Fantasy, fantasy romance, gaslamp fantasy, historical fantasy, historical fiction, historical romance, paranormal, paranormal romance, Romance, steampunk, steampunk romance, Victorian romance
ISBN: 9781949862201
Publisher: Catherine Stein, LLC
Published: 2020-07-15T04:00:00+00:00

16

Excerpt of a letter from Miss Cora Maxwell to Mr. Adam Levett, dated May 1, 1904

Mr. Benedict Howard has come courting again. I should feel something romantic for him. I know I should. He is the right age, well-situated, and not unpleasant to look upon. But I feel nothing. Do you know anything about romance, Mr. Levett? Because I can’t make sense of it.

Cora dashed down the hall, clutching her still-unbuttoned nightgown. A sleepy haze fogged her mind, and her legs weren’t yet steady after that blistering climax. A quick trip to the washroom had allowed her to relieve herself and wash up more thoroughly than the few, quick swipes of Adam’s handkerchief. Now, her bed called. She hurried, afraid she’d been away long enough for him to recover from his own orgasm and abandon her bed for his own.

Cora didn’t want to sleep alone. She wanted to curl up against his chest, listen to the beating of his heart, feel his arms gathering her close. She wanted him to warm her if she grew cold, and wake her in the morning with a gentle kiss.

She slipped into her room, locking the door behind her. Adam had turned down the lights while she’d been gone, leaving only a single lamp at her bedside. The desk was restored to its proper location, the cakes in their boxes laid neatly on the windowsill, where the cool breeze would help keep them fresh until morning. Adam had undressed, hung his clothes, and changed into a plain white nightshirt.

“Ready to turn in?” he asked, from his seat at the foot of her bed. Her bed. Not his.

Eagerly, Cora rushed into his arms, squirming between the sheets with him and snuggling into his embrace. With their bodies twined, she gave herself over to the sleepiness their amorous exploits had caused. He would hold her. He would warm her. He would…

He didn’t wake her with a kiss.

She wasn’t honestly sure whether she’d woken first or he had. They’d come unwound from one another in the night, no longer embracing, but still touching. Neither moved. Neither spoke. Sunlight poured through the window, warming Cora’s skin where her arm stuck out from beneath the blankets.

Awkward minutes ticked by. Should she hug him? Kiss him? Say something? Surely there were rules or conventions for what one did after a night of passion. She’d expected something romantic. “My darling.” He would shower her with abandoned kisses as he said this. “I never wish to leave your bed again. You are all the food I need. The air I breathe. The—”

“Good morning,” Adam actually said.

“Oh,” Cora blurted. “Good morning.”

“I hope you slept well.” He still hadn’t moved. His leg was pressed against hers, skin to skin, her nightgown hiked up past her knees. And yet somehow, he was talking as casually as if he were in the other bed, fully dressed, with no thoughts of kissing in his head whatsoever.

“Yes. Thank you.” The calm in her own voice surprised her. His

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