A Wedding Wager by Jane Feather

Author:Jane Feather [Feather, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: General, Fiction, Romance, Historical, Family & Relationships, cookie429, Kat, Extratorrents
ISBN: 9781439145258
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2011-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Serena set down her own glass. Sebastian’s blue gaze seemed to hold her, pull her to him, as if they were connected by an invisible chain. She stepped forward slowly until she stood close enough to feel his breath on her cheek, the warmth of his body. She lifted her face and saw that he was looking at her with a grave intensity that had banished his usual lighthearted, smiling gaze.

“What is it?” she whispered.

“I love you,” he responded. “I love you so much it hurts. I do not know what I would do if you were not here.”

She bowed her head, feeling suddenly the weight of an enormous responsibility. She had failed him, failed the power of their love once, she must not, could not do so again. But she could not, not yet, give him the unconditional declaration of an undying love. She could only give him what was safe and in her hands to give. She raised her eyes again. “I love you, too, Sebastian, more than I can say.”

If he was disappointed, he gave no indication. “Come.” He surprised her by swiftly lifting her off her feet, holding her against him.

“I’m too heavy,” she murmured in faint protest as he carried her to the door.

“You weigh nothing,” he responded, and his voice was once again light and amused.

“I know that’s not true.” But she put her arms around his neck, resting her cheek against his shoulder, and allowed herself the indulgence of feeling delightfully helpless in the face of this masculine show of power. What was love play, after all, but an arena for games of make-believe?

Sebastian carried her up the short flight of stairs to a door on a small landing. “Lift the latch, love, my arms are full.”

Serena raised the latch on the door, and Sebastian pushed it open with his foot, carrying her in and dropping her on the quilted bed cover with a barely concealed sigh of relief.

“I told you I was too heavy,” she said, laughing up at him as he caught his breath. “You could probably carry Abigail with one hand, but you forget I come from the blood and bone of a Scottish clansman. We’re made tall and broad.”

“I’ll give you tall,” he said, “but I dispute broad. However, I’ve a mind to have a proper look.” He bent over her, deftly removing her shoes, before taking her hands and hauling her upright. “You have to stand up. I can’t undress you lying down.”

Serena obliged, sliding to her feet beside the bed. Sebastian unbuttoned her gown, slipping it off her shoulders to fall in a rose velvet puddle at her feet. He untied the tapes of the hoop, tossing it aside, and turned his attention to the laces of her corset, unthreading them with experienced ease.

“You have the touch of a lady’s maid,” Serena murmured with a soft chuckle. “It seems you’ve put the three years of our separation to good use, my dear.”

“That is a thoroughly indelicate comment,” he chided, tossing the corset to the floor.

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