At the Bride Hunt Ball by Olivia Parker

Author:Olivia Parker [Olivia Parker]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780061732607
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2008-05-06T04:00:00+00:00

Gabriel stalked down the hall, mindless to the cool drafts haunting the corridor like floating specters, mindless to the deep shadows swallowing the carpet before him. His alert mind and body was yet fully focused on Miss Haywood. She had answered the door in her blasted night rail.

The infernal woman had no idea the picture she had presented standing in her thin gown with the firelight at her back. She might as well have been naked.

Muscles tense, his blood threatened to boil over unless he appeased the lust coiling within his ravenous soul. His body ached for her touch with a fierceness he’d never known he possessed. And his anger at the prospect of her betrayal only amplified his hunger. Some low and wicked part of him seethed with the desire to show her the risks involved with playing this foolish game of trying to tempt him. She was playing with fire.

So, the brides-to-be thought they could change his mind about marriage? He had half expected this…this turn of attention from his brother to himself. He suspected the silly chits would get it into their heads that one of them could change his mind. But not her. Not Madelyn. Oh, he wasn’t worried about the other women. He knew without a doubt none of them would ever be able to sway his mind. Their manners were faultless, their form always the epitome of social grace.

Perfectly forgettable.

He wasn’t so sure about Miss Haywood. The pang of her deceit rankled his spirit. He had believed her. He had believed she didn’t want anything at all to do with his bride hunt.

So then why do you keep her here?

The answer came easily, though it was no less of a shock. He kept her here for selfish reasons. Hell, he had to give up the pretense that he kept Miss Haywood under his roof because he thought he could alter her opinion of his brother, that maybe she’d begin to find Tristan appealing, that maybe Tristan would choose her. All of those reasons were glaringly false. In fact, if his brother did choose her, and if the aggravating woman accepted, he just might go mad.

He had kept her here for himself. To see what she did next, said next, wore next; to see what new feeling, new insight, her smile inspired within himself. It was suddenly apparent that somehow he had allowed her to break some unseen barrier within him.

And her only weapon was her sincerity. If she was part of this ruse, if she thought to trick him, it meant all his impressions of her were based on a lie. He didn’t want to believe it, but it appeared to be true.

Tomorrow, Tristan had scheduled a ride to the falls on the outskirts of the Wolverest estate. Perhaps there he could lure her away from the others and persuade her into a confession. Yes, that could work. Perhaps in the light of a new day, the situation would untangle itself.

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.