Jilted by a Cad by Cheryl Holt

Author:Cheryl Holt
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2018-09-20T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Jo was seated in a chair by the hearth. The flames were out, and it was dark and cold. She was still dressed in her nightgown and robe, wool socks on her feet, and she’d wrapped herself in a blanket to ward off the chill.

Peyton was asleep on her bed.

She’d tried to wake him, to make him leave, but he was exhausted from his ride to Benton in the rain. She couldn’t guess how long he’d been out, but she was starting to panic.

What if—once he roused—the servants were up and stoking the fires? What if he was observed sneaking out? Or what if a housemaid knocked on her door?

She didn’t have a sitting room. Her bedroom opened directly into the hall, so there could be no hiding the reality that her bed wasn’t empty. There was a man in it.

She wanted to be furious with him for placing her in such a predicament, but she couldn’t muster any outrage. With each passing minute, she liked him more and more, and thus, was content to forgive him many sins. How could she not?

In light of her debacle with Mr. Cartwright, she knew not to be fond of any man, but Peyton was rich, handsome, and generous. It was skewing her view of their relationship.

Where she was concerned, he couldn’t have honorable intentions. Marriage was the only honorable intention for a female of her station, but it wasn’t a remedy he could offer or supply. So what was her plan?

If she’d had any sense, she’d pack her bag in the morning, pack Daisy’s too, and they’d depart. Continued fraternization was insane, but if she left, she’d imperil Daisy, and she wouldn’t endanger her niece merely because she couldn’t force herself to behave as she ought.

He finally stirred, and he frowned up at the ceiling, perplexed about where he was. Then he saw her over in her chair.

“Aren’t you freezing?” he asked.

“A bit.”

“Come here.”

“I probably shouldn’t.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s lonely without you by my side.”

He smiled and extended his hand to her. He had such a commanding personality, and she had no defense against it. They were secluded in the quiet house, and it seemed as if the rules of propriety had ceased to apply.

This type of decadent situation was how a girl got herself into trouble, so catastrophe beckoned. Though she’d been reared in a moral home, when he grinned at her, when he was so eager for her to join him, none of it mattered. She didn’t care about any rules. She didn’t care about propriety. She was anxious to make him happy, and she was terrified she might engage in any act he suggested.

She went over and clasped hold. He yanked hard, and she tumbled onto the mattress.

“What time is it?” he inquired.

“I have no idea, but morning has to be quickly approaching.”

He glanced out the window where it was still storming. “Well, it’s not morning yet. Let’s pretend it will never arrive.”

He positioned them so she was beneath him, and he was stretched out on top of her.

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