Never Tempt a Widow (Marry in Haste Collection Book 4) by Elizabeth Keysian

Author:Elizabeth Keysian [Keysian, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-05-17T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Fina was deeply absorbed in shaking a coral teething ring at Edgar. He loved the sound made by the silver bell attached to it but needed to be watched closely lest he put the wrong part in his mouth.

She heard the click of the door opening. “It would please me greatly, Wife, if you would accompany me to dinner with the Hanleys tonight.”

Her head shot up. “Go out?”

“Don’t sound so horrified.” Rowland came into the nursery and nodded at Mrs Sage. The wetnurse curtsied and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Fina didn’t know if a closed door made her feel safer or even less secure. She really shouldn’t be nervous in Rowland’s presence anymore, should she? He’d been nothing but kindness since her illness. Since the first moment she met him, in fact—but she’d learned to take no man at face value. Dundas had fooled her for months.

Rowland knelt beside her, his face lighting up as he greeted Edgar. Then he took her free hand and commenced a rhythmic stroking. He’d taken to doing that kind of thing a lot lately—discreet touches, fond caresses, and even the occasional kiss. But she wouldn’t be fooled by his subtle wooing—not for one moment.

“Why do you still wear gloves, even in front of me?” It was starting to frustrate her. “I am not upset by your disfigurement. I’ve seen your hands when you’re asleep.”

“About that.” He turned her hand and kissed the palm. A whisper of anticipation flickered through her.

Looking up, he made sure he had her full attention. This close, the man fairly took her breath away, and it was an effort not to drown in the sea-blue depths of his eyes.

“Yes?” Her voice was a whisper. Curse it. How did he manage to reduce her to a monosyllabic jelly in a matter of moments?

“I want you to return to my bed. To the world at large, we are newlyweds, and now that you’re well again, we would be expected to be quite… um… busy at bedtime. And at other times too.” His mouth quirked, his eyes sending her a message that her body understood. Lord! He was easily as seductive as Dundas. And could be even more so when he applied himself.

“I don’t know if I can.”

He waved away her objection. “I didn’t agree to be celibate in my marriage. You knew what you were consenting to. I won’t hurt you—I swear. I won’t do anything that bastard did to you.”

She hung her head. It felt awful, concealing the fact that her deflowering by Dundas had occurred with her full cooperation. She didn’t want Rowland to know that she had been such a wanton and knew he’d think less of her when he knew the truth.

She blinked rapidly. When had she decided that she needed his good opinion?

“You’re much better now. We’ve ridden virtually every day since you left your sickbed, further each time. And the colour is back in your cheeks—more than I’ve seen before. You grow more lovely by the minute.

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.