Pursuing Mr. Mattingly by Sookoo Sandra

Author:Sookoo, Sandra
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2022-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Where the devil is Oliver?

Dinner had been over and done with two hours ago, and though he’d gone off with her brothers and nephew, she had assumed he might be anxious to join her. In the meantime, she’d cheerfully made certain Hannah had been tucked into bed—given a few books to read if she wasn’t tired—and had handed down strict orders not to wander the halls tonight.

The last thing Sophia needed was for her daughter to creep into her room while she was involved in wicked things with her new husband.

Yet for that to happen, said husband needed to make an appearance.

Common sense told her that she should wait to share such intimacies with him, for she barely knew him, but with the time allotted to her dwindling, she’d meant every word she’d said to him when they’d become engaged. She wanted a husband in every sense of the word, a chance to enjoy being in a man’s arms once more. And if she were honest with herself, she enjoyed intercourse all too much to let this opportunity slip by.

Already, the purpling shadows of twilight had given way to the navy darkness of the night. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. The silk of the thin, Chinese-style dressing gown in shades of green slipped over her skin as she paced to the window. Below was the sloping back lawn of Ettesmere Park. Off to the left, the darkened gardens waited and beyond, the hedge maze.

When the sound of the latch to the adjoining door of her dressing room echoed in the silence, Sophia caught her breath and slowly turned as her heartbeat raced. He’s here! “Oliver.”

“I apologize for the delay,” he said as he came into the room. “Your brothers kept offering up toasts followed by stories.” Her new husband shook his head as a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I have learned all too much about the two of them and their marriages.” His chuckle reverberated in her chest and set off an avalanche of tingles down her spine. “To say nothing of Arthur’s undisguised interest in his bride-to-be.”

A giggle escaped her. “Well, he is quite enamored of Julianna. It’s rather adorable.” Would she eventually come to love Oliver in that same way? If she were allowed enough time?

“Anyone can see that, but it’s Lord Yeardly—Gilbert, rather—I’m worried about.” With a glance about the room, he removed his satin sash, and with care folded it before resting it into a drawer of the nightstand. Then he shrugged out of his dinner jacket and draped the garment over the back of a chair. “He is terribly bitter regarding his union, and I’m beginning to wonder when he last saw his wife. His stories were not complementary as a whole.”

“That is my worry too.” Gilbert could clean up his own mess. She had other things to occupy her attention. When he removed his cuffs and collar, she stifled a sigh. There was something so erotic about watching a man undress.

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.