Saving Grace by Catherine Gayle

Author:Catherine Gayle [Gayle, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Romance
Publisher: Night Shift Publishing
Published: 2016-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Grace lay still and stared at the starless sky. Clouds drifted like blankets overhead, blocking even the moonlight. Lord Alexander shifted at her side, and his gaze felt like it was boring holes through her. She had no regrets over what she had done. She couldn’t.

He’d driven away two of her demons. Fears she didn’t even realize she had until they seized her in the throes of passion.

But she had been terribly afraid she would never enjoy the act of lovemaking. She never expected to have a husband with whom to experience the act, other than possibly Lord Barrow. Perish the thought. And if not him, Grace would never marry. It was as simple as that, in her mind.

No matter what her father thought of her, Grace would never resort to selling herself. So with no possibility of a husband, she had resigned herself to the fact that this act—the act of love—was one aspect of a woman’s life she would never encounter.

However afraid she might be she would never share in the act of lovemaking, Grace had believed her other fear was more likely to hold true. She believed that if she ever took part in it, there would be no joy in it. She expected that, for her, it would always be filled with pain and fear. Her only possibility to experience the marriage bed would be with Barrow. With him, there could only ever be fear. She had never imagined such sensations to be possible as what she experienced just now with Lord Alexander.

She exulted in his touch. She could not remember a time in her life she felt as alive as she did when he coupled with her. Grace determined to never forget that moment. She would cherish it. It would be all she had of him, soon.

No matter how much he protested, she couldn’t marry him. She wouldn’t marry him. He deserved a wife above reproach, one who hadn’t been tainted by a man’s need for vengeance. One who was not considered a whore by her own father. His wife should bear his children, not those of another man. She should face her fears instead of running away from them.

He slid a single finger over her arm. The contact was so gentle, so tender, it threatened to shatter her. She rolled away from him and fought tears. He couldn’t see her weakness. And she wouldn’t allow him to interpret it as regret. He needed to know nothing would change, even after what had just passed between them.

“Grace?” Her name was scarcely more than a whisper on his lips. “Are you all right?”

His concern washed over her like a wave. Why must the man be so good, so honorable, so tender? It would be much easier to continue as she must if he were a scoundrel, a licentious rake—if he were more like Lord Barrow or her father. She wanted anything but to cause him heartache.

“I’m fine.” She fought to maintain a cool demeanor. She couldn’t let him see the truth.

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