Seduced by Grace

Author:Jennifer Blake [Blake, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MIRA
Published: 2011-02-09T06:00:00+00:00

David watched, his breath caught in his throat, as Marguerite threw off the hold Lord Halliwell had upon her arm then left the man standing, mouth agape, as she disappeared up the stairs. Almost, he had gone to her aid. That it had been unnecessary left him awash in a peculiar mix of pride and chagrin: pride that she had stood up to the man, chagrin that she had not required his intervention.

He wanted her to need him. And wasn’t that the height of irony, when what he was doing could well make it certain she never did?

It was a dire chance he was taking, rousing her desire, stoking her curiosity about the marriage bed. What guarantee did he have that she’d ever release him from his vow? What if some other man stepped in and reaped the benefit?

Time was growing short for seduction. Any day now, Henry might wake and give the order to return to London. He could set his plan for a decoy pretender in motion at the same time. Whether Marguerite would ride to Westminster with the king or be sent elsewhere was impossible to know, but they would almost certainly be separated.

To press forward, increasing the intimacy between them, seemed necessary. A fine line lay between enough and too much, however. He did not intend to cross it, but how was he to restrain the ferocious impulses that racked him? She was so incredibly sweet and without artifice, so innocently carnal. He could have her, he knew. All he had to do was abandon honor.

Christ above, but high principles could be a curse!

It was no easy task, breaking free of Celestine, the Comtesse de Neve, and her endless reminiscences of Paris. She had been his lover, or he had been hers. The affair had lasted a week. The comtesse had enjoyed coming secretly to him dressed as a servant, had been adept at helping remove his armor. She professed to be stirred profoundly by the scent of horse and sweat upon firm muscles that had been well-oiled by hard effort, and proved it by rubbing her naked body over his until they both smelled the same. She’d enjoyed riding him as much or more than being underneath him. She liked it hard and fast, and rougher than he’d been willing to supply. When she’d moved on to another man, he’d not minded at all.

It was clear she was not averse to taking up where they had left off. He was diplomatic in the extreme, but allowed her to understand that his interest lay with Marguerite. Far from being heartbroken, the comtesse shrugged and began a discreet flirtation with a burly man-at-arms.

The rain still pecked against the shutter over his chamber’s narrow window when he reached it. All was dark within, especially when he closed the door behind him. He stepped with care and the sour hope that the locations of the pallets being used by Astrid and Marguerite were in the same positions as before. They must have been, for he had a clear path to his own low bed with its stumps of wood for legs.

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