The Bad Luck Bride by Janna MacGregor

Author:Janna MacGregor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Chapter Ten

The boom of thunder woke Alex from his sleep. Lightning illuminated the room for a split second, accompanied by another rapid crescendo of thunder. That’s when he saw him. In two steps, he reached the intruder and threw him to the ground as a scream sliced the air.

The interloper landed on his face. Alex locked the man’s arms behind him. The feminine softness of the slight limbs offered no resistance.

“Don’t.” The small, childlike voice trembled in protest.

Lightning continued to blast the room in a shattering show of light. Stunned, Alex released his hold. Stark terror radiated from her eyes. A long braid of hair twisted around the front of her shirt—a man’s shirt, tucked into a pair of buckskins.

Alex reared back. “Claire? Sweetheart, I’m sorry.”

He heard her deep intake of air as she struggled to breathe. Then her words tumbled free. “Help me.”

Alex caught her in his arms and hauled her to his chest. “What is it? Are you hurt?”

In the full blaze of the lightning, she shivered and begged him for something he didn’t understand. Her eyes were wild with terror.

“Darling? What are you doing?” Without waiting for an answer, Alex kissed her cheek and said, “Tell me.”

Claire’s drawn face was haunted with fear.

“Listen to me,” Alex commanded. “It’s all right. I’ll help you.” As she struggled in his arms, he bent down and picked her up. In one stride, he reached the bed. When he went to toss her in the middle, she clung to his shoulders for dear life, bringing him down with her. “What can I do?”

“Make it stop.”

He caressed her neck as she buried her nails in his bare shoulders. “Make what stop?”

Thunder rumbled again, and she whimpered.

“Is it the storm?” That night in Lady Anthony’s alcove, she had been scared of the storm but managed to contain her fear—until the thunder. Now, it all made sense why she’d reacted to him and rushed into his embrace. In an effort to calm her, he whispered in a soothing voice, “Let’s close the drapes on the bed. That will help.”

“Don’t leave!” She was terrified, more frightened than the night of Lady Anthony’s ball. Claire turned her focus from the window. She opened her mouth to respond but couldn’t. Her eyes reflected a depth of torment he’d never seen in his entire life. She reminded him of a blackbird once trapped inside his room. The bird had careened from one place to another, desperate to find escape.

“Watch, Claire. I’m closing the drapes. Then, there’s only us, nothing else. All right?” He kept his voice confident, but he was at a loss as to how to calm her.

Her chest puffed in and out like a small fireplace hand-bellows. His gaze held hers until he had closed all four curtains that framed the bed. Total darkness surrounded them. He kept his movements slow, in a careful, relaxed manner. She tried to roll away, but he found her by touch. In one swoop, he gathered her into his arms and placed her on his lap.

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