The Rake is Taken by Tracy Sumner

The Rake is Taken by Tracy Sumner

Author:Tracy Sumner [Sumner, Tracy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00


Victoria halted at the woodland boundary, the hum in her ears increasing in volume until it sounded like a train roaring down uneven tracks. Closing her eyes, she let the disturbance overpower her senses and shove everything else out. Her skin tingled as a feeling, a force, rocked her where she stood. She was falling before she realized she’d lost her balance, landing on her hands and knees with a jarring thud.

Piper gasped and dropped beside her in an awkward half-kneel. The viscountess’s hands were covering hers as she murmured soft words of comfort. Of healing. A calming rush swept Victoria, lowering the muddled drone, the sensation of a knife scraping her skin until it was raw. A flash of perfect, wondrous ease.

“I’m fine,” she said in a hoarse voice she barely recognized. Forcing herself to a shaky sit, she wondered what, exactly, had happened. Shoving her hair from her eyes, she blinked into the bright sunlight. One moment she’d been recalling riding through fields like this with her brother, the next, she’d felt someone opening the door to her mind. An invasion she’d forcefully rejected, which had caused the world to tilt.

Finn. Sneaky, adorable scoundrel.

Piper groaned and flopped to her bottom next to Victoria. “Oh, goodness, I may not be able to get up.” She wrapped her arm around her protruding tummy and balanced her chin atop it. “This baby is getting too big for me to manage. You may have to summon the field cart to bring me back to the house.”

Victoria turned, horrified. “Are you well, Lady Beauchamp? I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t have thought to tumble down here with me.”

“Piper, please. I’m fine. Fat, but fine.” Sprawling back in the grass with a sigh, she stacked her arm beneath her head. “And I love tumbling. Ask Julian.”

Victoria sputtered a laugh and waved her hand before her face, the wobble in her knees finally starting to retreat. If she waited a moment, she’d be able to stand. “You’re far from fat. I’d go with ungainly. Lovely but cumbersome?”

“Dashed if that doesn’t sound worse.”

“You were able to heal me,” Victoria murmured, recalling the tranquility Piper’s touch had brought, the instant stillness. “When I thought I blocked your gift.”

“I tried, but I didn’t know it got through. Though I can’t see your aura, which is most unusual, I must be able to partially reach you.” Piper plucked a cornflower from the ground and twirled it between her fingers. “Wait until we tell Julian. He’ll record about a thousand pages of notes in his excitement.”

Victoria laid back as well, grass tickling her cheek as she turned her head toward the viscountess. “Don’t tell Finn. About my fall, I mean. I felt him intrude, and when I pushed him out, the world just spun on its axis. For a second, it was like we were out of rhythm with each other, and I had to run to catch up. I wonder if I didn’t do my little parlor trick on myself, stealing time, just enough to recalibrate.



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.