Read Online War Chest: Even Gods Fall in Love, Book 5 by Lynne Connolly - Free Book Online Page B

she tried to blame the pregnancy on me.”
    He lifted his upper lip in an expression of wry distaste. “I should not have gone near her in any case, so in a way this is my punishment. Society blamed the babies on me, and I had very little reputation to lose. What I had I would have lost if I did not take them so society still considers them mine. They are not, and I will not acknowledge them as such.”
    “I see.” It hurt her that he could dismiss such precious babies so easily. She turned away to pick up the single guttering candle. Walking to the empty fireplace, she found another candlestick with a fresh candle and lit that from the old one.
    “Did you burn all that candle tonight?”
    “I was reading.”
    Reminded of their conversation at dinner, he recalled she enjoyed reading. “You could not sleep?”
    “No, I could not. The babies have grizzled all night.”
    Having accomplished her task, she set the fresh candle on the table and snuffed out the old one by the simple expedient of pinching it between her fingers. It hissed, and a thin trail of smoke rose from the dead wick. She stared at it as if it held answers to all her questions, which he did not doubt were rioting through her fertile mind.
    The baby had fallen asleep. Instead of handing the boy to her, he took him over to the empty crib and laid him down gently. The baby grumbled a little, but settled when Marcus pulled the covers over him. Sending a soothing message of tranquillity to the child, he straightened and turned to Ruth.
    In her night-rail and robe, she appeared even more fragile. She might be tall, but her body was slender as a reed, fragile as a piece of fine china. Before his mind could tell him what a bad idea it was, he reached for her and pulled her close, to press against his body. When he curved his arm around her, he encompassed her easily. He used his free hand to tip up her chin, and then he kissed her.
    She was deliciously warm and soft. When she gasped, he discovered her taste. Sweet, hot, yielding. Addictive. That word gave him pause, but it did not let it stop him from tasting her thoroughly.
    When she moaned softly, he made a small sound of appreciation that reverberated right through her. He felt it, and he wanted more. He was holding her closely, so close she probably felt his erection, but she did not move away.
    He could lose himself in her.
    He must not. With a groan, he finished the kiss and released her. Turning, unable to utter a word, he left the room and went to find the brandy he’d been in search of so long ago.
    * * * * *
    Ruth stared after him, her fingers touching her mouth, still tender from his kiss. Even if she’d thought of it, she would not have pushed him away. He’d held her so carefully, but with a promise in his hard, muscled body. She’d never felt a man so close, so hot before, and in an instant several things became clear to her.
    Like how her sister could let a man—two men—take her. If what Marcus said was true, Rhea must have known two men intimately. Why there were so many conventions set around the meetings between male and female? Just how much had she risked tonight?
    Everything, and for her sister’s seducer.
    According to his account, Rhea had seduced him. How much could Ruth trust his word? She had no idea, only her instincts, which said he told the truth. Instincts were notoriously volatile.
    As must hers be. Between her legs, her private parts throbbed, tender where wetness gathered. She had never felt this way before, but then a man had never kissed her with such devastating effect.
    Why had he done it? Probably because she was there, she concluded wryly. A female, relatively young, in her nightclothes. From the dire warnings her mother gave her daughters, that was enough to inflame the senses. Men did not need much, she’d told them.
    This one didn’t. He had changed her with that one kiss. Perhaps for good.

Chapter Five
    Already Ruth felt an odd feeling of home about this place.