Read Online A Valentine from Harlequin by Christine Nancy u Bell Catherine u Warren Maggie u Spencer Michele u Shayne Hauf - Free Book Online Page A
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married.”
“While we cannot bring John back, we are engaged now,” she reminded him.
By God, she was right. They were engaged. They could be married. There would be scandal and gossip and rumors, but he didn’t care. All he cared about was Charlotte as he pulled her close and kissed her. All the passion and desire and yearning he had been trying to hide and destroy for years burst free. She returned his kiss with the same heated passion, the same fierce desire, the same anxious yearning.
“Poor uncle!” she murmured a few moments later, arching her neck as James’s lips slid slowly lower. “He will be so disappointed.”
“Right now, I don’t give a damn about the man.”
“And if it hadn’t been for dear Dulcie…”
James drew back, a slight frown darkening his face. “I must say, Miss Duncan, I am not pleased that you can ignore my kisses.”
“I’m not ignoring them,” she said, putting her finger between his cravat and his shirt as she gave him a devilish smile. “I’m enjoying them very much. I’m just feeling rather sorry for Dulcie.”
He watched her proceed to pull off his cravat. “If it will make you feel better, there’s a fine young gentleman I know I can invite to the wedding and make sure your cousin meets. I think they would make a lovely couple.”
“That does make me feel better,” Charlotte whispered as she gathered a fistful of his shirt and pulled him to her. “Now let me see if you can ignore my kisses.”
He didn’t even try. Indeed, they would have made love then and there if the coach had not tottered to a halt.
“If you come into my house now with your gown in such a state, it will cause a great scandal, Charlotte,” he panted, his words grave, but his eyes dancing with joy as they moved apart.
Charlotte laughed merrily, and not a little breathlessly. “You are in a state of dishabille yourself, Your Grace,” she said as she threw open the carriage door and caution to the wind. “And I don’t care if all the world knows we are in love.”
* * *
Click here to read another story, or find another read from this author here .
Dead Man’s Woman
By Maggie Shayne
Chapter One
Charlotte winced as an inebriated party-goer stepped on her foot, but she kept moving determinedly toward the doors that led to the balcony. The Duncans would be delighted with their party; it was clearly the event of the season, and their daughter had been successfully launched into society.
Unfortunately, the noise, the heat, and the crowd combined with Charlotte’s pounding headache to make her want to escape for a breath of fresh air. Reaching the balcony doors, she opened them to find two people engaged in a passionate kiss.
“I’m sorry.” The words escaped her mouth before she realized it would have been better to make an exit without being noticed. The couple jumped apart.
Charlotte felt the blood drain from her face as she stared at her fiancé. “John! I thought you were dead!”
The lead crystal glass of non-alcoholic champagne, with which she’d been about to toast the New Year, fell from her numb fingers when she saw him. It dropped right over the balcony railing without a sound. “I thought you were dead,” Charlotte whispered again.
He turned slightly, dragging his hungry gaze from the woman in his arms, the woman he’d been kissing, to stare at Charlotte. She heard the glass shatter on the sidewalk far below. His eyes were so familiar—the parenthetic frown lines right between the brows—that it caused her to ache down deep in her belly.
“Pardon me?” he said. “Do I know you?”
Blinking, she realized what that frown was trying to tell her. “Johnny, it’s me. It’s Charlotte.”
“I thought you told me your name was Michael,” the blonde in his arms snapped.
“It is.” His arms fell away from the far more attractive woman, and he stepped closer to Charlotte, narrowing his eyes on her. “I’m sorry,” he told her. “You must have me
“While we cannot bring John back, we are engaged now,” she reminded him.
By God, she was right. They were engaged. They could be married. There would be scandal and gossip and rumors, but he didn’t care. All he cared about was Charlotte as he pulled her close and kissed her. All the passion and desire and yearning he had been trying to hide and destroy for years burst free. She returned his kiss with the same heated passion, the same fierce desire, the same anxious yearning.
“Poor uncle!” she murmured a few moments later, arching her neck as James’s lips slid slowly lower. “He will be so disappointed.”
“Right now, I don’t give a damn about the man.”
“And if it hadn’t been for dear Dulcie…”
James drew back, a slight frown darkening his face. “I must say, Miss Duncan, I am not pleased that you can ignore my kisses.”
“I’m not ignoring them,” she said, putting her finger between his cravat and his shirt as she gave him a devilish smile. “I’m enjoying them very much. I’m just feeling rather sorry for Dulcie.”
He watched her proceed to pull off his cravat. “If it will make you feel better, there’s a fine young gentleman I know I can invite to the wedding and make sure your cousin meets. I think they would make a lovely couple.”
“That does make me feel better,” Charlotte whispered as she gathered a fistful of his shirt and pulled him to her. “Now let me see if you can ignore my kisses.”
He didn’t even try. Indeed, they would have made love then and there if the coach had not tottered to a halt.
“If you come into my house now with your gown in such a state, it will cause a great scandal, Charlotte,” he panted, his words grave, but his eyes dancing with joy as they moved apart.
Charlotte laughed merrily, and not a little breathlessly. “You are in a state of dishabille yourself, Your Grace,” she said as she threw open the carriage door and caution to the wind. “And I don’t care if all the world knows we are in love.”
* * *
Click here to read another story, or find another read from this author here .
Dead Man’s Woman
By Maggie Shayne
Chapter One
Charlotte winced as an inebriated party-goer stepped on her foot, but she kept moving determinedly toward the doors that led to the balcony. The Duncans would be delighted with their party; it was clearly the event of the season, and their daughter had been successfully launched into society.
Unfortunately, the noise, the heat, and the crowd combined with Charlotte’s pounding headache to make her want to escape for a breath of fresh air. Reaching the balcony doors, she opened them to find two people engaged in a passionate kiss.
“I’m sorry.” The words escaped her mouth before she realized it would have been better to make an exit without being noticed. The couple jumped apart.
Charlotte felt the blood drain from her face as she stared at her fiancé. “John! I thought you were dead!”
The lead crystal glass of non-alcoholic champagne, with which she’d been about to toast the New Year, fell from her numb fingers when she saw him. It dropped right over the balcony railing without a sound. “I thought you were dead,” Charlotte whispered again.
He turned slightly, dragging his hungry gaze from the woman in his arms, the woman he’d been kissing, to stare at Charlotte. She heard the glass shatter on the sidewalk far below. His eyes were so familiar—the parenthetic frown lines right between the brows—that it caused her to ache down deep in her belly.
“Pardon me?” he said. “Do I know you?”
Blinking, she realized what that frown was trying to tell her. “Johnny, it’s me. It’s Charlotte.”
“I thought you told me your name was Michael,” the blonde in his arms snapped.
“It is.” His arms fell away from the far more attractive woman, and he stepped closer to Charlotte, narrowing his eyes on her. “I’m sorry,” he told her. “You must have me
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