Read Online Broken Bonds (Club Imperial Series) by Katherine Rhodes - Free Book Online Page A

to be here for a while.” Nathaniel held out his good arm for her to take with her good arm, and led her back through the door.
    The tour of North Hills included a second, less frequently used den, the general direction of Quinn’s and Joanne’s apartments— apartments, sheesh— the breakfast room, the dining room, the formal dining room. There was a sitting room, a parlor, a formal living room, a receiving room, a movie theater, a billiards room, a library and a dozen or more unused bedrooms. There was the front hall that blew Emmy away with black and white marble tiles and twin marble staircases rising to the second floor. From the three-story ceiling hung a huge crystal chandelier which just dominated the space above the artfully placed table.
    And then, he opened the doors on the left.
    There was a two-story ballroom with a white and gray marble floor, sporting details in black marble. The walls had molding details framing a dozen tapestries hanging around the room. The walls were white with black details that followed up to the ceiling with white and reflective paneling. Not quite mirrors, but something that would have scattered light around the room if someone turned on the six enormous chandeliers. All of the windows were two-story like she’d seen in all the castles in Europe. Double sets of doors, essentially, that could open to let the air in. And the doors on the right led out to a veranda, which was framed by a pergola with retractable sunshades.
    “Do you ever use it?” she asked, walking slowly out onto the intricate parquet floor.
    “I haven’t yet,” he confessed. “I’ve had Mary here to dance across it, but that’s it. I haven’t really owned it long enough to throw a party in here.”
    “How many rooms do you have?”
    “Fifty.” Nathaniel paused. “I think.” He walked over and pulled the curtains wider on one of the French windows. “The whole house was brought over brick by brick from the Midlands of England, way back in the early eighteen hundreds. It was two hundred years old then. It’s been added onto since, and when I came up to see it after the last great-grandchild of the original owner died, I had to have it. I was going to get a nice place closer to the city, but I couldn’t let this house go.” He looked out the window. “I added the pool house and the garage, in the style of the original. The barn, at the back of the property is standard red, and the stables are heated.”
    “You ride too, don’t you?”
    “Yes.”
    “You’re too good to be true,” she sighed.
    “I am not,” he chided as she walked over.
    “You have a Lambo in a twenty-car garage. You have a four-hundred year old Jacobean home. You have enough rooms to take on four additional people and the place doesn’t feel crowded. You have a housekeeper, a groundskeeper, and who knows how many actual staff to run the place. You are paying for my hospitalization. You saved my ass with the move, you moved my clothes here because you could, and you keep bringing me flowers.” She was standing just in front of him. “If you think I’m a lot to take in, Mr. Walsh, you need a mirror. Pronto.”
    “Ms. Westerly, are you complaining about my spoiling you?”
    “Yes, Mr. Walsh, I am.” She shook her head. “I’m not used to this.”
    “You should get used to it,” he whispered, softly. “Because I plan to continue.” He was so close to her she could feel his heat again. He leaned in even more, capturing her eyes as he slipped his arm around her carefully. “I’m going to kiss you, Emmy. I’ve wanted to for days, but I didn’t want to hurt you.”
    “I think it hurts more that we haven’t been able to be this close,” she answered.
    He lowered his head to hers, and gently kissed her. Softly, tenderly, he moved his lips on hers, parting his to gain permission with his tongue. She opened hers and answered with passion. They danced and teased each other with their lips and tongue, wrapped in a