Read Online Her Reluctant Groom by Rose Gordon - Free Book Online Page A

could think better of it, a low whistle passed his lips. “This isn't a minor scrape,” he said sharply, grabbing a fresh piece of linen and holding it against her leg to put pressure on it. “I'll be right back. While I'm gone, you take your chemise off then hold pressure against this.” He turned to walk out of the room and stopped by the door. “I mean it, Emma. That chemise had better be off and you’d better still be in that bed holding pressure on that cut.”
    “ Or what?”
    He turned around. “If you don't have that chemise off, I'll take it off for you. And if you leave this bed, when I catch you—and don't doubt I will—I'll tie you to the nearest one, cut that chemise off you, and tend to your wound.”
    “ You're just like all other men. You'll do anything you can to try to see a pair of breasts.”
    “ No, I’m not,” he said with a slight frown. “As I explained earlier, your health demands you get out of that wet chemise. I'll not have you catch the ague because of your pride, Emma.” He sighed, and raked a hand through his hair. “If your concern is that I'll glimpse you naked, dismiss it. If that’s all I wanted, I wouldn't bother to insist you take off your chemise since leaving it on reveals just as much as taking it off.”
    She looked down at the transparent fabric clinging to her breasts like a second skin. A noise of frustration sounded from her throat, and her arms crossed over her clearly visible breasts. “Have you been looking?”
    Heat crept up his face. “I'd tell you no, but we both know that would be a lie.” He shifted to take his weight off his injured leg. “I’m not asking you to lie there naked, Emma. Use a sheet or my dressing robe to cover up.” Not allowing her another protest, he left the room in search of more medical supplies.
    When Olivia had lived at Ridge Water, so had Mr. Thompson, their physician. Or so it seemed. He was here often enough that he left a small supply of medical goods for Marcus on the occasion he couldn't rush right over for one of Olivia's ailments. Marcus kept them in a crate on the bottom shelf of his library. Considering how much blood Emma had already lost and how big the cut was, he wouldn't be surprised if she'd be weak for the next few days. He picked up an almost empty bottle of brandy so he could clean her wound and a few pieces of suture. With all the blood around, he couldn't tell exactly how deep or wide it was, but he wanted to be prepared to sew it up if need be.
    He walked back into the room and frowned. Emma was still wearing her blasted chemise. Before he could say something to her about it, she met his eyes. “I couldn't get it off,” she said with a swallow. “I'm sitting on it and when I tried to pull it up, I couldn't get it off without falling over.”
    Marcus put the medical supplies down and walked over to her. Her skin felt like ice and her blue lips were quivering so rapidly her teeth chattered. He took hold of the hem and dragged it up her legs as far as he could. “Let go of the cloth, and use your hands and feet as leverage to push your bottom a few inches off the bed so I can pull this up.” His voice came out broken and ragged, and perhaps a bit nervous.
    She glanced at him a second and his face flushed. Letting go of the linen, Emma put her hands palm-down on either side of her and used her palms and the heels of her feet to push herself about two inches off the mattress, giving Marcus just enough room to move the chemise out from under her.
    “ You can sit back down now,” he murmured, peeling the chemise off her wet skin.
    She shivered and raised her arms up so he could take it completely off. As soon as it was off, she collapsed against the pillows, offering him a complete view of her deliciously naked body. The crimson blush on her cheeks was the only telling sign of embarrassment.
    Marcus tore his eyes away from where they had no business looking and stalked across the room to his dressing