Read Online If You Were Mine by Rebecca King - Free Book Online Page A

down in the armchair
beside the bed. He smoothed a few stray strands of hair away from
her face, pleased when she didn’t flinch under his touch. Her
distress was clear and he wondered what had caused it.
    He
quickly scanned the room, looking for anything amiss that would
upset her so. Moments ago she had been quite relaxed. Muddled, but
at ease. Now, she seemed so uncomfortable Dominic wouldn’t have
been surprised if she had jumped out of bed and ran straight out of
the room.
    “ How long have I been here?” Isobel looked towards the window.
A fine blanket of snow covered what she could see of the ground
outside. The last time Isobel could remember being outside it had
been windy and raining, certainly too wet for snow to
settle.
    “ You have been here for a week now,” Dominic replied, smiling
softly at her startled gasp. “It has been a very eventful week, I
can tell you,” he chided softly, watching her almost guilty
surprise.
    “ I’m sorry,” Isobel tried once again to get out of the bed.
“I’ve imposed on your good nature long enough. I must leave.” She
tried desperately not to show just how weak she was, and wondered
how she would manage to get out of bed but felt she had to
try.
    “ My good nature!” Dominic repeated with a frown. “What do you
expect me to do Isobel? Leave you out in the cold?” His voice was
incredulous.
    “ I don’t want to cause you any more inconvenience.”
    “ Inconvenience?” Dominic lurched to his feet, and stood beside
the bed as his temper rose. “What do you mean inconvenience? You
are not some bloody vague relation happening by.”
    “ I’m sorry, I don’t mean to anger you. I just don’t want to
cause you any problems given our past -” Isobel glanced around the
room at a loss to find the right words, “- association.” She ended
weakly, and watched nervously as his temper rose.
    “ Association?” Dominic shook his head once in stunned
surprise, knowing he sounded dense by keep repeating her sentences.
“We were lovers Isobel!” He hated to be so blunt, but they couldn’t
hide the fact that they had been far more than mere ‘associates’.
He felt irked that she could so blithely put him into that
category.
    “ I just don’t want to make things awkward for you. Your wife
wouldn’t like me being here. This is your room, is it not?” Using
every ounce of courage within her, she ignored his bristling anger,
dropping her gaze to the coverlet across her knees. She began to
pluck randomly at the soft material as she continued. “I am sorry
for any discontent my presence here has already caused, if you
could get my clothes I shall leave forthwith.”
    Once
again she tried to roll over, only to find herself firmly grasped
by the shoulders and pushed backward until she was lying upon the
bed. Reluctantly she gave in, and with a deep sigh flopped down on
the sheets, exhausted.
    “ My what?” Dominic’s voice was deadly. His gaze captured and
held hers, anger clearly evident on the harshness of his features.
Everything within the lavishly decorated room seemed to pause. No
sound could be heard other than the wheezing rattle in her
chest.
    “ Y-your wife,” Isobel replied, trying hard yet failing to keep
the quiver of hurt from her voice. She knew she should be angry,
but couldn’t seem to find a way through the hurt that flowed
through her veins like molten lava.
    “ My wife,” Dominic replied dully, staring at her while a
growing lump of dread formed in his chest. “Who told you I had a
wife Isobel?” He tried to keep control of the anger building
within. He already knew the answer, but needed to hear it from her
lips.
    His
heart jolted with surprise at her reply.
    “ Aunt Elspeth.”
    “ Elspeth?” His voice echoed incredulously. “Are you
sure?”
    Isobel
sighed with impatience, and glared at him. Her voice rose to a high
squeak as she glared up at him defiantly. “Of course, I am sure!
What do you take me for? She told me she had