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

received word from a
friend in London, who had been – somewhere,” Isobel paused with a
frown, but couldn’t locate the name in her memory. “She said the
source was reliable. Her friend had informed her that a few weeks
after leaving Willowbrook, you had travelled to your father’s
estate in Berkshire, and wed your betrothed in the family
chapel.”
    Exhausted, Isobel slumped back against the pillow, her breath
coming in shallow pants as she fought not to cough. Misery swelled
in her chest as the familiar feeling of devastating loss swept
through her. Pride prevented her from allowing him to witness just
how miserable losing him had made her.
    She
desperately wanted to cry, to rail at him and beat his chest for
his callous disregard of her. If only she had the strength.
Instead, she lay there and cursed her weakness once again. Despite
everything, she found herself at the mercy of a man who had cruelly
hurt her, the last man on earth she wanted to witness just how dire
her life had become.
    “ Isobel.” There was something in the tone of his voice that
commanded her attention, and snapped her out of her melancholic
thoughts.
    Determined not to let her tears flow in his presence, she
raised a frosty brow in his direction and waited.
    “ I.” He leaned over her menacingly. “Am.” He placed a hand on
either side of her head. “Not.” His gaze locked upon hers. He
slowly lowered his head until his lips were mere inches from hers.
“Married.” He whispered as he placed a gentle kiss upon her stunned
lips.
    His
mouth captured the soft cry she couldn’t withhold. His gentle
fingers swept away her tears as his lips worshipped her tenderly
with his lips and fingers, while she absorbed his words.
    Could it
be true? He was not married to another? When he did eventually
raise his head to allow her to breathe, his eyes were full of
tender reproach. “How could you believe that I have such little
regard for you?”
    “ There is no baby?” Isobel whispered shakily, unable to
believe her aunt could have been so wrong. Was she in cohorts with
Rupert?
    “ There may be a baby when we are wed my darling,” he teased
with a gentle smile, sitting beside her on the bed. “But until
then, I can assure you that to my certain knowledge there is no
wife, and no child.” Silence settled between them for mere seconds
before his final words dropped like lead between them. “Not for me
at least.”
    In her
fogged state, it took a few moments for the import of his words to
sink in, and she looked at him with a frown. “What do you
mean?”
    He could
think of no gentle way to raise the question that was burning
inside him. “Did you marry Bertram DeLisle?” He couldn’t allow her
to see just how much her answer meant, and ignoring her startled
look moved to stand before the window with his back towards her. He
was aware of the crackling tension within the room as his gaze
roamed over the landscaped gardens blankly. All of his senses
locked on her lying so temptingly on his bed. His nerves were
stretched taut as he waited for her answer.
    “ Dominic, I promised I would wait for you,” Isobel eyed his
tall frame highlighted so starkly by the sunlight shining through
the window. The surrounding halo of light emphasised his broad
shoulders and lean limbs to stunning perfection. “Nothing Rupert or
DeLisle could threaten me with could coerce me into marriage to
anyone.” Her voice sank to a whisper as the last vestiges of her
strength began to wane. She desperately didn’t want to sleep yet
she needed to continue the conversation. There was much to say, so
much to discover, but somehow it became so incredibly difficult
simply to keep her eyes open.
    “ Dominic,” she whispered softly as sleep began to pull her
down. “I wouldn’t marry anyone else.” She was vaguely aware of him
approaching the bed but her eyes were already closed when she felt
the bed dip beneath his weight as he sat beside her. Her hand was
gently clasped