Read Online Lonesome Rider and Wilde Imaginings by Heather Graham - Free Book Online

she would need. But then, in a month …
    She swallowed hard, not wanting to waken him. She wanted to rise and dress, to hide herself. Morning’s light could be so harsh. She started trembling each time she remembered just how he had made her feel. Turning crimson, Jessica prayed that no one else in Mrs. Peabody’s boardinghouse had heard how he had made her feel.
    One month. She had him. He had her. Could he really want her so much? she wondered. He had been so damned furious with her innocence, or perhaps it had been her lack of expertise or—
    No. He hadn’t wanted an involvement, she reasoned, and men always seemed to think that any inexperienced woman had to be after more than she was willing to say.
    He would never understand. She owed Charlie, she had to get to the land and stay there long enough to find his papers. And she would have done anything … with this man. She couldn’t explain it. Couldn’t explain what Blade had touched within her.
    She drew away, easing from the bed. She winced somewhat as she tried to walk, hurrying across the room to the washbowl to drench and cool her face. She shivered in the brisk morning air, washing her throat, breasts, arms. She dropped the cloth at last, turning to open her trunk, which Shorty had brought by at dinnertime last night. She withdrew a corset, pantalets, a petticoat and a cool calico dress. Although it was cool now, she was certain the afternoon would be warm. She had just stepped into the pantalets when her eyes fell upon him. He hadn’t made a sound or a motion, but his black eyes were on her and she flushed, suddenly certain that he had been awake, watching her, since she first had risen. They were enigmatic eyes, so Stygian dark, so piercing and demanding. She lowered her lashes quickly, trying to draw the dress over her head before she had tied the pantalets.
    He laughed and came swiftly to his feet. She could feel him at her back, pulling up her dress, finding the lace on her pantalets and pulling it into a sturdy tie. She quickly smoothed the calico down, her cheeks still flushed. Eyes downcast, she murmured swiftly, “I have to pick up a few things I had ordered last night. My land isn’t far from here. I’d like to start out right after breakfast, if that’s all right. If—”
    She hesitated. He was still at her back. She swung around and felt tremors all over again because he simply had such a beautiful body. Tall, bronzed, his chest devoid of hair, glistening even by daylight with taut muscle. She swallowed hard. “You, er, need to get dressed.”
    He nodded, offering her a dry smile that caused her to blush all over again. She had started all this by bursting into his bath. She shouldn’t be dismayed by his nakedness.
    â€œThat is,” she murmured softly, “if you haven’t changed your mind. You—you did say that you’d come.”
    â€œHmm. You’ve got me. I’ve got you.”
    She exhaled, a shaky sound of relief. Then she spun around quickly. “I’m just going to go downstairs—” She broke off, her eyes going wide. “The—”
    â€œBed next door,” Blade finished for her. “Don’t worry, I’ll go mess it up. I’m not too sure what we can do about this one.”
    â€œDo?” she murmured, then glanced at the sheets that gave away everything. “Oh …”
    â€œI can just steal them,” he offered politely.
    â€œOh, yes, that should go unnoticed!”
    He grinned and laughed. “We’ll put a bandage on your hand. You can say that you cut it opening a letter last night or something.”
    â€œWill it—work?”
    â€œBetter than nothing, I imagine,” he assured her. He turned and left her, crossing through the door that connected their rooms, returning to hers with a swatch of clean, white linen cloth. She stood still while he wrapped her hand. She was painfully aware