Read Online Miss Winters Proposes by Frances Fowlkes - Free Book Online
Authors: Frances Fowlkes
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walking to the kitchens.” She squirmed against his chest.
“Perhaps, but you will be in poor health when you arrive.” A burst of wind lifted her hat to the side, freeing one of her brilliant-colored curls. Its softness tickled his face and smelled of mulling spices and cedar, like a holiday hearth laden with treats at Yuletide.
Treats she most undoubtedly tasted like, should he partake of her pleasures.
Benjamin swallowed and adjusted her in his arms. Dogs . He needed to focus on the dogs or the cold. Or both. Not on the warm body rubbing against his.
Her body shook in the ill-fitted clothes. “I am p-perfectly able to walk.”
“And I am perfectly able of carrying you. Which door is the kitchen?”
She pointed toward a small door off to the left. “There, on the east side. It should b-be unlocked.”
“Should? It is below freezing and you are not certain whether you have entrance to the inside?”
“It was unlocked when I used it last. Our cook could’ve assumed she left it open and relocked the bolt. Any number of scenarios could have happened in the past half hour, which is why I selected the word ‘should’ instead of something more definite.”
Benjamin rolled his eyes but remained silent.
He didn’t need this. Didn’t want this. His sole desire was solitude, and that meant being alone. By himself. With his sister’s coffers filled and his dog beside him for occasional companionship. There was no room for Juliet in his future. So why did he continue to think of the redheaded minx trembling in his arms, calling to his baser needs every time her bottom rubbed against his—
“The dogs. I need to call them inside.” Juliet placed her fingers into her blue lips and let out an earsplitting whistle. The hounds immediately stopped their play and followed him toward the rear of the house.
“There.” She pointed toward a door that was blessedly ajar.
Benjamin trudged through the remaining distance and nudged the door open. The room was void of servants, but a small fire sputtered in the hearth. Five dogs trailed behind him, their inquisitive noses sniffing at the table in anticipation of their meal.
He angled her inside and made his way toward the welcoming heat of the flames. “If you direct me toward the foodstuffs, I can feed the hounds while you warm by the fire.”
She shook her head and pushed against his chest. “It would be easier if I managed the chore myself.”
“Easier, yes, but—”
“I am not an invalid.” She set her feet onto the floor. She stumbled, and Benjamin found her once again in his embrace, her wide eyes peering up at him, her lips mere inches from his.
He knew the thick swell of desire her lips promised to unleash with their taste. His hands itched to pull her close so he might drink of their nectar.
Which was why he needed to remove himself from her at this very moment. He didn’t need this…this…attachment she threatened to impose. He was a recluse, a hermit, a damn bachelor, if not by name alone. He did not want entanglements, even if they hinted at being pleasurable.
Artemis whined, and Juliet tore her gaze from his to stare at the hounds. “I should see to them.”
His hands fell, and she turned toward the dogs, their wagging tails knocking metal bowls over in their excitement. If the household was not awake before, they were now.
Juliet slid off the bulk of the two greatcoats, hanging them on a set of hooks by the door. The absence of the woolen articles covering her revealed a pair of lust-inducing legs, thighs, and hips encased in a set of breeches that were no longer the masculine garment of their original design, but a showcase of feminine curves and edges.
His jaw unhinged and, were the time of year conducive to flying insects, one would have been able to settle into his mouth, so large was the gap between the roof of his mouth and his tongue.
God’s blood.
A distraction. He needed a bloody damn distraction.
“Is there anything I can do
“Perhaps, but you will be in poor health when you arrive.” A burst of wind lifted her hat to the side, freeing one of her brilliant-colored curls. Its softness tickled his face and smelled of mulling spices and cedar, like a holiday hearth laden with treats at Yuletide.
Treats she most undoubtedly tasted like, should he partake of her pleasures.
Benjamin swallowed and adjusted her in his arms. Dogs . He needed to focus on the dogs or the cold. Or both. Not on the warm body rubbing against his.
Her body shook in the ill-fitted clothes. “I am p-perfectly able to walk.”
“And I am perfectly able of carrying you. Which door is the kitchen?”
She pointed toward a small door off to the left. “There, on the east side. It should b-be unlocked.”
“Should? It is below freezing and you are not certain whether you have entrance to the inside?”
“It was unlocked when I used it last. Our cook could’ve assumed she left it open and relocked the bolt. Any number of scenarios could have happened in the past half hour, which is why I selected the word ‘should’ instead of something more definite.”
Benjamin rolled his eyes but remained silent.
He didn’t need this. Didn’t want this. His sole desire was solitude, and that meant being alone. By himself. With his sister’s coffers filled and his dog beside him for occasional companionship. There was no room for Juliet in his future. So why did he continue to think of the redheaded minx trembling in his arms, calling to his baser needs every time her bottom rubbed against his—
“The dogs. I need to call them inside.” Juliet placed her fingers into her blue lips and let out an earsplitting whistle. The hounds immediately stopped their play and followed him toward the rear of the house.
“There.” She pointed toward a door that was blessedly ajar.
Benjamin trudged through the remaining distance and nudged the door open. The room was void of servants, but a small fire sputtered in the hearth. Five dogs trailed behind him, their inquisitive noses sniffing at the table in anticipation of their meal.
He angled her inside and made his way toward the welcoming heat of the flames. “If you direct me toward the foodstuffs, I can feed the hounds while you warm by the fire.”
She shook her head and pushed against his chest. “It would be easier if I managed the chore myself.”
“Easier, yes, but—”
“I am not an invalid.” She set her feet onto the floor. She stumbled, and Benjamin found her once again in his embrace, her wide eyes peering up at him, her lips mere inches from his.
He knew the thick swell of desire her lips promised to unleash with their taste. His hands itched to pull her close so he might drink of their nectar.
Which was why he needed to remove himself from her at this very moment. He didn’t need this…this…attachment she threatened to impose. He was a recluse, a hermit, a damn bachelor, if not by name alone. He did not want entanglements, even if they hinted at being pleasurable.
Artemis whined, and Juliet tore her gaze from his to stare at the hounds. “I should see to them.”
His hands fell, and she turned toward the dogs, their wagging tails knocking metal bowls over in their excitement. If the household was not awake before, they were now.
Juliet slid off the bulk of the two greatcoats, hanging them on a set of hooks by the door. The absence of the woolen articles covering her revealed a pair of lust-inducing legs, thighs, and hips encased in a set of breeches that were no longer the masculine garment of their original design, but a showcase of feminine curves and edges.
His jaw unhinged and, were the time of year conducive to flying insects, one would have been able to settle into his mouth, so large was the gap between the roof of his mouth and his tongue.
God’s blood.
A distraction. He needed a bloody damn distraction.
“Is there anything I can do
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