and the one night they had shared. And then a strange thing happened. In her mind the Fox and Adam became one and each tender moment she spent with Fox dimmed and faded into a single image. It was Adam’s face behind the mask but Fox’s hands and lips upon her body.
Ridiculous! she scolded herself, shaking her dark head to clear it of such confusing thoughts. It was only natural that she should confuse the only two men who had ever made love to her. No one could be as gentle and tender as Fox had been with her despite the fact that he was a pirate and enemy of England. Her romantic soul yielded to him, forgave him all, for he was a man around which dreams were spun.
Adam returned but refused to reveal to Alexa where he had been. It was now two months since she had been taken forcibly from her home and still she had no idea when her captivity would end. She couldn’t exactly say she was unhappy. She wasn’t mistreated, she was well-fed, and most of the time had Adam’s stimulating company to keep boredom at bay. During his unexplained absences the well-stocked library sufficed.
The servants were polite, if remote, and Alexa’s long walks along the moors and cliffs helped immeasurably to work, off her pent-up anger and anxiety. And ofcourse there was Adam’s lovemaking. She grew so accustomed to it that she actually missed him when he was gone; his strong arms, warm body, and lips and hands that drove her wild. Alexa often wondered if Adam hadn’t planned it that way. Though she tried, she couldn’t really hate him. What she despised was her growing addiction for the man, Adam Foxworth.
Adam was absent twice during Alexa’s third month at Penwell Castle deep in the wilds of Cornwall. This time when he returned his lovemaking took on a frantic quality and when she sought to question him she encountered a nearly imperceptible clouding of his features. For over two weeks his unleashed passion rose in devouring fury to consume her, as if he were driven by an urgency to prove his mastery over her. Though his eyes often told her he cared for her his lips were still.
Then abruptly one night, without warning or provocation, Adam took her without apparent emotion or any attempt to arouse her, as though she were truly nothing but a means of exacting vengeance as he had so often insisted; a vessel into which he poured out his need. The hands and lips that had always intoxicated her with their tender caresses now denied her any satisfaction. She endured it in silence, never more aware of Adam’s power over her.
Alexa awoke with a vague feeling of dread hanging over her, but blamed it on Adam’s strange behavior the night before. It was almost as if he were trying to tell her something. She pulled on a robe just as Hilda brought in her breakfast tray, but she could only push the food around the plate in a distracted manner. A hard lump formed in her throat, preventing her from swallowing.
The hard, cold facts were that Alexa was faced with a dilemma. She knew little about the workings of the human body but what little she did know all pointed tothe fact that she was pregnant. For over a week she had become queasy upon arising and she had not had her woman’s time since arriving at Penwell Castle.
Moreover, her breasts were tender to the touch and appeared to be fuller, the nipples darker. She was torn between telling Adam and remaining silent, certain that it would make little difference to him. In fact, her pregnancy probably would fit into his plans admirably. How fitting that he should be returned to her father not only dishonored but pregnant. How Adam would laugh when he found out! In the end she kept her own counsel.
Fighting off twinges of nausea rumbling through her stomach, Alexa wandered downstairs, wondering if Adam was about or off on another of his mysterious jaunts. On a whim she entered the study, for she rarely sought him out there, and spied him instantly, standing in an outpouring of sunshine as he
Ridiculous! she scolded herself, shaking her dark head to clear it of such confusing thoughts. It was only natural that she should confuse the only two men who had ever made love to her. No one could be as gentle and tender as Fox had been with her despite the fact that he was a pirate and enemy of England. Her romantic soul yielded to him, forgave him all, for he was a man around which dreams were spun.
Adam returned but refused to reveal to Alexa where he had been. It was now two months since she had been taken forcibly from her home and still she had no idea when her captivity would end. She couldn’t exactly say she was unhappy. She wasn’t mistreated, she was well-fed, and most of the time had Adam’s stimulating company to keep boredom at bay. During his unexplained absences the well-stocked library sufficed.
The servants were polite, if remote, and Alexa’s long walks along the moors and cliffs helped immeasurably to work, off her pent-up anger and anxiety. And ofcourse there was Adam’s lovemaking. She grew so accustomed to it that she actually missed him when he was gone; his strong arms, warm body, and lips and hands that drove her wild. Alexa often wondered if Adam hadn’t planned it that way. Though she tried, she couldn’t really hate him. What she despised was her growing addiction for the man, Adam Foxworth.
Adam was absent twice during Alexa’s third month at Penwell Castle deep in the wilds of Cornwall. This time when he returned his lovemaking took on a frantic quality and when she sought to question him she encountered a nearly imperceptible clouding of his features. For over two weeks his unleashed passion rose in devouring fury to consume her, as if he were driven by an urgency to prove his mastery over her. Though his eyes often told her he cared for her his lips were still.
Then abruptly one night, without warning or provocation, Adam took her without apparent emotion or any attempt to arouse her, as though she were truly nothing but a means of exacting vengeance as he had so often insisted; a vessel into which he poured out his need. The hands and lips that had always intoxicated her with their tender caresses now denied her any satisfaction. She endured it in silence, never more aware of Adam’s power over her.
Alexa awoke with a vague feeling of dread hanging over her, but blamed it on Adam’s strange behavior the night before. It was almost as if he were trying to tell her something. She pulled on a robe just as Hilda brought in her breakfast tray, but she could only push the food around the plate in a distracted manner. A hard lump formed in her throat, preventing her from swallowing.
The hard, cold facts were that Alexa was faced with a dilemma. She knew little about the workings of the human body but what little she did know all pointed tothe fact that she was pregnant. For over a week she had become queasy upon arising and she had not had her woman’s time since arriving at Penwell Castle.
Moreover, her breasts were tender to the touch and appeared to be fuller, the nipples darker. She was torn between telling Adam and remaining silent, certain that it would make little difference to him. In fact, her pregnancy probably would fit into his plans admirably. How fitting that he should be returned to her father not only dishonored but pregnant. How Adam would laugh when he found out! In the end she kept her own counsel.
Fighting off twinges of nausea rumbling through her stomach, Alexa wandered downstairs, wondering if Adam was about or off on another of his mysterious jaunts. On a whim she entered the study, for she rarely sought him out there, and spied him instantly, standing in an outpouring of sunshine as he
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