Read Online Shattered Moments by Irina Shapiro - Free Book Online

without being rude to their hosts.  She practically skipped to the waiting trap, eager to return to Rosewood and her bed.  The air was velvety and fragrant, the whiffs of fish from the James overpowered by the smell of sun-warmed earth, grass, and wildflowers perfuming the air.  The moon was high in the sky, casting a silvery glow over the wooden houses and muddy streets, and making Jamestown appear almost beautiful; something it would certainly have no claim to during the daylight hours. Louisa was tired, worn out by worry and uncertainty, her imagination putting forth every horrible scenario it could think of just to torment her further.  Kit was silent next to her as he took up the reins, urging the horses into a dignified trot until they left the confines of Jamestown.
    “What an awful man,” Louisa said, leaning against Kit’s shoulder.  “I would be happy never to see him, or his boring wife, again.  Why is he here?”
    “To buy a plantation, or so I gather.  He might become a permanent fixture in the colony,” replied Kit with a look of such disgust on his face it nearly made Louisa laugh.  “He’s an absolute snake.  I wager he isn’t even acquainted with Buckingham.  George Villiers wouldn’t bother with a maggot like Deverell; he doesn’t suffer fools gladly.”
    “Oh, but my dear Christopher,” Louisa intoned, mimicking Deverell, “George and I are on most intimate of terms.  Why, he barely takes a shit without inviting me to wipe his handsome arse, indeed he does, because there’s no greater ass wipe at Court than Aloysius Deverell.” Kit burst out laughing, his arm relaxing under her cheek.
    “You better tread carefully, Lady Sheridan.  Sir Yardley was very displeased with you tonight, being the blasphemous besom that you are, so keep a civil tongue in your head, or I will be ordered to exercise my husbandly duty and give you a sound beating on that lovely, round behind of yours.  Oh, it gets me going just thinking about it,” he said, giving her a meaningful glance.
     
    Louisa giggled and smacked Kit playfully.  “Behave, Lord Sheridan, or you might find yourself on the receiving end of a stick.”  Kit just laughed, all tension gone from his body.  Aloysius Deverell was forgotten for the moment as they enjoyed the beauty of the summer night around them and the feeling of being all alone and unencumbered, which didn’t happen often.
    Kit suddenly stopped the trap and turned to face his wife, the gleam in his eyes unmistakable as he reached for an old blanket tossed carelessly into the back of the trap .  She returned his gaze as he helped her from the trap and spread the blanket in a shadowy spot beneath the trees.  There was no reason to rush home, and they hadn’t made love beneath the stars in a very long time.  In fact, the last time was a few years ago at their country estate in England, when they snuck out one beautiful night and spent a few delicious hours by the lake under the droopy cover of the weeping willow.  She still smiled when she remembered that night since it had been one of the few times she actually forgot about the children, her forced separation from Valerie, and the death of her parents.  She’d felt like a teenager, making out in the back of a car with her boyfriend, consumed with desire and oblivious of everything but the moment. 
    Louisa gasped with pleasure as she felt Kit’s hand sliding up her thigh and between her legs, the moonlight making his face look strangely pale and unfamiliar.  The smile had been replaced by naked desire, making her shiver in anticipation.  She could tell by the look on his face that he wasn’t interested in a quick romp, but rather had every intention of teasing her mercilessly, and bringing her to heights of passion that erased all thought from her mind as her body took over in a primal need that went back to the beginning of time.  She reached out a hand to unlace his breeches, but he gently pushed it away,