Read Online Tempest of Passion by Elyzabeth M. VaLey - Free Book Online Page A

did she keep ogling him as if he were some sort of god? He
was like all other men, she reminded herself: Rich, arrogant and
desirous to have a wife simply to birth heirs and secure the name
of his family. Her mother had forced her to exchange letters with
him, but that meant nothing.
    William sighed. Her smile vanished.
    “ Forgive me, I have not slept well these past few days and
some issues back home have arisen that have been called to my
immediate attention.” He paused as if measuring his words. “It’s
part of my reason for being here.” He stood up and walked toward
the fireplace, absently gazing at the old clock on the mantelpiece.
“I am aware that you do not want me here. Though we have
corresponded, I am acutely mindful that not once you have requested
I come see you. I had wished your feelings had changed but to be
honest, I believe perhaps your mother had some hand in our
correspondence.”
    “ Yes, though the quotes were my own.”
    William smiled. The gesture never reached his eyes.
    “ I surmised as much, though I wished they had been
different.”
    He clapped his hands behind his back and stood stock still,
observing her in concentration. Emily shifted in her seat. Warmth
bathed her cheeks and spread across her chest, down her stomach, to
her nether regions. The ache in her core, which had dulled,
reawakened.
    She wanted to look away, but she couldn’t. Had anyone ever
painted him? Perhaps, she should attempt it. Though painting had
never been one of her favorite past-times, Mr. William Dalton
deserved to hang on a canvas. He was, even if her better nature
argued against it, a truly beautiful specimen of masculinity. His
jaw, which she had found too angular, she now found alluring. She
noticed, for the first time that he had a slight dusting of hair
growing on his cheeks. What would it feel like to touch it, to
press her lips to his skin?
    Her breathing grew altered as her thoughts became more
fervent. She knew his smell now. She’d breathed him deep when he’d
saved her from the horse. It was a scent impossible to forget …
Part man, part fresh air, dirt and woods. It was savagely delicious
and appealing. For the past nights, she had lain on her bed, trying
to forget and at the same time maintain that aroma ingrained in her
brain. She knew she could get used to it. Used to him. Used to
hugging him tightly, leaning into his neck and sniffing him. Used
to other things. Delicious anticipation curled into her and she
closed her eyes to keep the more dangerous thoughts away. She
wasn’t supposed to be thinking those things, at least not now, not
with the subject of her desire so near. A soft growl-like sound
caused her head to snap up. Had he emitted it? Her heart banged
against her chest as their gazes clashed. His eyes had dilated, the
yellow in them coming out more vividly. How did he do that? Emily
swallowed.
    “ Mr. Dalton,” she finally, said, attempting to free herself of
his spell. “As you can see, I am quite well. What else can I do for
you? Perhaps, you’d like to see my parents? I shall fetch
them.”
    She stood up and hurried to make her way to the door. Emily
all but cursed at herself. She hated fleeing but there was no other
option. William’s presence was doing things to her.
    His touch on her arm caused her to stop dead in her tracks.
It’d been the ghost of a touch. He’d barely brushed his fingers
across her flesh, and yet, she froze. The brief touch and his
presence, so close that his scent washed over her, awakened a set
of wild tingles that rushed all over her body and landed forcefully
among her most erogenous zones. Her nipples hardened beneath her
shift, wetness coated her pubis and her breath, already caught,
became scarce. She didn’t want to look at him. She couldn’t. If she
did, she could well lose her head and throw herself into his arms
and beg him to take her as a wife. The idea was like a cold bucket
of water. Emily took in a shaky breath, attempting to calm