Read Online The Heart Breaker by Nicole Jordan - Free Book Online Page A

and confused.Despite his remoteness toward her, she felt an attraction she could not explain. She was drawn to Sloan McCord against her will. There was something about him that called to her, something untamed and elemental.
    He had a similar effect on other females, apparently. To her dismay, her friends sat awed and spellbound as Sloan politely described some of the sights out West and recounted the dangers of a cattle drive.
    The breakfast was concluded with coffee and slices of wedding cake—an iced confection crowned with a delicate china figurine of a bridal couple. Afterward, the female guests rose to help Winnie clear the table, while the minister departed.
    Heather found herself momentarily alone with her new husband. She risked a glance at him, wondering if he felt as strange and awkward as she did. His expression was unsmiling, with no sign of warmth in those remarkable eyes.
    “Do you need help to finish packing?” he asked without inflection.
    “No, I can manage, thank you.”
    “I’ll harness Winnie’s buggy and wait for you outside, then.”
    Heather heaved a soft sigh as she watched him leave. If their marriage was to be this chilly, this polite and distant, the years ahead would be long indeed.
    Sloan escaped the stifling atmosphere of the house for the chill of the winter air. Out on the porch, he took a deep gulp as he struggled to breathe.
    The ache in his chest had started this morning even before he’d laid eyes on his stunning bride—an ache that had only grown tighter as the ministerdroned the fateful words that would bind him to Heather Ashford in marriage. The ceremony itself resembled his first wedding, but he’d felt none of the love, the joy, the intimacy he’d known the first time.
    This time he had wed a stranger. They had less than nothing in common, starting with their social stations. Hell, that fancy wedding gown of Heather’s must have cost a fortune, a far cry from Doe’s simple white buckskin dress embroidered with beads....
    Sloan shut his eyes, missing Doe as if a knife were buried in his chest. But that part of his life had ended brutally the day she died. All he could do now was hoard his precious memories and try to make it through each day. With his new bride.
    Sloan clenched his teeth. He badly needed a stiff whiskey, but he would have to wait till they boarded the train and he could find the smoking car. For now he was stuck, he thought bleakly as he headed for the livery down the street where Winnie’s buggy and team were stabled.
    The duchess was now his wife, for better or worse.
    Surprisingly she did not take long to change. By the time he returned, she wore a traveling suit of black velvet relieved only by a small spray of dried white flowers on the lapel.
    He collected her two valises and secured them to the back of the buggy, then forced himself to wait patiently while she said tearful good-byes to her friends. Since Winifred was to accompany them to the train depot, he helped the elderly lady into the vehicle, then did the same with Heather, before taking his own place next to her in the driver’s seat.
    With the three of them, it was a snug fit, and hedidn’t like the close proximity to his bride. The sweet scent of her rose up to tease his nostrils, and he couldn’t control his physical response as his loins clenched.
    Sloan set his jaw hard. This woman was his wife now. He had a right to touch her if he wanted. But he didn’t want to.
    It was barely a half mile to the station. He’d bought tickets for the bottom berth of a Pullman sleeper, yet the conductor intercepted them as they started to board the train.
    “You are Mr. Sloan McCord?”
    “Yes.”
    “Sir, ma’am, I’ve a personal message from Mr. Randolf.” When Sloan reached for it, the conductor held back. “Mr. Randolf told me to give it to the lady directly.”
    Curious, Heather accepted the envelope of hotpressed blue paper, addressed to Mrs. Sloan McCord. She faltered at the strange