Read Online The Virtuous Widow by Anne Gracíe - Free Book Online
Authors: Anne Gracíe
Tags: Romance
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sheet. His eyes were deep shadows of mystery, and his white teeth gleamed briefly. He didn’t look chaste. He looked handsome and powerful and altogether far too appealing for a virtuous widow’s peace of mind.
She swallowed and turning her back, sat down to remove her shoes and stockings. Then she picked up her own sheet and wrapped herself tightly in it, feeling his eyes watching her every movement. Finally she blew out the candle, set it on the floor next to the bed, took a deep breath and slipped in beside him.
She lay stiffly on her back, huddled beneath the blankets in the cocoon of her sheet, trying not to touch him. All she could hear was the wind in the trees and the breathing of the man beside her. It was worse than the first time she had slept with him. Then she’d feared him as a stranger. Now the danger he represented was not the sort that a frying pan could fix.
Before, he had been a stranger to her, nothing more than a wounded, beautiful body. Now she knew how his eyes could dance, what he tasted like, how his hands felt moving over her skin, caressing her as if she was beautiful to him, precious. Before her marriage, men had only wanted her for her inheritance. Now she had nothing to offer a man except herself. And yet this man in her bed wanted her. And when he touched her she felt…cherished.
It was dangerously seductive. He had already found his way under her skin, if not her skirts. Now, all she had was a thin cotton sheet to protect her virtue—and her heart. She lay rigid, hardly daring to breathe.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” With a surge of bedclothes he turned, flipped her on her side and pulled her into the curve of his body.
“Stop it! You promised—”
“And I do not break my promises! This is as chaste as I can manage it. Now stop fussing, Ellie. There is a sheet wrapped around each of us—it is perfectly decorous. But I cannot possibly sleep while you lie there as stiff as a board…” He chuckled awkwardly. “That’s my problem, too, if you want to know.”
Ellie buried her hot cheek in her cool pillow. No, she didn’t want to know that. It was bad enough that she could feel his problem, even through the sheets. The feel of him set off all sorts of reactions in her own body.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Now, stop worrying, love, and go to sleep. We’ll both rest better like this, you know it.”
Ellie did not know it, but she allowed herself to remain in the curve of his body, enjoying the warmth of him and the feeling of strength and protection which emanated from him. It was a strange and seductive sensation, this feeling of being…cherished.
They lay in silence for a long time, listening to the wind in the trees. And finally, Ellie slept.
He lay in the dark, holding Ellie against the length of his body. Even through the sheets wound around them, he could feel her soft curves, curled trustfully against him. Her feet had kicked free of their cotton shroud and tucked themselves between his calves, like two cold little stones. He smiled in the dark. He was happy to be her personal hot brick.
She sighed in her sleep and snuggled closer to him. He buried his face in the nape of her neck. He laid his mouth on her skin and tasted her gently with his tongue. Her scent was unique, like fresh harvested wheat…like bread dough, before it was baked…and hay as it was scythed. Fresh and good. He felt as if the fragrance of her skin had become a part of him.
Who the devil was he? It was unbearable to be so helpless, to be imprisoned in the dark, unable to make decisions about his life. How the hell could he plan any sort of a future when his past was a blank slate?
And what if his memory failed to return? Would he be forever hamstrung by self-ignorance? And if his memory didn’t come back, how long could he stay here with Ellie? He couldn’t ask her to support him. Yet he couldn’t continue to live with her—a few days in winter they might get away with,
She swallowed and turning her back, sat down to remove her shoes and stockings. Then she picked up her own sheet and wrapped herself tightly in it, feeling his eyes watching her every movement. Finally she blew out the candle, set it on the floor next to the bed, took a deep breath and slipped in beside him.
She lay stiffly on her back, huddled beneath the blankets in the cocoon of her sheet, trying not to touch him. All she could hear was the wind in the trees and the breathing of the man beside her. It was worse than the first time she had slept with him. Then she’d feared him as a stranger. Now the danger he represented was not the sort that a frying pan could fix.
Before, he had been a stranger to her, nothing more than a wounded, beautiful body. Now she knew how his eyes could dance, what he tasted like, how his hands felt moving over her skin, caressing her as if she was beautiful to him, precious. Before her marriage, men had only wanted her for her inheritance. Now she had nothing to offer a man except herself. And yet this man in her bed wanted her. And when he touched her she felt…cherished.
It was dangerously seductive. He had already found his way under her skin, if not her skirts. Now, all she had was a thin cotton sheet to protect her virtue—and her heart. She lay rigid, hardly daring to breathe.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” With a surge of bedclothes he turned, flipped her on her side and pulled her into the curve of his body.
“Stop it! You promised—”
“And I do not break my promises! This is as chaste as I can manage it. Now stop fussing, Ellie. There is a sheet wrapped around each of us—it is perfectly decorous. But I cannot possibly sleep while you lie there as stiff as a board…” He chuckled awkwardly. “That’s my problem, too, if you want to know.”
Ellie buried her hot cheek in her cool pillow. No, she didn’t want to know that. It was bad enough that she could feel his problem, even through the sheets. The feel of him set off all sorts of reactions in her own body.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Now, stop worrying, love, and go to sleep. We’ll both rest better like this, you know it.”
Ellie did not know it, but she allowed herself to remain in the curve of his body, enjoying the warmth of him and the feeling of strength and protection which emanated from him. It was a strange and seductive sensation, this feeling of being…cherished.
They lay in silence for a long time, listening to the wind in the trees. And finally, Ellie slept.
He lay in the dark, holding Ellie against the length of his body. Even through the sheets wound around them, he could feel her soft curves, curled trustfully against him. Her feet had kicked free of their cotton shroud and tucked themselves between his calves, like two cold little stones. He smiled in the dark. He was happy to be her personal hot brick.
She sighed in her sleep and snuggled closer to him. He buried his face in the nape of her neck. He laid his mouth on her skin and tasted her gently with his tongue. Her scent was unique, like fresh harvested wheat…like bread dough, before it was baked…and hay as it was scythed. Fresh and good. He felt as if the fragrance of her skin had become a part of him.
Who the devil was he? It was unbearable to be so helpless, to be imprisoned in the dark, unable to make decisions about his life. How the hell could he plan any sort of a future when his past was a blank slate?
And what if his memory failed to return? Would he be forever hamstrung by self-ignorance? And if his memory didn’t come back, how long could he stay here with Ellie? He couldn’t ask her to support him. Yet he couldn’t continue to live with her—a few days in winter they might get away with,
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