Read Online Unveiled (Undone by Love Book 3) by Kristina Cook - Free Book Online Page A

certainly does not seem to suffer for the lack of one.”
    He shrugged. “I do my best. You said you were leaving tomorrow for Clifton?”
    “Yes, to visit my great-aunt and grandmother at The Orchards . I haven’t seen them in quite some time.”
    “When will you return?”
    “It depends upon my grandmother’s health. She’s...unwell. A sennight at most, I suppose.”
    “When you return, you must fulfill your promise to Madeline or she will be sorely disappointed . You must join us for dinner.”
    “Of course.”  Where had the gruff, acerbic Lord Westfield gone, and who was this new, polite man in his stead ? Her heart leapt in her breast as it suddenly made sense–she saw the truth with startling clarity. Appraising her like a brood mare at Tattersall’s; assessing her accomplishments; and now, measuring her affection for his ward and her approval of his home. ‘She won’t do,’ he’d said on first meeting her.  
    He wanted a wife .
    Jane sprang to her feet and hurried to the window, gazing out on the lake with churning emotions . The sun was fast moving toward the horizon, casting a golden glow on the lawn below. No matter his designs on her, she would not have him. She couldn’t, not even if she wanted to.
    “I must go,” she repeated, placing one palm against the glass .  
    And then she felt his warm breath on her neck, tantalizing her, drawing gooseflesh across her skin . How had he crossed the distance separating them on such silent feet? How had she not felt his presence behind her before it was too late?
    His hand covered hers on the glass, his taut body pressed against her back . A shiver began at the base of her spine and worked its way up. His lips pressed into her hair, behind one ear.
    “Jane,” he murmured, so quietly is was little more than a sigh, his breath seductively warm against her skin . She could feel the beating of his heart through the layers of cloth that separated them. Involuntarily, she inhaled his masculine scent–sandalwood and leather.
    More than anything, she wanted to turn around, to press her face into his broad, muscular chest, to gaze up into his mesmerizing eyes, to kiss him again as she had kissed him in the maze .    
    “Please,” she pleaded, her voice a hoarse whisper . “You mustn’t.”  She stood stiffly, braced against the window, unwilling to give in to her inexplicable desires.
    As stealthily as a panther, he moved away –as quickly and silently as he’d come to her. An unexpected pang of disappointment shot through her. When at last she turned from the window, he was standing stone-faced on the far side of the room, observing her with his hands clasped behind his back. For a moment Jane thought she’d imagined his touch, his presence; that he’d been there across the room all along. Maybe she was going mad.
    “I’ll summon a carriage to return you to the Tollands,” he said briskly, his voice cool and clipped . “In the meantime, I’ll have the housekeeper show you to the nursery to bid Madeline good-bye.”
    “Thank you, my lord.”  She feared her legs would buckle beneath her at any moment if she did not get away from him at once.
     
    ***
     
    Moments later, Hayden watched as the housekeeper led Jane out of the salon and upstairs to the nursery . As soon as she was gone he went to the sideboard in long, angry strides and poured himself a whiskey. With a jerk of the wrist, he downed the drink in one swift motion. He slammed the glass back down, his gaze drawn involuntarily to the very window she’d stood at just moments ago, her cheeks flushed a healthy pink, her hand trembling beneath his on the cool glass.
    He picked up the empty tumbler and threw it at the casings, sending shards of broken glass sailing onto the carpet below.
    Bloody hell !
    His tightly guarded control was slipping, and slipping fast . She was positively maddening. Waspish and proud one minute, quivering beside him the next. Sharp as a blade, yet all womanly