Read Online When Love Awaits by Johanna Lindsey - Free Book Online Page B

the shadows, but he did not look at her. Let her begin to feel the shame she deserved to feel. If, in the morning, there was no blood on the sheets to attest to her purity, she would have to live with shame.
    Leonie turned cold as she heard him speak and considered what the man meant to do to her. She was amazed that he would admit before others that he meant to harm her. All of a sudden she had a desire to take a good look at this man who was so utterly despicable. She raised her head just enough for her one good eye to focus on him. He was not looking her way, but he was illuminated by the firelight, so she allowed herself a bold appraisal, the very first she’d had.
    He had seated himself on a stool by the hearth, with a sheet draped over his loins. The bright flames castenough light for her to see him clearly. Her husband? Please, no. It would be too cruel to be married to this beautiful young man, knowing that he could inspire only hate in her.
    She knew why he was called the Black Wolf, when it was actually a silver wolf on a black field sewn on his banner. The name was for his dark coloring, his black hair and eyes. The hair that covered the rest of his body was just as black, especially the thick mat on his chest.
    She did not find his darkness unpleasant. Far from it—too far in fact. God help her, the sight of him was enough to take her breath away. His body was overwhelmingly masculine, rock-hard and muscular, big, frightening. But it was his rugged face that was so arresting, framed by the shaggy cut of his black hair, hair that curled on neck, temple, and forehead. His lips were drawn tight just then, but that did not detract from their sensual fullness. His brow was wide, the nose straight and bold, the square jaw smooth and finely defined and aggressive.
    It was a beautifully handsome face. How awful that the man behind it was a monster, cold, heartless, vindictive. For a man to have the face of an angel and the heart of a devil was worth crying over.
    While Damian tended his wound, Rolfe sensed the girl’s eyes on him. When he looked toward her, all he could see was a small huddled form cloaked in its mass of silver hair. He recalled her response to him in bed, recalled the soft sounds of pleasure that had come from her. She had wanted him, and knowing that had aroused him. Knowing that she was watching him now had the same effect. His desire to have her was becoming painful.
    Rolfe snapped at Damian to hurry and be gone, andLeonie’s trembling worsened as the door closed, leaving them alone again.
    “Return to bed, Lady Leonie.”
    It was the utter quiet of the room that made it seem he had shouted at her. In fact, his voice had been husky.
    Rolfe grinned as she hurried toward the bed, her back to him.
    “Remove your robe, my lady.”
    Leonie froze, her body stiff with mortification. “My lord, I—”
    “Behind the curtains, if you wish,” he said impatiently. “I did not mean I wished to inspect you.”
    Leonie climbed into bed, drawing the bedcurtains tightly closed. A moment later Rolfe grinned again as her robe dropped onto the floor. He wasted no time in putting out the candles, and a few moments later he had joined her in the bed.
    He had to reach to touch her, for she was lying on the far edge of the bed, her back to him. He pulled her to the center of the bed, and felt her trembling.
    “You are cold?”
    She would rather have died than admit her fear. “Yes, my lord.”
    His fingers moved gently over her breasts, down her belly, then slipped between her legs. “You will not be cold for long,” he whispered.
    Leonie could not stop trembling. She couldn’t understand why he was being gentle with her. When was her punishment to begin? He continued to play with her, to tempt her, but there was no room in her emotions for anything except fear. She was certain there would be awful retribution for stabbing him, but what did he have in mind?
    So it was a complete surprise when Leonie found