night-dampened air whispered across her exposed breast and mingled with the heat of Colyneâs touch. A low groan rumbled in his chest as he caught her nipple between his lips.
Sensation shattered her every thought.
âElizabet.â
Marie froze.
Elizabet?
She plunged to realty with a sickening lurch.
Colyneâs eyes widened at the realization of what heâd said, the fire within shattering to panicked disbelief. âOh, God. I am sorry.â
She shoved away from him as her cheeks burned with mortification and jerked up her gown. The entire time heâd been kissing her, touching her, heâd been thinking of another!
He reached toward her. âAlesia, Iââ
âStay away from me!â Her words trembled, filled with the shame of what sheâd allowed. Memories of how the Earl of Archerbeck, a man sheâd loved in her past, and a man who had used her for his own gain, had tainted her senses like bile in her throat. An ache built inside. She knew better than to trust a man, a lesson Archerbeck had taught her all too well.
âHow dare you!â Shaking with disbelief at her own weakness, Marie took another step back. How could she have allowed a stranger past her barriers? Have responded to him with complete abandon?
Or wanted him even now?
A ruddy hue swept across his cheeks. He shook his head. âYou do nae understand.â
âYou are wrong,â she replied with as much dignity as she could muster. âI understand completely.â
He caught her shoulders as she turned to run.
Marie glared at him, unsure if anger or humiliation guided her actions. Or both. âRelease me!â
As he stared at her, his eyes darkened with sorrow, and she remembered him mumbling Elizabetâs name during his fever. âYou love her?â At his silence, she wrenched free. She was a fool to punish herself this way, but she needed to hear him admit the truth.
He watched her a moment longer, the regret in his eyes matching her own.
âColyne,â she urged.
A muscle worked in his jaw, and then his expression grew unreadable. ââTis nae a subject I will be wanting to discuss.â
The quiet calm of his voice stoked her ire. How could he retreat with such stoic efficiency while her emotions still roiled? âI did not ask for your kiss.â
âYou did nae,â he rasped.
âAfter what has passed between us, do you not think I deserve an explanation?â
Apology burned in his deep blue eyes. He swallowed hard. âElizabet is someone I once cared about. She chose another.â
Cared about? From the heartache in his words, he loved Elizabet still. âWhy did you kiss me?â
âWhen I awoke with you in my arms . . . God help me, I wanted you.â
â Non ,â she charged, angry heâd used her in place of another woman. âYou wanted Elizabet. Deny it.â
Anger clouded his face. As quick, defeat. âYou are wrong, âtwas you who drew me.â
Marie opened her mouth to disagree and then refrained. As if her own actions were proper? She was promised to Gaston de Croix, Duke of Vocette. A marriage that would take place before summerâs end. Yet she had returned Colyneâs kisses, shivered at his touch, as if she had the right to give her favors to another man.
Her guilt grew.
How could she condemn Colyne for saying the name of a woman he obviously loved? He had his own life, one that didnât include her.
Rain pattered against her skin.
Marie brushed several wet strands of hair from her face as she composed herself, drawing on the diplomacy sheâd honed over the years. She needed to focus on reaching her father and telling him the truth of her abduction, not yearn for a man in love with another.
âWe must find shelter,â she said, thankful for the calmness of her voice.
âNae, we must continue on.â
She frowned. âWe?â
âI will be taking you to the
Stephen Benatar
Jacie Floyd
Charlie Cochet
Loren D. Estleman
John Maddox Roberts
Lois Greiman
Robin W Bailey
Joann I. Martin Sowles
Fayrene Preston
Brian Lumley