Free Seductive Lies (Secret Lives Series) by Colleen Connally

more. Suddenly, he broke from her.
    “I’m being selfish. You need to relax. I will be back.” Caressing her cheek, he left her then to refresh herself.
    True to his word, a bath was prepared for her. Despite the sun still shining, the curtains were drawn to give her complete privacy. Undressing, she slowly sank into the tub and soaked in the balmy water scented with lavender.
    Her mind raced, trying to come to grips with the events of the day. Still she wondered whether she lived in a dream. Questions inundated her. She didn’t understand all Arthur told her. She would care one day, but now… at this moment… all she cared about was Arthur was alive and had come for her.
     
    Emerging from her bath, Harriet felt rejuvenated. Yesterday, life seemed desolate and lost. Today, her heart sang with renewed hope. Humming to herself, she dried and began to search for a garment to wear.
    The trunk had been packed in a rush. From its appearance, she surmised that Arthur himself that attempted the packing , because her entire wardrobe had been crushed into the chest without folding one item. Not that it mattered. Her wardrobe wasn’t extensive, but her gowns had been wrinkled, along with her night dress.
    Frowning, she wished she had a special gown to wear, remembering the extensive apparel she had been fitted for the London Season she never had. Nothing she had seemed appropriate for this evening.
    She leaned down and picked up a small box. She opened it. The cameo was there. Relief flooded her. He had grabbed the only thing of value she had with her, the cameo her grandmother had given her. The letters, though, were gone… the letters she wrote to him even though she had been told he was dead.
    Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of a gown laying out on the bed. She strolled over and felt the dark blue silk. Arthur must have left it for her as she bathed. If she held any doubt about his intentions this night, they had been answered. This was not a gown she could wear out of the privacy of her room. A beautiful silken nightdress.
    Arthur expected her to wear the gown tonight, she was sure. Remembering the warmth of his last embrace, she donned the gown. The material shimmered down her bare body, knowing well she would deny him nothing.
    A slight knock from the adjoining room diverted her attention to the man who walked into her room. He looked magnificent. He wore a richly deep green dressing gown. His tawny hair was tousled; his lips curved upward. His blue eyes simmered with a smoldering hunger.
    Her skin tingled with awareness. Mesmerized, she could not take her eyes off of him. She felt an intake of breath as a tremble skidded through her body.
    “I have dinner prepared in my room, if it pleases you.”
    “I am pleased,” she said. She lowered her eyes with a sudden shyness. Pressing down the gown, she whispered, “Arthur, I’m unsure of what you want me to do at this moment.”
    “Have I been that remiss, Harriet?” he asked in a soft, husky tone. He reached out and touched her, sliding his hands into the softness of her hair. “You know I want you. I want all of you. For so long, I have been denied this… you. Do not deny me my desire any longer, my love. I need you, want you… love you.”
    “Arthur, we should wait until we are married,” she whispered in a rather poor protest. All the while, she tilted her head up towards his.
    He dipped his head and lightly touched her parted lips, tasting her. “Do not ask me to wait any longer. While I was gone, I dreamed of this moment. After I returned, you haunted me. Tell me you want me as I want you.”
    “I want you, Arthur .”
     
    The moment he walked into the room, he was undone. She was ravishing. Her long fair hair streamed about her, reaching below her waist… a shining, rippling golden mane. The gown clung to her figure most provocatively, revealing her dark nipples, tautly peaked.
    He had well gone beyond any pretense that he would behave as a gentleman.