Free Historical Romance Boxed Set by Brenda Novak

felt herself being carried swiftly into the stifling hot inn. A piano played in the background, originating from what sounded like a crowded tavern, but the pungent smell of tobacco smoke was the last thing she remembered.
     
    * * *
     
    Nathaniel felt Anne go limp in his arms. Was this some kind of trick? His sister was more of a fighter than he ever dreamed she would be, especially after having been raised with everything she could ever want. He had expected Anne to prove herself a simpering female, duly frightened of him and his men. But this woman was strong and resourceful. Or she was used to manipulating others to achieve her own ends. He couldn’t decide which.
    He shook her, attempting to elicit some response.
    Anne’s head lolled on his shoulder.
    Nathaniel began to worry that something might really be wrong. Scaling the stairs as quickly as possible, he flung back the door to their room and laid her on the bed. Then he removed the hood and the gag.
    She was unconscious. Nathaniel stared down at her, feeling a twinge of guilt at having abducted a completely innocent woman. His half sister was not to blame for the way his father had treated him, but Nathaniel could figure no better way to obtain Richard’s release. And his friend had to come first.
    With his stiletto, Nathaniel cut the ropes that bound her wrists and ankles. Then he began to massage her hands and feet, trying to improve the blood flow. He had heard much about his sister’s beauty. Looking at her now, he had to admit that the reports fell far short of reality. Silky strands of long golden hair, loosened from her coiffure, gleamed around a delicate oval face. Thick lashes rested on her cheeks. She had a small, pert nose and a full, sensual mouth. Nathaniel couldn’t help but remember the feel of her soft lips beneath his own. That he’d actually enjoyed the sensation greatly bothered him.
    He had to be careful, or he would become as weak willed as Trenton and Tiny. Though he had never seen Anne before, she was his half sister. She and a son had been born to the duke and his second wife after the death of Nathaniel’s own mother, and anything so closely connected to Greystone was—had to be—anathema to him.
    Nathaniel dropped Anne’s hand when her eyes fluttered open.
    “Where am I?” she asked, then groaned when she saw him. “I hoped you were just another bad dream. But dreams don’t taste like blood, do they?”
    “No.” Nathaniel turned as a knock resounded at the door. “That’s our supper. You’re hungry, no doubt.”
    Anne rubbed her temples as though trying to relieve a headache. “Among other things,” she said dryly. “Providing meals must be one of the problems associated with abducting people.”
    Nathaniel paused to look back at her. “Keeping them sane is another. That hood makes you a little crazy.”
    “I wasn’t afraid of the dark before…”
    “Before what?”
    “Before Willy.”
    The knock came again. Nathaniel crossed the room to answer it. “Who’s Willy?” he asked, his hand on the knob.
    Anne sighed. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
     
    * * *
     
    Supper consisted of poached salmon, jacket potatoes, cut greens, leg of mutton, and several dishes Alexandra didn’t recognize. She ate ravenously. She had seldom experienced such sumptuous fare and had no intention of letting any of it go to waste, despite her circumstances.
    The food seemed to appeal to Nathaniel less. He sat back and watched her, occasionally tipping a glass of wine to his lips.
    “Do you always eat so voraciously?” he asked in amazement when Alexandra ladled seconds onto her plate. “Or is it your strategy to break me before your father can send for you?”
    She glanced up to see a smile play at the corners of his mouth.
    “I haven’t had a bite to eat all day,” she complained. “Besides, food takes my mind off the pain in my hands and feet. They ache terribly, you know.”
    His brows lifted. “Yes, you look as