Free An Heiress for All Seasons by Sophie Jordan

gaze, daring her to object even as a part of him was nervous that she would. Which was absurd. When had he ever been nervous over a woman?
    She moistened her lips and his gut tightened at the small dart of her tongue along her lips. Lips slightly swollen from the previous night.
    Bloody hell! He was insatiable. He couldn’t understand it entirely. He’d known women. He and Dec and Max had burned a path through countless boudoirs in Town. He’d never feared rejection before. Why should he? There were plenty of willing women happy to share their beds with him. He’d never cared one way or another for one woman. Until now. Until her.
    He only knew that he felt an overwhelming need to possess her, have her, keep her with him always. And he wanted her to feel the same way about him.
    “I suppose,” she murmured, the usual fire that drew him now banked in her eyes. “Marriage is the thing to do after last night.”
    He nodded, wondering why her voice rang so hollowly. “Quite so. After last night there is no escaping that fact.”
    She nodded. “Quite so,” she echoed, removing her cloak from the peg beside the door and swinging it around her shoulders with smart, efficient movements. Cold. Mechanical. Not at all like the Violet he had come to know and crave with every fiber of his being.
    “Very good. I’ll speak with your mother as soon as we reach home.” Nodding, he pulled the door open for her and motioned for her to precede him outside.
    With a nod and bracing breath, she stepped out ahead of him into the cold.
    T he snowstorm abated enough for the last of the guests to arrive. They had been trapped just down the road at a nearby inn, but with the sun breaking through the skies, they forged ahead in their carriages.
    With only two days before the Christmas ball, no less than forty people occupied Merlton Hall. The house was full of carols and delicious smells and parlor games. Even now, the sound of merriment could be heard from down the hall. If Violet wasn’t so conflicted, she was certain she would be enjoying herself.
    “So it’s agreed then? We shall make the announcement the night of the ball?” Lady Peregrine fairly bounced where she sat on a wingback chair across from the crackling fireplace in the earl’s office.
    “Agreed.” Will nodded, his voice solemn.
    “I’ve always adored Christmas, but this is turning into the merriest Yuletide I can recollect! I shall have the housekeeper set aside the best champagne. There will be much to toast.” The countess nodded, her turbaned head bobbing happily.
    “Indeed, I shall send word at once for my husband. We agreed he would only make the voyage once Violet secured a groom. We didn’t know how long it would take.”
    Violet winced, unable to meet Will’s gaze at her mother’s crass statement. Secured a groom. She made it sound as though she were procuring fish at market.
    “Indeed, Mr. Howard must be here for the wedding and that shall give us plenty of time to plan properly. It must be at St. James.”
    Mama giggled and clapped, her face flushed with her excitement and Violet wanted to crawl into a hole.
    Still fighting to keep her gaze off Will where he casually leaned against his desk, she rose to her feet, “If you’ll excuse me. It’s been a long day.”
    “Of course, my dear.” Lady Peregrine nodded sympathetically. “We can discuss this later. We have plenty of time.”
    Nodding, she turned to leave. In doing so, her gaze caught Will’s. He watched her with an intent expression, his eyes drilling into her. She commanded her limbs to move, to flee. Even as she departed, she could hear their mothers launching into a discussion of the wedding.
    At least they were happy.
    She, on the other hand, didn’t know what she was feeling. Safe in her room, she allowed Josie to help her undress for the evening, her thoughts churning.
    “Thank you, Josie. That will be all.”
    Her maid left and she approached the double doors to peer out the glass