Free Love Letters by Lori Brighton Page A

his blood. Perhaps he’d been too quick to dismiss their relationship.  
    “What say you,” he whispered to the top of her head. “Will you have me?”
    She looked up briefly through the lace, her eyes a flash of blue like a cloudless summer sky, and he felt her glance like a torch, burning his skin.
    “Yes,” she whispered.
    He swallowed hard, forcing down the warning heat that taunted his body. Something was odd. Something was different. Something was wrong. Yet, he couldn’t seem to care at the moment. All he cared about was touching her. She was a beautiful woman and from the first moment he’d seen her, he’d been interested. But tonight, tonight with her lush body in his arms, he suddenly felt as if he must have her. He slid her arm through his and led her toward the dance floor. Her steps were soft beside him, soft and hesitant.
    Why did he feel as if he was a wolf leading a lamb to slaughter? He pulled her close, one hand resting on her back, the feel of her silky gown making him think all sorts of lustful thoughts, the other hand clasping her gloved fingers in his. She didn’t look at him, but continued to stare at the buttons of his jacket. The music started, giving him an excuse to pull her closer, twirling her into a waltz. Closer than was appropriate, so close, those soft breasts brushed against his chest in an erotic way with each step they took. Suddenly the entire world fell away and only they were on that floor, dancing.
    “There’s something different about you.”
    She started and missed a step. His grip around her waist tightened as he pulled her closer, chest to chest, hips to hips. His cock stirred to life, desire pulsing through him. Blast, but how he wished he could see her face. Rip that ridiculous lace mask from her features. As it was, her eyes were shaded, her lush mouth barely visible. He had no idea what she was thinking.  
    “Nothing different,” she blurted out.
    “Nonsense, you’re acting odd.”
    She looked down, left, right, anywhere but at him. Like a newborn kitten, the woman actually trembled in his embrace.
    Any desire he felt turned to pure annoyance. He was tired of her games. She either wanted him or not and he’d be damned if he’d wait until after marriage to find out. He twirled her into a particularly dizzying spin. With her balance off, he took the opportunity to lean close, his lips brushing the delicate shell of her ear. “When our dance is over, you’ll meet me in the garden.”
    She gasped, finally looking up at him. “But…but it’s raining!”
    “Barely a drizzle. There’s a folly. Go to it.”
    “But…but my silk gown will be ruined.”
    He smiled briefly. “I shall buy you a new one.”
    She continued to frown. And her frown was not a good sign at all. She didn’t want to meet him. She didn’t want to be alone with him. Had he mistaken the connection in their letters? He watched her as he twirled, her fine figure elegant. She was made to dance. Would she be just as elegant in bed?
    The thought sent his heart racing, his breath coming out in harsh pants that he couldn’t seem to control. Since he’d arrived in London, he’d been unsure about Helen. But now, at this moment, there was no doubt that he wanted her. He wanted her more than he had ever wanted her before. And tonight, he would find out if she wanted him as much.
     
    Chapter 2
     
    Cynthia couldn’t stop trembling. She never should have agreed to this nonsense. Not only could it ruin what little reputation she held, but it was wrong! Bloody wrong! Gabriel didn’t deserve this. How badly she wanted to tell him the truth. But then what? Lady Hogar would toss her from the home without a pence and even worse, Gabriel would hate her for lying.
    And now…now she was sneaking out the French doors like a trollop, while everyone else was dancing in the warmth of the ballroom. The weather only added to her unease. The night sky overcast, the clouds stripping the stars of any chance to