Free The Devil's Daughter by Laura Drewry Page A

in his brain, Jed carried Lucy through the darkness of the barn and settled her on top of the lumpy pile of straw he’d been using as a mattress.
    What a contrast she was to Maggie; she so dark and headstrong, Maggie so fair and gentle. Like night and day.
    He tucked a second gray wool blanket up under Lucy’s chin and stood staring down at her for a few more minutes, his brain waging war against every other part of him. It’d be so easy to take her back in his arms and make them man and wife in the most basic way.
    But life wasn’t meant to be easy – and Lucy was living proof of that. With her lying next to him, he’d never get any sleep, especially with her kiss still fresh in his mind. And still fresh on his lips.
    All these years he’d thought he wanted a woman like Maggie; one who wouldn’t argue with him at every turn, and who would make life easy and trouble-free. Who’d have thought he’d find himself married to a woman so completely opposite, or that his new wife would cause flickers of doubt to creep through him so soon?
    Maybe a quiet, gentle woman wasn’t what he wanted after all.
     
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    Lucy’s first night as Mrs. Jedidiah Caine hadn’t exactly fulfilled her expectations.
    She should have woken up in her husband’s arms, after having spent the night securing at least part of his soul as her own. But he’d simply tucked her in to the hell he called a bed and turned his back to her.
    Waking up in the barn – the barn, for the love of Satan! – was not something she was terribly happy about, but at least Jed hadn’t left her outside on the cold hard ground.
    Memories of the night before flashed in her mind, the way Jed had looked at her with such hunger and confusion. And the way he’d kissed her. Lucy lifted her finger to her lips. She’d never been kissed like that before. Gentle yet strong. Slow yet intense - very, very intense.
    He could have taken her right there by the fire if he’d wanted to – and she was quite sure he’d wanted to. But instead, he’d stopped himself, and done the most confusing thing.
    He’d lain on that horrible blanket and pulled her close to his side, making sure she was comfortable even though he wasn’t.
    What purpose could that have served? She’d been ready and willing to do his bidding, but he’d refused her.
    Again.
    She wanted to laugh at his determination, to mock the way he fought so hard in a battle he was destined to lose. But she couldn’t. Jed Caine was turning out to be a complicated man whose single-minded resolve was infuriating.
    But it couldn’t be just the will of a mere human who caused this odd feeling in her stomach; a gnawing twist, making her doubt everything about herself.
    No, it had to be Deacon. His presence always threw her into an upheaval and now was no different. In fact, it was worse. He not only had control of Sam, but he was using Maggie, too, wheedling his way into her mind.
    And so far, an entire day into her plan, Deacon was winning.
    Pushing it all aside, Lucy pulled her blanket around her shoulders and stepped out into the early morning air.
    Jed stood next to the fire – one he’d built himself instead of forcing Lucy to do it. From the dark circles under his eyes and the frown on his lips, he must not have slept any better than she did.
    He tipped his head in a short nod. “How’d you sleep?”
    “Fine,” she lied. Sleeping on that pile of straw was about as comfortable as sleeping on a porcupine, but she wouldn’t let him know that. He needed to think everything was wonderful. The sooner he believed that, the faster she’d win him over - and the faster she’d be free.
    “Fine like supper was fine?” He grinned slowly. “Or fine like. . .well. . .fine?” Dark stubble covered his cheeks and chin, and his eyes darted near her, beside her, but never actually looked directly at her.
    She couldn’t blame him. After all, she’d spent the night being poked and jabbed by wayward pieces of