Free Crushing Desire by April Dawn

good. It meant a smile wasn’t far behind. As if to please her, he smiled deeply, his chest rumbling with a deep laugh that made her insides want to burst. She loved his husky male laugh and wished that the window were open so that it wouldn’t have been so muffled.
    Joshua’s mouth moved in its sensual pattern, and she wished she could hear his words. His voice was one of her favorite things about him. It was masculine and smooth like the rest of him.
    His brow furrowed, and his head turned toward the window. She ducked, rushing back to the table and her book, scolding herself for going to watch him. One minute Reena was insisting to herself that she would stop behaving like a child, and a moment later, she was hiding in the bushes.
    What is wrong with me?
    Reena rolled her eyes and lifted the book from the table.
    9
     
    Reena was watching him, Joshua could feel it. She had done so since she was a girl, and though it happened less often now, Reena still did it on occasion. He shifted his eyes toward the window and caught sight of a blonde head just above the sill. He sat back in his chair, boot on his knee and rested his hands behind his head. Not caring that he was paying more attention to the lovely young woman than he was to what Howard was talking about.
    Oh, but she was lovely.
    He thought back on the first time that he’d seen her, as he did sometimes. He and his beloved Juliet had been at a ball to celebrate an engagement or some such thing, and Reena stood against the wall. His gaze had lit on her when he’d turned.
    She’d looked a bit ridiculous in the child’s dress, being so very tall and well grown by then. At first he’d thought it must be a lady playing a strange joke of some sort. When he had come closer, he’d found her to be just a pretty child. Her golden hair and wide blue-green eyes had given her the innocent beauty that children often have.
    He would court her, but she was young still, practically a child. What’s more, there were much better men out there for her. Joshua had money, that was true, and power in certain circles, but he had no title. Titled lords were courting Reena. The Most Honorable Daniel Dubois was heir to a dukedom on his mother’s side, he would be far richer and far more powerful than he, and she deserved to have it all.
    He was jealous, he knew. Whenever he saw her out with one of her suitors, he had the strong urge to punch them. Still, he held his tongue and his fists when he had to. Martin Dubois was the most difficult. A lecherous rakehell. He would without a doubt try to steal her virtue if the opportunity presented itself. That was of course, if he could get around that wily Emily Benton. Joshua couldn’t help but laugh. He’d caught onto the woman’s tricks long ago, though no one else seemed to have done so. Personally, he found her ploys brilliant.
    Her jokes kept the men disarmed; her feigned sleep, which gave Reena deserved privacy was conveniently interrupted if she was needed. Her quick, yet covert responses to inappropriate behavior were never suspected. She was the perfect chaperone. He’d learned this when he had taken Reena on a walk. Emily had inserted herself between them when they stepped too close, taking each of their arms in hers and speeding them along, claiming that she was famished and wanted to hurry to the picnic site.
    Joshua hoped she was as vigilant or more so with Martin. He was sure that Martin would be more respectful after the talk that they’d had. Joshua’s fists had been more than enough encouragement for the apology that he’d refused to render Reena. Yes, Martin could be wily too, and if Emily wasn’t careful, she might turn a corner and find Martin’s hands already busy about their business.
    The thought of Martin’s body pressing close to Reena’s, his hands covering her naked flesh as she writhed in passionate surrender made Joshua’s stomach turn sour. He found himself glancing toward the window. She wasn’t