Free An Undomesticated Wife by Jo Ann Ferguson Page A

mean.”
    â€œYes, of course.”
    He was astonished when she jabbed her finger at the button at the top of his waistcoat. Her voice was taut as she said, “You have no idea what the proper wife could do for you.”
    â€œNo? I have a very good idea.”
    He clasped her arms before he could halt himself. Pulling her to him, he slanted his mouth across hers. Her supple curves pressed against him as he drew her close. When her hands slowly rose along his arms to slip around his shoulders, he delved deep into her mouth. Her gasp of pleasure brushed his tongue and set him afire with the longing he had suffered since he first saw her. She was beautiful and seductive and his .
    Her fingers clenched on the back of his coat as he sampled the sweetness along her throat. Shivers swept across her, so strong that she trembled in his arms. A soft moan oozed from her as he teased her ear with his tongue. He was sure he had never tasted anything as luscious as her skin.
    She started to speak, but he recaptured her mouth. Her words infuriated him. Her lips inflamed him.
    His hands splayed across her back, pressing her even more tightly to him. Hungry for more of the delights awaiting him, he reached for the hooks closing her gown. She was his wife, and he wanted her.
    He froze, his fingers on the hooks, as he heard a laugh from the dining room. Dash it, but this was not the time to give free rein to the fantasies that had taunted him every night since she had come into his life.
    Regina stared at him as he released her with obvious reluctance. Leaning back against the wall, for her bones had turned to jelly beneath his masterful caresses, she stared up at him. Passions, deep and strong, burned in his eyes, and his hands clenched and unclenched by his sides as if he was fighting the same longing that infected her. Her skin still sparkled with the intriguing fires left by his lips. A single step would bring her back into his arms. A single step …
    â€œExcuse me, my lord,” she whispered. “I think I should withdraw with the other ladies now.”
    Not giving him a chance to answer, she turned and hurried down the hall. It was the first time she had ever run away from a confrontation.
    She feared it would not be the last.

Six
    When the carriage stopped, there was nothing about the shop to suggest to Regina that this was where the élite de l’élite came to purchase their gowns. A small sign, nearly scoured clean by the wind off the river, creaked over the doorway. The single window, which was not large, bore no lettering.
    â€œMme. LaPorte is anxious to meet you, Regina,” the dowager duchess said for the third time since they had left Berkeley Square. As the carriage slowed to a stop, she added, “You should feel honored that Madame was willing to take you on as a client this late in the Season. She is most strict about such matters. ’Twas only because I have been coming to her shop for so many years that she agreed to this unorthodox request.”
    â€œI appreciate all you have done for me.” Regina could think of nothing else to say. Although she knew she needed new gowns, so she would not stand out among the ton in her outdated frocks, she could not give credence to the idea that Mme. LaPorte’s work was without par. Every frock that she had admired last night had been splendid, and she was sure that Mme. LaPorte had not been responsible for all of them.
    The coachman came to open the door. He set a step on the walkway and assisted the dowager duchess, who was wearing pristine white, out of the crested carriage. Once he was sure she was set, he turned back to attend Regina. She was shocked when she heard him curse under his breath as he looked along the street.
    â€œIs something amiss, Webster?” she asked.
    â€œNo, my lady. Nothing.”
    Regina did not believe him. He had answered too hastily and anxiously. When she gave a surreptitious glance in both directions