Free At Least Once More by Emma Lai Page A

throb between her thighs intensified with each brush of the soft muslin of her shift against nipples tautened to sharp points.
    She spun and sought the bloodstain on the back of her shift. It was beneath the curve of her bottom. Relief swept through her. “I imagine that’s from my maidenhead.”
    In the mirror, she saw shock wash across Gareth’s face. “You were a virgin?”
    How dare he! She marched over to stand in front of him. Poking the hard muscles of his chest may not have made much of an impact on him, but she felt better. “So, you did think I was a woman of loose virtue.” She poked harder. “And you were just taking what I offered, as you would have of any woman who offered.”
    Anger at herself clogged her throat. He hadn’t wanted her body. Not in the way she wanted him to, at least. God, how much more foolish could she get?
    But wouldn’t any man have done the same thing in his position? A woman perched atop his lap, practically begging to be taken. Shame—not at what she’d done, but because she wanted to do it again—added fuel to her anger. “Well, don’t start worrying that I’m going to hold you to whatever,” she sneered, “noble intentions you might have tried to claim in the park. I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man—”
    “You sure as hell will marry him!” William’s voice thundered into the room.
    Skin that had been warm with anger cooled with mortification as she faced her angry brother. Where had he come from? She hadn’t even heard the door open. “William, what are you…?”
    His gaze swept her body. She wanted to cringe and cover herself, but instead, she straightened her shoulders. She wasn’t a little girl anymore, damn it!
    “Clean yourself up and put some clothes on, Annabelle.” William’s gaze narrowed on Gareth. “Your Grace, if you please.” He indicated the door.
    “Of course.” As Gareth brushed past her, he whispered, “Make no mistake, Belle. You are mine now.”
    A shiver had her hugging herself. When the door closed, she walked over and threw the lock.
    They could all wait! Tossing off her shift, she dipped a toe in the too-hot water. She was tired. She was sore. And the headache she’d pretended now threatened to become a reality under the onslaught of questions racing through her mind.
    What had Gareth meant, she was his? That had been the second time he’d claimed her. The tender skin between her legs throbbed as blood rushed to the inflamed area.
    The first time, he’d told her no more foolishness. She’d been uncertain what he’d meant at the time, but had she just been foolish—overreacted, let her insecurities blind her? Had he truly wanted her, and not just because she was a woman who’d spread her legs for him?
    She tested the water again. It had cooled to just hot. She stepped into the tub. With a sigh, she sank down and settled against the tub. The heat slowly worked loose the taut muscles of her back and thighs.
    Though the tender, swollen flesh of her woman’s mound still throbbed, she almost missed the extra evidence that he’d found her body desirable. Wasn’t that what she’d wanted—a man who wanted her person more than her money? Of course, she didn’t know his financial circumstances, but did it really matter? She wanted him to be the one to take her in hand and show her everything there was between a man and a woman, and he’d proved himself more than capable of doing both this morning. Remembrance tightened her skin and pebbled her nipples.
    With a certainty, she knew when she met with William soon, she’d be told of her upcoming nuptials to Gareth. And, if her brother had gone to extreme measures to see her not married to Thornton, she could only imagine the lengths he’d go to ensure she walked down the aisle toward Gareth.
    As for His Grace, he’d been determined to do the right thing at the mere threat of damage to her reputation posed by the appearance of Lady Evans and Sir Digby in the park. At