Free Only Marriage Will Do by Jenna Jaxon Page A

and am now going to see to my maid, who is most likely upset by the events in the yard. She may be frightened she will be blamed for the mishap and dismissed. I need to reassure her that as long as I employ her she will not come to grief under your hand.”
    Her parting shot delivered, she left, shutting the door with as much force as she thought acceptable without actually slamming it. She walked down the dimly lit corridor to the room designated for Glynis, shaking more with every step. After dinner, she would have to slip back down here to spend the night with her servant. She entered the chamber to find her maid washing off all traces of the adventure. Would that she could do so as well.
    She waved Glynis to continue her ablutions and surveyed the small room with a disgruntled eye. It irked her to no end that he would end up in the most comfortable accommodations while she and Glynis would have to make do with a small table and chair, a washstand, and one narrow bed.
    Fuming, she stalked over to the window. Worse and worse. Their room faced the front of the inn. As if to confirm her fears, a mail coach pulled in, horses snorting, harness jingling, coachmen loudly calling for the grooms and exhorting the passengers to hurry into the inn for their dinners. A noisier situation could not be imagined. She probably needn’t worry about the narrowness of the bed—she doubted she would get any sleep even if it had been three times the size. In the yard, grooms led the new team to the traces. One of the big gray horses plodded straight through the spot where the outline of Amiable’s body still lay clearly delineated in the mud.
    Would have served him right if he’d have still been there and had to scramble out of the way. She was glad she had rubbed the mud from his boots with his ruined coat. If only she could remove the ache from her heart with equal thoroughness.
    * * * *
    “Hell and damnation.” Amiable cursed under his breath as the door banged shut behind Juliet. He had made as big a mess with her as with his filthy clothes. Drops of the clingy mud spattered the floor around him. Every movement seemed to dislodge more blobs. He shed his shirt and breeches, hoping the latter could be saved, doffed his drawers, and finally stepped into the steaming tub.
    He groaned in contentment as the delicious heat relaxed his tense muscles. All except for the one that still stood stiff and painful from his groin. “The General” would probably not relax for quite some time. He lay back in the bath, eyes closed, and tried to will his flesh into submission.
    After five minutes, he’d only succeeded in making it worse. Images of Juliet with her hand working to unbutton his breeches would not abate. Fantasies of her loosing his heated flesh and stroking him until he burst filled his head. Her scent of jasmine lingered in the room, taunting him with her presence until he ached hot and hard for her. Unless he acted the cad and went to seek another companion for the night, only one course remained available to him. He grasped his throbbing flesh and moments later shuddered his release. He sagged against the back of the tub. The ache had gone, but the relief remained hollow.
    How had he managed to get himself into such a mess? All his thoughts concentrated on Juliet and the longing she created within him. Amazing that he could feel a tender regard for a woman so soon after his hopes were raised about Katarina. Had he not loved her as deeply as he believed? Or was this feeling for Juliet only lust? If so, then why hadn’t he just succumbed to that lovely temptation and let her strip him naked and plunge himself into her sweet, hot depths? She had seemed willing enough.
    He moved restlessly in the water, searching for a comfortable position. His protective nature had asserted itself once more—this time to protect her against him. He could no more take her virtue than he could kill her. This lovely woman had become too dear, too sweet for