He paused and eyed her as if she were an agate discovered in gravel. But what a very sharp tongue you have for a housekeeper.Bridget's heart sank- she knew better than to speak so frankly. It was neve...
There was no sound, but she felt a movement, a shifting of the air in her room, the warmth of another presence.Isabel opened her eyes. He was there, at the foot of her bed, a single candle in his hand...
It hardly mattered. She was tired of waiting for him to acknowledge who he was. Tired of donning a false mask of gaiety when she was so much more—felt so much more—beneath. No one had ever noticed her...
When I was a little older, about twelve, I went to work at a nearby house. It was owned by old Mrs. Cromby and oh, I was so homesick! I cried myself to sleep for a fortnight it seemed, until it was my...
That story I told you as we arrived? About the man who killed the former master of this castle and raped his wife? Did you think it a fairy tale? No, his blood runs in my veins. I was bred to do what...
She lies! cried the Fox, and he leapt toward her, his arm raised.The Wolf lunged, seized the Fox's right arm, twisted it up behind his back, and slammed the other man to his knees.Iris stared and felt...
She heard him close the door. I was going to impress you with my romantic eloquence, of course. I’d thought to wax philosophical about the beauty of your brow.Lucy blinked. My brow?Mmm. Have I told yo...
For a moment all was silence, save for her breathing. Triumph raced through Bridget's chest. At last!Then she heard a masculine chuckle behind her.Bridget froze, ice sliding down her spine. The sound...
She threw one leg over his and straddled his lap, then reached under herself and found him again.He tore his mouth from hers. Wait.No. She looked him frankly in the eyes. I don’t care if you spill at...
I’m sorry.She bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to cry. At the same time, she was oddly touched by his apology.I’m sorry, he said again.Something tore quite explicitly, and she inhaled but didn’...
She smiled as she poured tea into his cup. I hope you find your rooms comfortable?Quite. He took a too-hasty sip of tea and scalded his tongue.The view is to your liking?He had a view of a brick wall....
Raphael walked into the breakfast room at the unfashionable hour of half past nine the next morning and kissed his aunt on her soft cheek. Good morning, Zia.Up at last, was her tart reply as she peere...
It's tempting. I can see why those Ottomans hide their women. If I could, I might dress you in silk- deep-red silk- and put you away where no other man might see you.She turned her head to glare at hi...
What, Mick said softly, is Lad doin’ in me bed?Hearing his name, Lad opened small, piggish, upside-down eyes, gazing with idiotic adoration as his whip-thin tail thumped the covers.Ah. Harry scratched...
For a moment she studied the sketch. It had been done in pencil and the artist was very skilled. The single sharp line that edged her nose, the delicate shading on her bottom lip, the suggestion of li...
Why then was he taking her? Was it merely for his own amusement- or was it for some other, more sinister reason? After all, only two days before she'd seen him kill a footman in cold blood. Of course...
When next Eve woke, the sun was shining through the windows. She blinked and realized a large male arm was thrown across her stomach, pinning her in place.Oddly, she didn't panic.Instead she gingerly...
His nostrils flared and he couldn't wait any longer. He lifted her bodily, moving her farther up on the bed, placing her head and shoulders against the pillows, and then pushed up her chemise, crawlin...
Her gaze dropped to the right side of his mouth, to the corner of his lip that was permanently pulled into a slight snarl by the edge of the angry scar, and then to the other side of his mouth, to the...
Would you prefer it if I'd continued to wear your shirt and banyan?Actually he'd quite liked her wearing his clothes, both because her breasts had been unbuttoned it made something in him very, very c...