A Disgraceful Miss Read Online Free PDF Page B

a room.
    Julian.
    “I’m surprised you waited,” she said, still facing the door panel, a tremor shaking her. Inexplicably, she was afraid to turn. Afraid that he would finally spurn her and squash her tender heart.
    “I wasn’t about to depart until I was reassured of Charlotte’s well-being.”
    Angelica turned and found him across the room, haunting that same distant chair he’d claimed earlier.
    “Indeed, she’ll be fine,” she said and crossed to the sofa. Julian watched her closely.
    My, what a couple of caricatures they were, taking the roles of formality to ease the awkwardness, as if something fundamental had not changed between them in that alleyway. “She’s enceinte .”
    “Pregnant?” Julian’s eyes flashed silver and a smile lit his face. He sighed as if he were releasing all of the tension that worry had crafted. “Daniel must be delighted.”
    “Ecstatic.” Angelica fiddled with a tea service that had been delivered at some point, no doubt to provision their guest while the physician was conducting his examinations. On closer inspection, she found the brew had gone cold and replaced the lid with a frown. “Shall I send for more tea?”
    “Not on my account, thank you.”
    She nodded then sat back and closed her eyes with a sigh of her own. A moment later, she felt the thick, brocaded cushion beneath her shift, as if Julian had joined her on the sofa though she hadn’t heard a footstep. His scent, that warm citrus-infused bay rum he favored, drifted to her like a caress. She peeked from beneath her lashes and there he was. So close that she could touch him.
    Close enough to entice him to another kiss?
    “May I ask you something?” Julian said, staring at her lips.
    “That depends.”
    His head tilted. “On what?”
    “On whether or not you’re going to ask to kiss me again.”
    The breath he took was so deep and long that his nostrils flared slightly. He ran his hand through his hair, leaving a wake of ruffled locks. “God,” he muttered as if to himself. “You do tempt me.”
    Did she really? Heat pooled in her center, seeping through her system like honey oozing across a hot scone. Angelica leaned in slightly, parting her lips in offering.
    “Are you tempted now?” she prompted when he didn’t say anything further, didn’t move. Didn’t do anything but stare at her lips as if he were starving. Then he blinked and she wondered if it had only been her imagination.
    “Do you have feelings for Bradley Carston?”
    Was he jealous? She rather liked the thought that he might be. The warm, tingly feeling continued to spread. “Why?”
    “Tell me.”
    “I’m not certain, Julian.”
    He didn’t seem to notice her use of his given name. They were now so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek. So close, yet not near enough.
    A single finger skimmed her cheek. “Have you asked him to kiss you as you ask me?”
    “No, Julian.” The words were faint, barely a sound on an exhale. Her body trembled as she shifted infinitesimally closer, silently daring—begging—him to touch her. To take charge.
    His eyes flared as if he noticed her use of his given name this time and liked it. A lot. As if he couldn’t help himself.
    The heat coalesced in her loins. “I care for you .”
    Like a river at flood stage, he rushed her, pressing his lips to hers and tangling his fingers in her hair, cradling the back of her head in his palm. Devouring her.
    Without hesitation, she opened to him, enjoying the sensations of desire and need. She licked across the seam of his lips in encouragement. Julian responded with a low rumbling sound, his own tongue coming out to play in an erotic duel.
    It felt so right, to be in his arms.
    Of their own accord, her hands settled on his shoulders and she could feel the rising tension, his muscles bunched under her fingertips like the flanks of a steeplechaser taking a hedge.
    When he pulled back, as if to stop the decadence of their embrace, she twined