All I Want for Christmas...is you Read Online Free PDF Page A

mentioning him. He does have a rather
fierce rep. Can’t expect a gel with no title and only a modest
fortune to put herself out to a man like him, in any event.”
    “Lucas also is an expert shot, has a mean
left hook. “ Jerome snorted. “I have seen him at his estate in
Surrey and he works like the very devil. No idle lord that, and not
just with numbers and investments. He would out last two dozen of
those bucks out there, in any physical contest.”
    “Well,” said Bram, “you have been around Rena
enough to know she would never do for those males who either put
women on a pedestal or expect them to do nothing but gossip and
shop. She is expert at riding and shooting, and plays a mean hand
of cards, not to mention the dear thing is quite game for a laugh.
I admit that I am cautious there, just in case your assessment of
Lucas is a bit generous, Rena can hold her own, but I’d hate to see
her fall for a man who wanted the typical ton deb.”
    “Trust me,” Jerome straightened and unfolded
his arms, seeing Lucas lead Verena through a door at the end of the
ballroom. “Lucas went after what he wanted when he slaved to save
the family fortunes and improve them for future generations. A man
who is that driven, that focused, and one who has been observing
her for so many years, has some inkling to what he’s risking
rejection for.”
     
    * * * *
     
    The four gentlemen who had been relaxing in
the ivory and blue sitting room rose to their feet when Lucas and
Rena entered. They bowed and quickly set their drinks down, no
doubt noticing the cool stare in his eyes before they nodded to her
also, and left.
    Lucas removed his jacket, which was damp from
the fine snow and put it over a chair back, near a blazing white
fireplace. He watched her set the fan down and remove her gloves,
then stand by the mantle warming her hands.
    The tie slipped his hair, and he tucked it in
the jacket pocket, scraping those long strands back and feeling
that they were somewhat damp too. He could still hear the music
clearly as his gaze scanned the room, with its two chairs flanking
the fire, two settees facing each other beyond that, and much
seasonal décor in the fat ivory candles on the mantle, silver ones
on tables, with bowls full of orbs made of white rosebuds.
    When he looked at her again, she had her hand
upon the mantle and was looking around too. The firelight glowed in
her hair and put a shimmer on that gold gown. Her skin was flushed
from the change of temperature. Her gaze, when it met his where he
stood only two feet away, was a true topaz.
    He watched her stare flicker over his unbound
hair and then the simply tied cravat. Something tensed him, as she
seemed to scan across his shoulders in the white shirt and down
him. Then she was meeting his gaze again. Lucas realized that she
thought to have done that visual examination of his assets so
quickly, he would not have noticed.
    However, a man who was as aware of a woman as
he was of her, not only noticed, but felt it like a touch. He was
certainly glad he had not let himself go as so many men his age
had, and as he assessed the merest spark of heat in her gaze, he
was doubly thankful for all the physical labor and sports he
applied himself to.
    “Will you be in town for the entire week?” He
walked to stand beside her, his hand on the mantle as he flickered
his gaze into the fire.
    Her tone was slightly gruff, “Yes. We have
decided to remain in London and not trouble the servants at Brydon
House in the country. The duchess is getting older and well, it is
usually just Bram and I for Christmas any way. If we are in town,
he can amuse himself… And you, what do you do on Christmas?”
    He flickered a side-glance at her. “The same
as every other day, I believe.” His grin was sardonic. “I give the
staff that day and the day before off, so I am usually holed up in
the study.”
    She tisked and her eyes teased. “That is not
right, my lord. You should at least take