Bewitching Kisses (Bewitching Kisses Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

really think you have much choice in the matter, my dear.”
    Her eyes, wide and frightened, darted about the room in confusion. Frantically she pulled herself from Nick’s grasp. “I’ve got to get home. Which way is Salem?” She took less than a step before spinning back in his direction. “I have to . . . “But her words never came as her body failed her and she fainted.
    Catching her before she hit the floor, Nick swung her high into his arms, surprised at how light and fragile she felt. Her head rolled to rest on his shoulder and for a moment he stood silent before the fire, angered by the desires that clamored throughout his body. The hall clock struck the half hour, its deep chime ringing through the house. Sarah never moved. Not when Nick slowly climbed the stairs or later when he laid her on his bed.

    * * *

    Undaunted by the storm that continued to rage outside his window, Nicholas Beaumont sat in his study, lost in thought. The fire crackled warmly in the hearth, casting a golden glow. Books of every description filled the floor-to-ceiling shelves that flanked the fireplace, and an imported tapestry cloaked the opposite wall with its splendor. As the rain pelted the windows, Nick studied the indenture papers that Beckett had delivered.
    They certainly looked official, but then so had the duplicate manifest. Nick reread the contents for the third time. Sarah Townsend, of Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, had been sold into bondage for a period to last not less than ten years. And the grand sum that had been placed on her worth was five shillings. Nick steepled his fingers as he contemplated the document. Who was Samuel Wittfield and why had the man sold one as comely as Sarah for only five shillings? Had she already been in service to Wittfield and deemed a troublemaker? She claimed to have been kidnapped, but her hands were not those of a well-bred lady. She had labored somewhere, for her palms bore the calluses of steady toil. His brows knit in thought. Never had he imagined that under all that filth he would find skin the color of ivory, or that the simple act of removing grim from her arms and legs would touch him so deeply. He had only to close his eyes and the image of her sensual body sprang to mind. She was tiny, but the memory of the gentle curve of her breast made his loins tighten with anticipation. His smile vanished as he carefully folded the indenture papers and fought back his desires. He would have her, of that he had no doubt. But first he would have his answers. . .
    “I don’t care what your orders are. I said, get out of my way and let me pass.”
    Hearing the commotion outside his study door, Nick slipped the documents into his desk and locked the drawer. Tucking the tiny gold key into his vest pocket he leaned back in his chair to wait. Within moments the door flew open and a disheveled Wadsworth stepped inside.
    “I beg your pardon, sir, but. . .”
    “Get out of my way, you old fool.”
    Nick stood as two burly men carrying an invalid’s chair brushed past his butler. Drenched from the pouring rain, their boots left a trail of wet footprints across is carpet.
    “Over by the fire.” Agatha Beaumont whacked her porter on the shoulder with her cane. “And don’t you dare drop me.” She gave a grunt of dissatisfaction as they lowered her chair and unhooked the poles that allowed them to carry it. “Hurry up.” she snapped. “Be gone with you now. I have business to see to.”
    Careful to stay clear of her cane, the two men gave the old lady a hasty nod and fled toward the door. “Don’t go too far,” she cautioned, “I may want to go home soon.”
    Nick folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against his desk. “I thought we decided that on days with weather such as this, you would stay home and I would come to you.”
    “We decided no such thing. Besides, if I waited for you to fit me into your ridiculous schedule, I would be cold in my