Desire in the Sun Read Online Free PDF Page B

least with her.
    “Well then?”
    She hesitated. The idea of spending the rest of the evening with him alone was dazzling. Her aunt would scold for days; the assembled guests would gossip for weeks. But she suddenly found that she didn’t care. She gave him a glimmering smile.
    “I suppose I could show you the rose garden.”
    “I’ve always had an intense interest in horticulture.”
    “All right then.” She smiled at him again, feeling suddenly very carefree. She would show him the rose garden and be hanged to them all if they didn’t like it. For once in her life she was going to do what she wanted to do, whether it was the proper thing or not.
    “How is it that you are living here at Boxhill with your aunt and uncle? Do your parents live here too?”
    “Shhh!” Half laughing, she held a cautioning finger to her lips. They were walking along the back hallway with Lilah in the lead. The sounds of dancing and laughter from the front rooms were faintly muffled, but clear enough so that there was no getting away from the fact that Amanda’s party in her honor was still going on. Lilah felt absurdly guilty, like a child sneaking out of a schoolroom. This sensation of illicit freedom was delicious.

    She felt more alive than she ever had in her life, happier, even daring. Reckless. …
    She took him out a side door to avoid Beulah and the kitchen maids. When at last they were safe outside, with the darkness all around them sheltering them from prying eyes, she let out a breath of relief. He grinned at her, and she laughed back at him. They were partners in crime.
    “So show me the rose garden,” he instructed, taking her hand and tucking it in the crook of her arm. Holding up her skirt, Lilah walked closer to him than propriety perhaps allowed, but she didn’t care. Already she felt more at ease with him than she did with gentlemen she had known for most of her life. The solid warmth of him beside her felt right, somehow. She looked up at him, at the breadth of shoulder that was just about on her eye level, at the underside of the firm chin that was just faintly darkened as if it had been some hours since he had shaved. Usually she didn’t care for gentlemen with mustaches; she preferred them clean shaven, but in his case … She caught herself wondering how that mustache would feel if he kissed her, and blushed.
    “Tell me about yourself,” she said hurriedly as he looked down at her with a gleam in his eyes that made her think he had no trouble at all following the line of her thoughts.
    He shook his head. “You first. You never answered my question.”
    “Oh, about my parents? I don’t live here at Boxhill. I’m just visiting my great-aunt, and I’ll be going home in a little more than two weeks.”
    The possibility that she might never see him again after tonight occurred to her with stunning force. Her throat tightened, and her eyes widened on her face. She couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing him again. …
    “And where is home?”

    “Barbados. We have a sugar plantation there. It’s called Heart’s Ease.”
    “Heart’s Ease,” he said, as if he were committing it to memory. “My ships sail to Barbados several times a year. I’ll make it a point to be on the next one.”
    “Your ships?” She watched with fascination the different expressions that played over his dark face. He was looking down at her just as intently, his free hand moving to cover the slim, cool fingers that rested in the crook of his arm. Lilah felt the touch of his bare hand on hers with a jolt of her heart. His skin was so warm. …
    “I operate a shipping company out of Bristol, in England. Sometimes, when I have business somewhere, I captain one of my own ships. As I did to come here tonight. I must warn you, I am liable to be persona non grata when your uncle hears the nature of my business. He may very well order me off his land.”
    “Uncle George would never do that. He’s a very nice man, really. Is it