Linna : Historical Romance (The Brocade Collection, Book 5) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Her feet weren’t moving to any dance step she knew. It wasn’t that she couldn’t dance, she’d just never experienced it like she was at the moment. She might as well be floating.
    Her body entered the enclosure created by his arms and she tipped her head toward the chest in front of her eyes . He has mother-of-pearl buttons , she thought. Very expensive. He was dressed in old-fashioned court attire, but it was elegant and also very expensive. There were large ruffles on his shirt placket. She could see little seed pearls applied to the edges of the ruffle. His velvet jacket was fit to him without an inch of room to spare. He had expensive tastes and a great tailor. Such a man could keep a wife in the manner she was accustomed to…or even better.
    “You smell like violets.”
    The rumble of voice interrupted her. Linna tipped her head up, scanning the full roundness of his lower lip. He hadn’t one scar on his skin that she could tell...not one. All of which bode well.
    He smiled, although the lips didn’t open . It made dimples dent his cheeks. Linna sucked in the breath. No man can be so gifted! Their children were going to be astounding. They’d have two of them. Maybe three. She wasn’t going to just be a brood mare. He’d introduced himself as a Larroquette. They were at a ball at the old Larroquette Mansion in the French Quarter. He had to be one of them. That was another mark in his favor.
    Larroquette was an old New Orleans name . They’d had property since the city was laid out nearly a century earlier, with streets named for the royal houses of France. Everything about him was very impressive. An old important name, wealth, property. Presence. He was very nearly perfect, except for one small thing. He didn’t look easy to dominate. She sucked in on her cheeks. How did one go about dominating such an impressive specimen?
    “You must tell me what thoughts bring such a look . If, of course, you get over your anxiety of me.”
    “What?” Linna replied .
    Raoul chuckled again . Linna’s left hand rose and fell with it. He moved from holding her fingers to encasing her right hand entirely within his. Then, he was bringing their enjoined hands to the middle of his chest. Linna’s eyes followed every move.
    “Am I being indiscreet?” he asked.
    “Indiscreet?” she echoed.
    “I’m new to the city, you see . Very new. I couldn’t help myself, though.” 
    The music was halting . Linna sensed it more than heard it. There was a moment of time when she toyed with pulling away before another dance began. Raoul hadn’t ceased moving.
    “I saw you from across the floor . It took my breath. I’ve rarely beheld such a beauty. I don’t even know your name, and you’ve an aversion to looking at me. I hope it’s not because I’m…displeasing.”
    She nearly snorted . “Oh no. Not at all. No.”  She took a deep breath and slanted her chin slightly. All in preparation for meeting his gaze. He thought her shy? She held the satisfaction deep where it wouldn’t show. “I think you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.”
    He wasn’t meeting her eyes . He was staring at her bodice, and sucking in a breath, shuddering slightly, before moving his gaze to hers. Those moss-colored eyes held hers. There was a starburst of deepest brown at the center of his. Linna forgot to blink. Breathe. Think.
    And she didn’t like one bit of it.
    He blinked slowly, eyelashes the same dark shade as his hair shadowing his cheeks, and the look he gave her now blazed a path right into her. Linna moved her gaze quickly way. She hadn’t any experience to deal with any of it.    
    “Have you many dances left on your card?”
    “What?”  It didn’t make it to sound, but he must have heard it because he answered as if he had.
    “If so, I’m claiming them . If not, I’m still claiming them.”
    “What?” 
    This time, she spoke to the lace at his throat. She didn’t look any higher. She had to gather her