Once Upon an Accident 01 - The Accidental Countess Read Online Free PDF

at his shoulder but he did not respond. Then she heard a suspicious snuffle. He was snoring. She lay beneath him, waiting for him to finish his seduction, and he had fallen asleep.
    Reality crashed down around her. The man was fevered, half out of his mind. She had allowed him to kiss her. Not only kiss her, but grind against her, caress her, turn her into some kind of a hussy.
    Her face burned with embarrassment and shame as she placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed. He didn’t move, only tightened his arms around her waist, his fingers still warm on her bottom, and mumbled something she couldn’t make out.
    “Lord Ware?” she whispered.
    Nothing. She wiggled her body, and his arms loosened. He was so heavy she didn’t know if she could get out from beneath him. Funny how his weight didn’t seem to bother her when she was writhing beneath him like some loose woman.
    She took a breath, and with all the strength she had, shoved his shoulders. He rolled off her and thankfully stayed on the bed. She jumped up and scooted to the other side of the room, placing as much distance as possible between her and the wicked man. Her lips still tingled. How could she, the woman who frightened most of the men in the village so that no one dared approach her, turn shamelessly wanton because of just one kiss?
    She lifted her fingers to her swollen lips and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was disheveled, half of it fallen from the topknot. There were red marks along her jawline where his whiskers had scratched her. Her breathing was finally returning to normal, but her eyes were still overbright.
    Good night. She looked like her sister did when her mother had caught Michael O’Hearney stealing kisses. Her eyes narrowed, and she looked back at the blackguard responsible for the embarrassment.
    He shivered, and she realized she had left a sick man uncovered. Slowly, she approached the bed. When she had shoved him off her, he had rolled over onto the quilts. Carefully, she kept one eye on him as she worked the quilts from beneath him. A smile curved his lips, showing a hint of dimple, and then his face relaxed once again. So innocent and so deadly at the same time.
     
    *
     
    Colleen sighed as she carried the tray of food to her room. She’d had a long day getting ready for the storm, running into the village for supplies. Now she had a delicious stranger in her bed to worry about.
    She stopped in her tracks and shook her head. Thinking of Lord Ware as delicious or delectable or any other kind of edible description was out of the question. Because thinking of him in that manner made her think of his lips. Thinking of his lips made her think of his kisses and that was just not a good idea.
    She needed to forget that her whole body felt as if it would explode the moment he touched her. Even now heat swept through her at the memory. He was a rake, good at his chosen profession and it had nothing to do with her.
    With that self-proclamation, she nodded and continued on her path.
    Balancing the tray in one hand, she opened the door. When she spied his eyes closed and his even breathing, she released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Thanking her keeper for small miracles, she walked to his bedside. After setting the tray on the table, she looked down at him, not at all encouraged by his shivers.
    “Lord Ware, I brought some broth for you.” He turned in the direction of her voice but his eyes didn’t open. “Sebastian, you need to help me.”
    She sat on the bed beside him. His face was flushed with fever, his brow damp with perspiration. Along with the broth, she carried in a basin of cool water. She knew to bring down his temperature, she would have to bathe him with the water and pump him full of liquids. She had attempted to do just that after Deidre suffered her miscarriage but had not been successful. This time she would not fail.
     
    *
     
    “I will be granted a divorce!”
    Colleen jerked