Passion's Song (A Georgian Historical Romance) Read Online Free PDF

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few inches, but he was powerfully built. Most important, he was the
only person besides Mrs. Morris who ever listened to her.
    At Mr. Samuels’s insistence, Philip had enrolled in
law school. Consequently, he was often out, but when he was home he
would talk with her as he had in times past and, now and again, he
would lend her a book. Isobel attributed his shortness with her to
the stress of his law studies. His frequent demands for money from
his father were due, she knew, to his desire to better himself.
Philip was discerning enough to perceive a man was judged first by
his appearance. She looked forward to his homecomings with all the
impatience of a girl deeply in love.
    It was as little a thing as failing to firmly shut
the door to her tiny room one night when she was in her bath that
changed everything. The warmth of the water made her drowsy, and as
she scrubbed herself she indulged in her favorite fantasy that
there was a maid standing ready to wash her back if she so much as
lifted a finger in her direction. Squeezing her eyes shut to keep
out the harsh foam, she poured water over her head until the last
of the soap was gone. She stepped out of the bath, leaning over to
let the water from her wet hair fall into the tub, and groped for
her comb on the table. Drops of water hit the bare wooden floor as
she worked the tangles out of her hair. She was combing out a
stubborn snarl when she felt an almost imperceptible swirl of air
pulling at the dampness of her skin. It was an odd sensation that
moved over her arms and back in waves of prickly tension. She told
herself she was imagining things and refused to give in to the
temptation to look behind her. Finally, though, she pulled her hair
away from her face and twisted around to look.
    “ Good evening, Isobel.”
    “ Philip!” She snatched up the
towel draped over the chair. Her mortification was so acute that
she spoke only when he made no move to leave her to her
embarrassment. “What do you want?”
    “ I came to get Euclid.”
    The book he had let her borrow more than a month ago
was on her table, and as she reached over to hand it to him, she
held the towel tightly around her. She didn’t at all like the look
on his face as he took the book from her shaking hand. “If you were
a gentleman, Mr. Philip, you would have knocked!” she said, hardly
able to believe she could utter the criticism.
    “ If you were a lady,” he said
slowly, “your door would have been shut.” He tapped the book
against his open palm and looked at her for a long moment before
turning to leave, closing the door firmly behind him.
    Philip walked back to his room with a strange
excitement boiling in him. As he’d said, he had come to get his
book. The sound of water sloshing in the tub told him his cousin
must be in her bath, and he suddenly found himself curious to see
what she looked like without those hideous clothes she wore. She
had just stepped out of the tub when he pushed open the door. He
saw water glistening on her pale skin and darkening the wooden
floor under dainty feet and long elegant legs. He was instantly
hard when she bent at the waist to grope for a comb. He’d damned
near taken her right then, but he knew what a prim little thing she
was. A little finesse would be necessary with her. She might be
skinny, but she was surprisingly well shaped. “Surprisingly well
shaped,” he mused as he dressed to go out. He felt a tingle of
arousal in his belly at the thought of those long legs wrapped
around him, hips moving in unison with his. He had got only a
glimpse of her breasts, but they had looked to be generous. His
cousin worshipped him, he knew, and he did not think for even a
minute it would be difficult to get her to turn that adoration into
something more physically rewarding.
    V
    Isobel might have convinced herself the humiliating
episode was forgotten, except Philip now stared at her in an
unsettling manner. Or at least she thought he did. She did not