Shattered Dreams Read Online Free PDF Page A

her.
    While
she tried to get her mind to focus on anything other than him, she
slid over to the chair and perched tentatively on the edge of the
plush cushion. Her fingers tightened around her bag as she placed
it on her lap. She daren’t put it down because then she would have
nothing to do with her hands except fidget, and she didn’t want him
to know how nervously aware of him she was.
    She
could feel his eyes studying her closely, and struggled to find
something suitable to say beneath that heated stare.
    Harry
studied her and fought a bitter curse at the timing of Fate. He had
never believed in the folly of serious romantic entanglements,
relationships, or even marriage before now. He was a man who lived
in a man’s world, and was someone who travelled the length and
breadth of the country for his work, and was happy to do so. He
didn’t need roots. He didn’t need commitment. The last thing he had
ever felt that he wanted, or needed in life was a wife, or any kind
of baggage that would slow him down.
    However,
he had never set eyes on any woman like this Miss Magdaline Thingy
before. He felt as though someone had just slapped him around the
face. He understood now why Dandridge had eyed her up like a
starving man salivating over a juicy beef joint because he too was
struggling to take his eyes off her.
    She was
utterly stunning; from the soft curls that cascaded in a riotous
jumble from the knot on the top of her head, to the tips of her
dainty, mud-encrusted boots, she was by far the most delightfully
intriguing female he had ever come across.
    He tried
to focus on the matter at hand, like why she was in his study, he
really did. However, the lure of her lush feminine curves,
emphasised by the confines of the corset she wore, were downright
captivating. He tried not to blatantly stare at her, but he found
that his gaze was drawn back to her again and again.
    She
wasn’t slender or skinny. She was curvy; sensual; and utterly
wonderful.
    “ You wanted me?” he croaked, and fervently hoped that she
did.
    Get your mind on the job, he warned
himself silently. He gave himself a stern, mental shake in a
desperate attempt to get his mind off what it would be like to kiss
those generously curved lips, and stroke that softly rounded
pink-tinged cheek.
    “ Sweet Jesus,” he whispered before he could stop
himself.
    “ Pardon?” Tilly asked with a frown.
    “ Miss -,” Harry frowned, and tried to remember the name
Dandridge had muttered at him.
    “ Matilda Fenton, sir, but everyone calls me Tilly.”
    “ Tilly.”
    Their
eyes met and held. Tilly felt her cheeks blush even more at the
sound of her name spoken in his rich, cultured tones.
    Is it me, or is it hot in here? She
wondered, and stole a quick look at the fire.
    Although
it was cold outside, the contrast in temperatures wasn’t so much
that it should bring her out in a sweat. However, she felt flushed,
and fidgety, and struggled not to squirm on the seat with
discomfort. Rather than remove her cloak though, she remained
perfectly still; trapped beneath the intensity of his
gaze.
    “ Miss Fenton.” Harry coughed uncomfortably.
“Tilly.”
    He
wondered if he should offer her a drink, or something. However, he
daren’t get up and let her see the evidence of just how delightful
he thought she was. His body ached for her with a fierceness he had
never felt toward anyone before. He sighed deeply in an attempt to
control the lustful thoughts that whirled around in his head, and
tried to focus on why she was here.
    Why had
she appeared in his life now, of all times? Where had she been all
of his life?
    “ How can I help you?”
    “ I am here to take up my duties, sir,” Tilly replied
quietly.
    She
watched the man frown at her skirts for a moment. His gaze lingered
on the muddied spots on the lower half of her dress a little too
long for comfort, and she shifted awkwardly.
    “ Please forgive the state of me,” she sighed. “There was an
accident at the