Silver Storm (The Raveneau Novels #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Raveneau bade him
farewell. "An interesting visit!" he commented, unable to repress a
smile. "I will see you in a few weeks, M'sieur Nicholson."
    Nick recovered enough to grasp the
Frenchman's hand and wish him luck with the voyage he would
undertake on the morrow.
    A handsome carriage was brought around, the
horses tossing their heads at the sight of Devon, who greeted them
and the young driver by name. A bemused Andre Raveneau helped her
up, and after a last wave at Nick they started off down Union
Street.
    Suddenly Devon felt a choking shyness close
around her. Gazing at her lap, she was able to view Raveneau's legs
as well, only a few inches from her own. The long muscles of his
thighs were outlined against the fawn breeches he wore; she yearned
to touch him, to find out if his leg could actually be as hard as
it looked.
    Raveneau could feel her scrutiny. It was
unsettling. What was the girl looking at? "I was quite impressed to
hear of all the books you read this week," he said at last, hoping
to halt her gaze before it continued any farther up his legs.
    Startled, Devon looked up. Outside, dusk was
deepening into a blue-gray mist, and she had the impression that
this entire experience was not real, but one of her recurring
dreams.
    "Were you really?" she asked. Perhaps he was
laughing at her again.
    "Of course! I do not know many literary
females, especially of your age."
    "I am not so young!" Devon retorted
hotly.
    Raveneau could not help glancing at the soft
curves displayed by her too-small dress. "No, of course not,
mademoiselle. Not a child, by any means!"
    Devon thought she detected a glint of silver
in his penetrating gray eyes. Oh, he was so handsome! Even in her
dreams he had not looked so devastatingly attractive. Her eyes
moved over him in the dimming twilight, memorizing the gleam of his
black hair, the hard lines of his scarred jaw, mouth, cheekbones,
the strength of his neck, the width of his shoulders...
    Raveneau managed to meet her dreamy eyes.
"Mademoiselle, you seem to be greatly preoccupied with my looks!
Perhaps you’d like a closer view?"
    He brought a dark hand up to her chin. Devon
shivered at his touch. Her heart pounded in her ears and he moved
nearer, then slowly lowered his head until their lips brushed.
Raveneau meant to give her the briefest of kisses, just something
to dream about, but her lips were so soft, as sweet and moist as
crushed berries. Hesitantly, they moved against his harder mouth,
and he slid his fingers around her neck, into the cloud of her
hair. She smelled of sunshine and fresh air...
    Devon was sailing through a sea of stars; she
tingled from head to toe. Tentatively, remembering the way Morgan
had kissed her, she parted her lips. Raveneau was lost. His tongue
touched even white teeth, then the soft, sweet tip of her tongue
and he was shot through with the fierce sort of desire he hadn't
experienced in years.
    Abruptly he broke away, forcing himself to
remember that he was kissing an innocent girl who looked to be
nearly half his age. He slid his hand from her hair reluctantly,
saw huge blue eyes staring up in confusion. He stared back,
astounded.
    "Good God!" was all he could say, and each
word was like a gunshot.
    Devon's entire body blushed crimson with
shame. As the carriage drew to a halt before the Linen and Pewter
Shop, she rallied and delivered a stinging slap to Raveneau's dark,
harshly cut cheek.
     
     
     

Chapter 3
    ***~~~***
    October 21, 1780
    Devon tossed in her narrow bed, her mind
spinning. For the first time she regretted that she had no close
female friends to turn to for advice. This was certainly not a
matter she could take to Morgan or to her forbidding mother, and
there was no doubt in Devon's mind that nearly every other girl her
age in New London must know more about men than she did.
    She thought that the sheer wonder of
Raveneau's kiss might have been enough to combat shame, were it not
for Morgan. What was wrong with her? How could she claim