Spanish Lullaby Read Online Free PDF

look neutral but she did her best to summon nothing more than a polite, bland expression.

    Carlos ... touching her. His heated kiss, those skillful hands, the erotic foray of his tongue, not just into her mouth but other places as he seduced her with practiced ease...
    Good God, he'd told Uncle Gerald exactly what had happened. She could tell by the duke's chagrined expression, and also by the very faint ghost of a smile on her lover's mouth. The fact he was more devastatingly handsome than any man had a right to be was incidental. Ever since they were children, she'd trusted him. With everything. Secrets, fears, and eventually, love.
    No, not so, she'd always loved him. Her feelings had changed, however, from affection to romantic involvement and it should be private.
    "I have already sent word to Lord Drake, my dear.” The words were said with heavy intonation.
    “Luckily, the severing of your engagement should not raise too many brows because the official announcement has not been in the paper. A hasty marriage to Carlos is a bit unseemly, but then again, war is a tricky thing. Returning soldiers are romantic figures. I expect there will be a few whispers and then the matter will be settled."
    "Marry ... Carlos?"
    "As I understand it ... er ... you must.” Her uncle had ruddy color in his cheeks, obviously not enjoying the conversation. “Immediately."
    "You got pregnant the last time,” Carlos drawled in a cool voice. “You aren't marrying another man with my child inside you."
    He knew about the baby, about the miscarriage. And how dare he tell her what to do? She'd tried to tell him to not go to Spain, not risk his life, and he hadn't listened to her.
    Juliet looked at him, not bothering to hide her disdain. “I am not one of your soldiers, Carlos, that you can order about. Neither can you just ride away and come back four years later and expect me to fall into your arms as if nothing happened."
    He adjusted his cuff in an exaggerated movement and then looked directly at her. “Apparently I can. Last night supports the assumption."
    That he was right didn't help anything. She was a fool, and the minute he'd touched her she'd given in to the power of his presence, to the suppressed desire of four long years, to the memory of an ideal that had been shattered and taken from her. She snapped, “You seduced me."
    "You allowed it.” His lashes lowered a fraction. “Moreover, you enjoyed it."
    A blush climbed through her neck and suffused her cheeks. As they stared at each other, her uncle coughed, making a great business of clearing his throat. He stood up. “I am going to see about making arrangements for a special license. In the meanwhile, I suggest the two of you come to some sort of truce. A successful marriage involves a great deal of compromise. My advice is now would be a good time to start."

    He left the study, the sound of the door closing followed by a sizzling silence. Carlos stood there, his usual facile charm not in evidence. The expression on his face instead held something unidentifiable.
    "How about it, Jules. Shall we negotiate?"
    "This isn't a treaty,” she responded as coolly as possible, her feelings in such turmoil it was hard to know what to say at all.
    "No? It seems to me I have a battle on my hands.” He leaned one shoulder against the frame of one of the tall windows and crossed his arms over his broad chest. An ebony brow arched up.
    “Now, I've certainly won the first foray because I've got the enemy trapped and almost captured.
    It sounds like the latter will happen soon—maybe later today—so I am in a position to grant a few concessions. What are your terms, Jules, for a full surrender?"
    The sexual implication of the word brought the memory of how it felt to be beneath him, their bodies intimately joined, bare skin to bare skin as they made love. She had certainly surrendered the night before without so much as a fight and if she were honest with herself, he could probably