Swept Away Read Online Free PDF

deftly managed to convey the impression that his life was not only wonderfully satisfying but exciting as well. She gave his hand a fond squeeze the way her mother had taught her to do when she wished to encourage a man’s attentions. When Alex returned it, she blushed prettily at the effectiveness of that ploy.
    Much to his own amazement, being with Eden made Alex feel younger than he had in years. He had never seen her so relaxed either. There was none of the tension about her manner now that he had noted at the Carlisles’ ball or on other occasions prior to that, for indeed she had caught his eye long before she had joined him in the library. She was simply adorable, so utterly charming he began to wish there could be more than the friendship that had developed so easily between them. That was completely impossible, of course, and the pain of that realization forced him to look away.
    Alarmed by the sudden sorrow of his uncle’s expression, Raven leaned forward to touch his knee. “Are you all right?”
    “What? Oh yes, I’m fine,” Alex replied. Then scolding himself for wasting even a second of the time he had to share with Eden, he continued to extol the beauties of his island home.
    “Jamaica must be like paradise,” Eden mused with another appreciative smile.
    “Yes it is, even without a wife to share it,” Raven interjected sharply, not realizing how his remark would be interpreted.
    Stephanie was so startled by the sound of Raven’s voice she ended her monologue in midsentence, but she had not been following Eden and Alex’s conversation and had no idea what Raven meant.
    Eden, however, gasped sharply, thinking she must have been too forward. She had not said anything about visiting Jamaica, though; she was positive she had not, let alone offered to share Alex’s home with him. As her glance locked with Raven’s, she felt the same icy chill of apprehension she had experienced at their first meeting. For a man raised in the warmth of a tropical paradise, he had a remarkably cold manner. It was not that his gaze was threatening, it was that he seemed to be looking right through her. To what? she wondered. Did he think she was merely flirting with his uncle and did not approve? She tried to think of some witty response to put him in his place, but when nothing suitable occurred to her, she was forced to remain silent.
    Alex was too perceptive not to notice Eden’s embarrassment, and while he knew what had prompted Raven’s remark, he dared not explain it. “Raven didn’t have the benefit of a mother’s love while he was growing up and I fear the manners I managed to instill in him are rather few. You’re wrong, though, Raven. Every joy is enhanced when it’s shared.”
    “And every sorrow cut in half,” Raven added flippantly. He looked away then, cringing at the pain of knowing that Alex had insisted he take a wife not for the pleasure a woman would provide but for the comfort he would need when he was alone. He turned, meaning to call to the driver to stop the carriage so he could get out and walk home, but Alex shot him so murderous a glance he thought better of it. He leaned back, resigned to spending the afternoon with a brunette who would not keep still and a beautiful blonde who was so charming he feared Alex might choose to die in her arms.
    When they returned to the Lawton home, Alex let Raven and Stephanie leave the carriage first, then hurriedly apologized again to Eden for his nephew’s rudeness. “I have hopes that Raven will take a bride while we’re here. Unfortunately, he doesn’t share them. If his temper gets the better of him at times, you mustn’t think badly of him. He’s a fine man, only young and frequently thoughtless.”
    Enormously relieved to learn that Raven had not been calling her a fortune hunter, or worse, Eden left the carriage with an agile dancing step. When Alex moved far more slowly, she did not question the reason, but took his arm and followed Raven