The Marriage Prize Read Online Free PDF Page B

de Leyburn."
    "You think him handsome?"
    "Oh yes. Tal , dark men are so compel ing. When I looked up
    into those green eyes, I went weak at the knees and felt my
    heart turn over. What about you? "
    "Yes, he had a similar effect on me ... I felt my stomach turn
    over."
    Demi laughed. "Oh, Rosamond, you are so bad."
    "I know. I deliberately accused him of betrothing me because I
    am an heiress."
    "But that is the only reason any of us receive offers of
    marriage. The daughters of noble families are not married for
    love. Is that what you secretly long for, Rosamond?"
    "Love? " Rosamond scoffed. "That's the last thing I want!" She had lost everyone she had ever loved. She would never let
    herself care so deeply about anyone ever again. "I shan't sit
    with him tomorrow night," she vowed fiercely. "I shal find some way to break off this accursed betrothal. He is obviously a
    determined devil, but if he thinks I wil wed him and hand over
    my dowry, he is doomed to disappointment!"
    ******************
    Simon and Eleanor's apartments were high in Kenilworth's
    great Caesar Tower. After the banquet, when he climbed the
    stairs and opened the door to their private sanctuary, he saw
    that his wife had lit scented candles and placed them on the
    hearth before the crackling fire.
    21
    Simon's blood began to throb with anticipation. He knew that
    Eleanor liked the warmth of a fire in their bedchamber so that
    she could walk about nude. He felt his pulse beating heavily in
    his throat, and in his groin, as Eleanor came through the
    adjoining door. She had removed her jewels and gown, but
    stil wore her shift and stockings, so that he could finish
    undressing her. He opened his arms and she ran to him
    eagerly.
    "Welcome home, Sim." She used the diminutive of his name,
    as she always did when they made love.
    He enfolded her against his heart and murmured, "You make
    my life complete." Then he held her at arm's length to gaze
    down at her. He dipped his head and kissed her closed
    eyelids, amazed after al these years that his need for her was
    as great as it had been when he had persuaded her to wed
    him secretly. "Have you any idea how much I missed you?"
    "Of course! You showed me when you arrived home in the
    middle of the night. Now it's my turn to show you." Her tone
    was deliberately teasing to mask the intensity of her emotions.
    Whenever Simon rode off to war, she was afraid she would
    never see him again. Over the years, she had schooled
    herself never to show him her fear. How could he believe in his
    own invincibility if she doubted him?
    She clung to her beloved fiercely, knowing deep in her soul
    that one day he would not ride home in victory. She pushed
    the thought away and laughed up at him. "I always forget how
    big you are."
    "Let me refresh your memory," he said with a suggestive
    smile, pressing his arousal against her soft bel y.
    "Not just there," she said, laughing, "everywhere."
    His hands were impatient as they removed her shift and then,
    one by one, her hose. "Walk about for me," he urged.
    Eleanor took the pins from her hair and let it fal about her,
    cloaking her body. Then, prideful as a cat, she walked across
    the chamber to the far corner. Though she was over forty, she
    knew that in Simon's eyes, she would remain forever young,
    forever beautiful.
    He undressed and fol owed her, unable to resist the tempting
    invitation of her body.
    22
    "Carry me to bed," she whispered, and when he swept her up
    in his powerful arms, she exulted in his strength and his
    passion. When he was away on campaign, she had to be
    strong, but now that he was here with her in the big bed, she
    could be soft, and clinging, and feminine. The things he did to
    her made her deliriously weak. His hands sought out al of her
    body's sensitive places and touched them intimately; he knew
    exactly how to arouse her with his fingers and his mouth, and
    she reveled in the sensuality and desire his hard, powerful
    body evoked when he pul ed her