The Secret Christmas Ciphers Read Online Free PDF Page B

when he straightened, the crowd parted to create an open line of sight between him and Abigail.
    Fury sent her blood surging through her veins. How dare he? Twice now she’d made excuses to leave town so they wouldn’t have to meet, and tonight he appeared unannounced at an event where everyone who mattered would be watching their reunion.
    The Countess of Marpaine, one of the most vocal gossips in the ton , rushed to her side. “Oh my dear Lady Westdale,” she said breathlessly. “At long last you and your brave husband are in the city at the same time. Were you expecting him?”
    Abigail jumped to her feet. She had no intention of responding to the countess’s question. “Pray excuse me, my lady, but I must greet my dear husband. I’m so thrilled to see him, I shan’t even chastise him for being late.”
    She immediately set off across the ballroom, trying to catch Derek’s eye, but he had his back to her, conversing with the duchess. Somehow she had to communicate to him that the ton expected to see a tender reunion between them, but she wasn’t sure he’d see her in time.
    Fortunately, the duchess noticed her approach. She smiled broadly, said something to Derek, and then nodded toward Abigail.
    By this time, Abigail was a mere four feet away from him. When he turned toward her, she dashed forward, threw her arms around him and pressed her mouth close to his ear. “Kiss me, or so help me god, I’ll bite your ear off,” she murmured.
    His expression of surprise immediately morphed into a look of feigned joy. “Ah, my dear wife, how I’ve missed your gentle words of enticement,” he whispered. “But I’d be a poor excuse for a husband did I not respond to your sweet entreaty.”
    He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close, and lowered his head to find her lips. She tilted her head back, looked into his eyes, and felt every cell in her body tingle. She’d like to kill him, but unfortunately he was the only man in the world who seemed to have such an exhilarating effect on her.
    And despite what Catherine and the twins had always told her, she wasn’t convinced that just any man could bring her pleasure.
    Or set her on fire, which Derek’s kiss was doing right this second.
    She tightened her embrace and began to fantasize about doing all those erotic things the sisters had described to her. She moaned deep in her throat and parted her lips, hoping he would thrust his tongue into her mouth.
    He broke the kiss. “My dear wife,” he murmured. “Let’s save our seductions for the bedroom, if you please. Otherwise, the duchess will have both of us ejected from her ballroom.”
    So abruptly reminded of their surroundings, Abigail felt heat rising from her breast to her neck and into her face. Dear heavens! What had she been thinking? She ducked her head, too embarrassed to look at their hostess, but a second later she realized the duchess was chuckling. Then she reached for Abigail’s hand, giving it a firm squeeze.
    “Don’t be embarrassed, my dear,” the duchess said softly. “I wish more husbands and wives displayed their affection for one another. And believe me, I’ll completely understand if you both wish to leave early this evening.”
    Derek inclined his head and smiled. “Thank you, Your Grace, but with your permission, we’ll stay so I can finally claim my lovely wife’s hand for a dance. As you probably know, we’ve had very little time together in the last few weeks.”
    The duchess’s answering smile was warm and a knowing twinkle lit her eyes. “Of course you must have your dance, my dear boy. I’ll send instructions to the orchestra to play a waltz very soon.”
    She turned to Abigail. “You do waltz, I hope, my dear.”
    “I do.” Abigail’s spirits soared. The thought of being held in Derek’s arms and whirled around the ballroom was extremely appealing, because truth be told, his kiss had stirred emotions deep within her, emotions she had no trouble identifying,