A Persistant Attraction by Silvia Violet Read Free Book Online Page B

suckled it.
    She writhed against him. Sensations she couldn’t control built. She felt hot. Needy.
    She couldn’t stop now if her life depended on it.
    Her gown had disappeared along with Rhys’s breeches. His hard shaft pressed against her thigh, and her legs parted without a second thought. He moved over her until she felt him brush against the softness between her legs. He paused.
    She arched her hips toward him. “Please.”
    She squeezed her eyes shut as he moved forward, steeling herself for the pain she thought would come when he entered her. When she reached up to grip his arms, she found only air. Her eyes flew open, and she sat up, looking around frantically.
    There was no one in her room. She glanced down. Her body was still covered by her demure nightdress. A dream. Only the sheen of sweat coating her body and the dampness between her thighs were real.
    On wobbly legs, she crossed the room to open a window, letting in some air which she feared would do little to cool the fire in her body. Purple-tinged clouds lay low on the horizon. She’d slept only a few hours at best, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to rest any more.
    She removed the false bottom of her jewelry box and took out a small key. She used it to open a chest she kept at the bottom of her wardrobe. She pulled a book from the chest, one a friend of her cousin had left behind after staying at her father’s estate.
    She sat on her bed and opened it. As always, the pictures inside made her feel warm and uncomfortable, like she couldn’t sit still. As she looked at the drawings of men and women engaged in various acts of pleasure, she saw herself and Rhys in their place. She turned to one where a man had his lips locked around a woman’s nipple. Her head was thrown back, her mouth open in a scream.
    Amanda’s heartbeat accelerated. Would Rhys’s lips really feel as good on her breasts as they had in her dream?

    With a sigh, she forced herself to close the book. What was she thinking? She couldn’t really give him her virtue as she’d been so willing to do in her dream. Or could she?
    She’d never been interested in playing by society’s rules. She didn’t see marriage and family in her future, because she had no intention of surrendering her freedom to a man. She knew there were ton marriages based on love, like her sister’s, but most were uneasy alliances with the wife suffering far more than the husband.
    If she didn’t intend to marry why should she concern herself with preserving her virginity? Why not explore what her body wanted so desperately? Rhys was the perfect choice for a partner. He was handsome. She desired him, and he was unlikely to be struck with a crisis of conscience after deflowering her.
    She returned the book to its hiding place. If she accepted Rhys’s proposition, she could have the help she needed to protect herself and her family, and she would learn what truly went on between a man and woman. She knew there were secrets even Cassandra had not revealed to her.
    But if she sought Rhys out as she intended, she would be playing a dangerous game.
    She cared for him, more than she wanted to admit. She was willing to give him her body, but her heart was her own. Could she keep herself from falling in love?

    *

    Later that day, Amanda sat in the morning room with Elise, pretending to work on some embroidery though she hadn’t completed a single stitch. Her stomach had tied itself in knots, and nothing could slow the rate of her heart.
    As she contemplated whether she truly had the nerve to seek out Rhys again, her maid, Caitlin, entered. “I’ve brought the mail, Miss Amanda, Miss Elise.”
    “Thank you.” Amanda tried to keep her hand from shaking as she reached out to take her letters.

    She flipped through them quickly while Elise did the same with her stack. One from Cassandra. One from Louisa, a girl she’d gone to school with. One from their cousin William. Nothing new from her attacker.
    She wished she