Blazing Love: A Hot, Romantic Suspense Series, Book 2 (The Carlisle Sisters) by Kay Brody Read Free Book Online Page B

Did you get any sleep?”  Tracy finally had a chance to ask.
    “A little,” Beth answered.
    “I’m sorry we woke you,” Tracy apologized.
    “It’s alright.  I would rather be awake,” Beth said.  She moved to sit out on the balcony.
    Jen grabbed her shopping bags from the salon and went into her bedroom.  That left Tracy and Blaze in the kitchen.  He slid his other arm around her and dipped his head to kiss her.
    It was a loving, tender kiss.  Tracy responded immediately and leaned into him; returning the caress eagerly.  They finally parted, both breathing heavily.
    “Will you have dinner with me?”  Blaze rasped.  “At my place?”
    Tracy was tempted but shook her head negatively.
    “I don’t want to leave Beth alone,” she murmured.
    “Jen will be here with her,” Blaze said.
    “Jen will not make the greatest companion right now.  The way she’s feeling, she could end up leaving Beth here alone just to be nasty,” Tracy said.  “I’ll feel better about leaving her when Grey gets here.”
    He sighed.
    “You’re right.  I’m being a bit selfish.  I want you to myself,” he said.
    “I want to be with you as well.  Be patient.  It will happen,” she smiled.
    “Patience is not one of my strong suits; but I’ll try,” he said.  “In the meantime, there’s no reason why I can’t indulge my senses by kissing you.”
    She laughed.
    “None whatsoever,” she quipped.
    He did just that.
     
    *****
     
    Hélène entered the castle, Victory’s End, in Franche Comté.  It had been a long journey and she was exhausted.  She wasn’t a young girl anymore and these trips were long and fatiguing.  She had one foot on the bottom step of the grand staircase when she heard a loathsome voice.
    “The prodigal son returns.  Or should I say the prodigal daughter.  That is more accurately descriptive.”
    Hélène turned her head to look at her brother-in-law, Claude Lemaire.  He was a tall, razor thin man with an angular face.  He had sharp, dark eyes and a long, pointed nose.  He always reminded Hélène of the male version of the wicked witch.
    She hadn’t trusted Claude since the day she met him fifty-three years earlier; on the day of her wedding.  And she still didn’t trust him.  He was a sneaky reprobate who would have sucked his brother dry had she not put a stop to it. 
    She had convinced her husband, Marceau, to cut him off and Claude hated her for it.  But although Claude couldn’t get any more money, he was allowed to reside at the castle.  And he took full advantage of that fact, running the help ragged with his every whim and being an overall nuisance to anyone within earshot.  How she wished that Claude lay on his deathbed instead of Marceau; if only karma would truly prevail.
    “I have returned, Claude.  I must check on Marceau,” she said curtly.  She climbed two steps only to be waylaid.
    “He is much the same; wasting away on the path to meet his maker,” Claude said callously.
    Hélène turned on him.
    “How can you be so unfeeling?  Marceau is your brother!”  she cried.
    “So he is.  A very ungenerous one at that.  But I have you to thank for the tightening of his purse strings,” Claude sneered.
    “Money!  Is that all you can think about?”  she asked, disgusted by the fact that this man was a member of her family.
    “What else is there to think about?  It’s what makes life worth living.  If you have an abundance of it, like you do, you have no worries.  If you have none, you live a measly, hopeless existence.  You know, like mine,” he said.  There was a hard edge beneath his words.
    “You are far from impoverished, Claude.  Marceau has taken care of you quite well.  You’ve wanted for nothing,” Hélène hissed.
    “Yet I’m virtually a prisoner here without the means to go and do as I please,” he countered.
    “You can go and do whatever you like.  You have an ample allowance,” she returned.
    “That will take me all