FromNowOn by Eliza Lloyd Read Free Book Online

inch from the corner of her mouth. Where her skin was softest
below her cheek the scar was reddest, otherwise the marks were just slightly
lighter in color then her skin.
    Relief was a contradictory and inappropriate feeling,
considering he was not the one bearing the scars.
    “Say something,” she said.
    “I would like for us to marry tomorrow. We can take a
carriage to Camborne and be home in time for supper. Or better, we will travel
on to Somerset, let a seaside home and enjoy marital bliss for the next few months.”
    “Do you plan to bed your wife in the dark every night?”
    “Every night, yes. In the dark, no.”
    “You’ve never been a liar, Seb. Are you going to tell me
this doesn’t matter?” Her fingers skimmed over her face before she walked away.
There was a moment when their eyes locked. What had she seen? Pity? Because he
did feel deep sympathy. Anger? Yes, that emotion ran through his veins as
though it were molten lava. Hammond was to blame for this tragedy. Or had she
seen rejection? No. Never that. For such a shocking sight, he did not feel
repulsed.
    He stared at her backside when she paused to lean against a
tree. “You’ve looked in the mirror too many times and seen only one thing.”
    “You are wrong.”
    “I am not going to spend my married life trying to convince you
that you are still astoundingly beautiful. I will not be married to a woman who
feels sorry for herself.”
    She whirled, anger written in the furrow of her brow and in
the dark glitter of her gaze. “Is that what you want? To make me angry so I’ll
send you away? Was that your purpose—to come riding in like a white knight with
your promises and pretty words so it would be my fault when you left, if you
didn’t like what you found?
    “You’ve done your duty. You’ve performed admirably. You’ve
allowed me to hope again. When you leave this time, please don’t bother coming
back,” she said.
    “Damn it, Grace. The people who love you do not care about
this. They only care that you have been hurt by it.”
    “I care. I only wanted to be beautiful for you.” She stared
at him, tears swimming in her eyes, making them mossy-green pools. “If I could
not have you before, how am I going to keep your attention now?”
    Damn it to hell, he was not doing this right. He hurried
toward her and took her in his arms. Was it enough to love someone? It had to
be, because that was all he had to offer. “That was my mistake—a youthful error
because I could not see past the end of my cock. I am not leaving. We are
getting married. And one day your happiness is going to so far exceed this
day’s concern that you will have forgotten it ever happened.”
    He stroked the side of her face and she didn’t fight him.
    “I am sorry I waited so long,” he said before he kissed her
cheek and then found the sweet honey of her mouth. When he pulled away, he held
her face. “Now, Miss Gracie, are you going to marry me?”
    “I suppose I should say yes since I just threw over Vicar
Lawrence.” She sniffed and smiled weakly.
    “He could never give you what I can give you.”
    “A title?”
    “Oh no, no, my dear.” He gripped her hand and took a step
backward. “While he would spend his Sunday mornings worshiping the Creator, I
would spend mine worshiping the created.”
    “That sounds almost sacrilegious. Vicar Lawrence gives
excellent sermons.”
    “I’m sure he does.” He seated himself in the grass with his
back to a tree. He reached for Grace, his hand gripping her delicate fingers,
and pulled her into his lap. With a few helpful movements, he had her skirts
out of the way and her legs straddling his. “And on Monday mornings while he is
attending his flock, I will be ensconced with the one lost sheep.”
    “You paid attention during your governess’s devotionals.”
    “I am nothing if not attentive.” He caressed her knees and
then slid his hands up her thighs. “Speaking of sheep, I am feeling rather
wolfish