Love Me True by Heather Boyd Read Free Book Online Page A

you sleep at all?” he asked softly.
    A sigh escaped Clarry. “A little. But it is very hard to ignore the duchess when she is standing over your bed.”
    “Forgive me. I had not thought she would seek you out.”
    Clarry’s color rose to a bright pink abruptly. Concerned that she might faint from a lack of air, Justin led Clarry back to her bedchamber and toward her bed. He stripped the gown from her body then went to work loosening the corset strings. When he’d half undone the corset, Clarry pulled a gasping breath deep into her lungs.
    He stroked his fingers over her exposed skin. “Better?”
    “Much better, thank you.”
    Since he received no discouragement, Justin continued to touch. “I shall try to prevent her from inflicting such torture on you again. I’ll burn all your corsets if necessary.”
    A tired laugh escaped her. “Burning is not necessary. But I’d prefer to draw in a full breath if I could.”
    Since Clarry had not yet realized that she stood half naked in his presence, Justin pulled her into his arms. She didn’t resist; she sagged into his embrace with a soft sigh. He set his lips to her throat and pressed soft kisses to her skin. A pleased purr rumbled from her and he glanced at her face anxiously. Clarry stood with her eyes closed, lips parted, face slack. She appeared so sleepy that Justin flushed with chagrin. He should exert a little more effort to care for her if he wished to make this marriage bearable for each of them. Hadn’t he intended not to bother her moments before?
    The task might be more difficult than he imagined, but he would do what he could to make this marriage easy for her. Without peeking too much he removed her corset, scooped her up into his arms and tucked her into bed.
    Confused, languid eyes blinked up at him. “Do you want to make love again?”
    Justin’s skin pricked with heat at her question. He would love nothing more than to please her, but he had never been what she wanted. He brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes gently. She was so very beautiful. Despite the circumstances, Justin didn’t deserve her. “No, I’m going to see to it that you sleep undisturbed.”
    Clarry curled into a ball, her eyes fluttered shut. “A pity. I could become used to making love.”

CHAPTER SIX

    Clarry leaned against her new bed and stared into the flames leaping in the hearth. What a ghastly day, and what a nightmare dinner had been with the duke and duchess tonight. She’d never felt more uncomfortable in her life. She crawled into bed and opened her book, hoping to block out her situation. Perhaps she could become lost in a different reality for just a bit.
    Words of love, devotion and yearning filled every page and her heart soared as she read the well-loved lines of her favorite book of romantic poetry. To be treasured like this was a dream. No man, living or dead could ever feel for her what this anonymous poet had felt for his lady love.
    She traced her fingers over the bold letters, penned so carefully and each page embellished with flowers. It was a lucky day for Clarry to have found this treasure, and even luckier that the small tome had been included with her belongings when her father had sent them to Staplehurst Hall.
    He had no use for poetry, or music or even words. The long silences at home were unnerving at times but she’d done her best to find excuses to be from home as often as she could. Clarry closed the book and set it beneath the pillow, where she kept it every night. She’d never be loved like that.
    The chamber around her was filled with deep shadows, and the Hall beyond her door had settled down for the night. But Clarry was restless after her brush with the duchess. Her Grace quite clearly disapproved of her, and disapproved of Justin’s plan to marry her. Her displeasure had centered on Clarry, not Justin. It seemed she was to marry the duchess’s favorite son.
    Clarry had thought Lord Ramsbury, heir to the great estate around her,