Married At Midnight by Katherine Woodwiss Read Free Book Online

after all.. .
    He drew back from the kiss, lids relaxed over smiling eyes turned almost dreamy. "I hate to stop, but if I don't I'll soon be in a state quite unsuited to our situation."
    Kate pushed back flustered, not so much by his words but by the fact that they echoed her own.
    Intimacy with Dennis had been pleasant, but there'd been none of the fire she'd sensed in that mere kiss.
    Perhaps this, too, was an effect of birth.
    If so, it was a very illogical one!
    "I do like it when you smile like that," he said.
    "Like what?"
    His thumb brushed one corner of her mouth. "Your lips turn up just here."
    "Do they? That sounds most peculiar."
    "It's charming. I noticed it the first time we met."
    When I was Dennis Fallowfield's doxy, she thought bitterly. She remembered Captain Tennant saying that he had wanted to kiss her then. She doubted his intentions had ever been honorable.
    She began to regret their recent kiss and the message it might have sent him. Her body provided
    distraction. "I'm afraid
    I need to relieve myself, Captain."
    It wiped away his lazy smile. "We've no chamber pot."
    "I never supposed you had. I'm used to using the latrine."
    "It's outside."
    "So I would think."
    He laughed. "Not even the most gallant knight errant could solve this problem for you, could he?" He stood and held
    out his hand. "Can you walk?"
    "I think so." She put her hand in his strong one and was pulled to her feet. For a moment, she swayed, but then with
    the help of his arm she regained her balance. He wrapped her heavy cloak around her, then helped her over to the
    door that led into the ruined half of the building.
    He turned away while she used the crude latrine, and only turned back when she touched him.
    "All right?"
    "Yes."
    He wrapped an arm around her and she discovered that his shoulder was perfectly positioned for her head when standing up, too. His strong hand rubbed at her back, making her almost want to purr.
    He spoke softly, almost to himself. "These things come upon us at the most damnable moments."
    Before she could ask what he meant, he led her back into the warm room and settled her on the bed. Of course he'd meant that she'd summoned his desire at a time when he couldn't assuage it.
    Without asking permission, he lay close beside her and gathered her into his arms. He was so big and warm that her instinct to resist melted in a moment and she drifted back into sleep.
    She awoke alone on her bed to noises, misty morning light, and a deep weariness. Then she remembered her baby and turned to him.
    He was gone.
    So was the captain!
    She ripped back the curtain and met the startled eyes of the soldiers all involved in packing their possessions. Clutching her blanket closer around herself, she desperately searched for her child.
    She almost screamed. He was in the hands of a haggard dirty creature who was baring huge yellow teeth at him. But then she came to her senses. It was amiable Peabody, who couldn't help having teeth the size and color of a horse's.
    The door swept open and Kate huddled further in her blanket as cool air blasted her. The door slammed shut. The captain had returned. In his red braided jacket and tall black boots he once more seemed the charismatic man she'd always found fascinating. And rather daunting.

    Had they really kissed in the night? Had he confessed to having always wanted to kiss her?
    She never would have guessed, particularly from the cool, assessing glance he flicked over her now.
    Whatever they had been to each other in the night, she was now a problem to be dealt with.
    Belatedly, she realized that the weather outside, though chilly, had been clear and sunny. Traveling weather if she was up to it. She had to be up to it. Assessing herself, she felt stiffness and some tenderness between her legs, but no particular aches and pains. She'd probably tire easily, but she could try to walk back to camp.
    Perhaps she looked afraid, for the captain's expression changed. He grinned for her in