Night in Eden by Candice Proctor Read Free Book Online Page A

back in the long grass that grew between the rocks near the cliff face. Bryony could see the woman's white, naked buttocks undulating in rhythm with the rise and thrust of Oliver's hips. He had one hand beneath her bunched skirts, playing with her, while with the other hand he tugged at the lace-trimmed edge of her bodice, pulling it down until her generous breast spilled out into his palm.
    "Ah, you do know how to touch a girl, Mr. Oliver," Flory moaned. Licking her lips, she tipped her head back...
    And screamed.
    "Get away from him!" Bryony grabbed a handful of red curls and yanked hard. "How dare you? How dare you?"
    Yowling like a cat with a singed tail, Flory Dickens scooted back against one of the boulders and cowered with her arms wrapped protectively about her head.
    Oliver rose to his knees in the grass and quickly hitched his pants up over his bare hips. "Bryony." He scrambled to his feet with his flap only half done up. "I can explain."
    "Explain?" Bryony stared at him, her breath coming in short, angry huffs. For a moment she thought she might be sick.
    He brushed an errant guinea-gold curl off his forehead and grinned at her sheepishly. It was a look that had melted the heart of every female Oliver Wentworth had ever encountered, from the doting nurse that rocked his cradle, to the old cook-housekeeper Bryony wouldn't let him replace. "Bryony," he said again, his voice low as he stepped forward to gaze down at her with sparkling gray eyes that always held just the right mix of sincerity and devilment. "Flory means nothing to me. You know that. You know how much I love you. But a man has needs, Bryony, and since you've been increasing—"
    Bryony felt something break inside her, something that hurt. "I have never turned you away, Oliver," she said, her voice an agonized whisper. "Never."
    He laid his palm, gently, against her cheek. "Bryony, you know how it was when you were carrying Madeline. When there's a baby in there, it just doesn't seem... decent."
    "Are you saying the fact I'm with child again justifies this?" Her voice broke as she swept her hand toward Flory Dickens, who still crouched against the boulder and wailed.
    He moved as if to take her in his arms. "Bryony—"
    "Stay away from me." She whipped around and went to stand on the cliff's edge and gaze out over the rolling sea. The waves were running high and rough, as if a storm were blowing up. The water churned and thundered around the rocks below, restless and dark and dangerous. It called to something deep within her, something ancient and wild and sad. She choked back a sob until she thought it might strangle her.
    The wailing from the cottager's wife ceased, and Bryony thought with relief that Flory Dickens must have finally taken herself off. She dashed an escaped tear from her cheek with the heel of her hand and turned back to confront her husband.
    And found him helping Flory Dickens to her feet.
    Rage, hot and bright and all-consuming, flamed within her. "Stay away from that woman!" Bryony threw herself at Oliver. "How dare you touch her?"
    Bryony's fists pounded his chest as he swung around to face her. For a moment he looked startled. Then he caught her flailing fists and laughed. Laughed.
    She jerked her hands from his grip and backed away, stumbling over a ring of stones that surrounded the remnants of a nearby, long-dead fire. She lost her balance and fell, landing with a jarring thump in the middle of the cold gray ashes. As she floundered about, trying to regain her footing, her hand knocked against a blackened length of wood. She seized it and brought it with her when she scrambled back up to her feet.
    Oliver was still grinning. She put all her weight behind the wood and swung it at him.
    The first blow hit him in the ribs. "Ow." He doubled over, holding his midriff. "Bloody hell, Bryony. That hurt!"
    "Does it, Oliver? I don't hear you laughing now." She swung again, catching him this time on the arm.
    "Bryony, don't." He jumped