Wild Passion by Lori Brighton Read Free Book Online Page B

ache.
Apparently she wasn’t dead. “What…what happened?” she asked.
    “Thank God,” Bea whispered, her amber eyes swimming
with tears.
    Colin looked at Bea. “Take care of her.” He jumped to
his feet and turned. That’s when she saw James on the ground,
hunching over her uncle. Emery was still, his eyes closed, but that
didn’t stop James from slamming his fist into the man’s face.
    Colin settled his hand on James’ shoulder. “It’s
over.”
    But James didn’t pay attention, he lifted his arm and
slammed his fist into Emery’s face again and again. The man’s nose
was bent at an odd angle, blood trailing from his mouth and pooling
to the floor. His eyes closed, his body limp. Horrified, Adelaide
gasped. James couldn’t kill a man, at least not in a church! What
little soul he had would be destroyed. Adelaide stumbled toward
him.
    “James! Stop!” She dropped to her knees, resting her
hand on his trembling shoulder.
    James froze and jerked his head toward her. His gaze
was haunted, his breathing harsh. He wasn’t that confident,
smirking man she had come to know. The look on his face did
something to her, warmed her insides in a bizarre way she’d never
experienced.
    “I thought…I thought he had killed you.”
    Adelaide smiled. Happiness and relief combined,
sending tears to her eyes. He cared. “No. I’m quite alive.”
    He surged forward, wrapping his steel arms around her
and holding her tight. So tight, she could barely breathe. Yet, she
didn’t push him away. She didn’t care that she hardly knew this
man. She didn’t care that touching him was completely
inappropriate. For one moment she snuggled into his hard chest,
reveling in the comfort of his scent. She wanted to sink into
James. She wanted him to hold her close, and never release her.
    “Don’t cry,” he whispered, pressing his lips to hers.
She breathed in his scent, felt every inch of his body, felt the
very heat of his form. “He’ll never hurt you again.”
    And she believed him.
    “James, Adelaide,” Bea said softly. “We must go.”
    Colin gripped Adelaide’s arm and pulled her away from
James. She had to resist the urge to reach for the man. She felt
empty, alone without him.
    “We must leave before the constables find us.”
    Adelaide and James stood staring at each other for
one long moment. Even when a door opened and they heard the shout
of a priest, horrified by what he saw, still they stood there,
unable to move for the emotion that held them captive.
    “I…can’t,” James said softly.
    She knew, somehow, knew he was going to say that. It
didn’t make his words any less hurtful. He was leaving her.
Abandoning her. She shouldn’t have been surprised. Merde, she felt like her heart had broken and crumbled to the floor.
    “It’s best,” he insisted. “If we split up. His
friends will be looking for me and I won’t endanger you any longer.
Colin can protect you.”
    Perhaps what he said was true. Or, perhaps he was
like her father and more interested in chasing after treasure than
knowing real love. How would she ever truly know?
    She turned away from James. “Let’s go,” she whispered
to Colin.
    She started forward, toward the large doors. A warm,
strong hand gripped her wrist and jerked her around. Firm lips met
hers. James kissed her there in the church, in front of her
brother, the priest running down the aisle, in front of God. Not
just a kiss, a thorough kiss that left her clinging to the man.
    When he pulled back, there was a fierce determination
upon his face that sent shivers over her skin. “I will find
you.”
    James let go, but the heat of his touch remained.
Before she could respond, he turned and disappeared behind a
column, leaving Adelaide to wonder if she would ever see him
again.
     

Chapter 6
     
    “How is your mother, dear?”
    Adelaide folded the note and glanced up at Ella. Her
half-sister’s blonde hair was combed neatly into place, a smile
upon her lips. The perfect