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Chapter 132

Author: Lauren Smith
last update Last Updated: 2022-06-15 14:08:33
Rosalind had the most peculiar dream.

She was lying in bed with a man, held close against his long, lean muscled body, his warm breath stirring her hair as he breathed deep and slow. It was a strange and wondrous feeling to lie so close to a man she'd been battling in business for months and feel so protected.

Her husband had always kept a separate chamber for sleeping and only visited her bed once a week; then after a sweet kiss goodnight, he'd leave her to sleep alone. It was an older custom, one more suited to noble classes, but she understood that Henry wished to let her have her privacy when they weren't together. It had been sweet, but then again, Henry had been a wonderful man. A safe harbor from the storms of her past.

But thisthis was a lovely dream. She'd heard Emily and her friends speak about the joys of sleeping so close to a man for the entire night.

I mustn't let such stories fill my mind before sleep.

Sure enough, when she opened her eyes, there was no man beside h
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  • The League of Rogues   Chapter 133

    Lord, I can't let him kiss me again. I seem to lose all good sense when I do.Rosalind stepped back from Ashton and attempted to start a conversation."It is kind of you to let the tenants stay here." She hadn't told him that before, but she'd wanted to.He stared at her intently. "I'm not a brute, Rosalind." She had the impression he was attempting to convey something about how he intended to deal with her."Are you a mind reader as well?" She kept her tone light, doing her best to tease him back. Outside of her brothers, teasing remarks had always gotten her ears soundly boxed.His lips twitched again. "A mind reader?"Rosalind had the sudden desire to see him smile more fully. "Ashton, you are far too serious. Why don't you smile more often?"He curled an arm around her waist and guided her into a room on the right of the hall. She peered around curiously at the room, taking in walnut wood bookshelves brimming with everything from books containing folded maps of the world to

    Last Updated : 2022-06-15
  • The League of Rogues   Chapter 134

    "You're serious about this marriage business?" Charles asked as he, Jonathan and Ashton lifted yet another charred beam away from the foundations where the Higgins farmhouse had once been. They set the beam in the back of a large cart. Several other men from the village and surrounding lands were busy assisting in the clearing away of the destroyed houses."Yes, I am." Ashton paused to wipe his sleeve across his brow. It was too damned hot for this sort of work. If anything, he should be supervising the others. It was not fitting for a man of his station to perform manual labor, but he could not sit idly by, not when he was flooded with frustrated sexual energy. If he couldn't take Rosalind to bed, he needed to use that pent-up passion for something productive."But why?" Charles repeated. "I thought you swore off marriage.""It's complicated, Charles. Mother is pushing me to marry for Joanna's sake, and I am tired of fighting her. If she believes Rosalind and I are courting, it wil

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  • The League of Rogues   Chapter 135

    Mr. Pevensly took pride in being Lady Melbourne's butler and seeing to the duties which helped him care for Her Ladyship's residence. Holding his head high, he descended the stairs, white gloves running the length of the banister. When he reached the bottom stair he lifted his gloved fingers, examining them for dust. They came away clean. With a satisfied smile, he proceeded through the rest of the house, checking on each room. The last door he came to before he was to join the staff downstairs for supper was Her Ladyship's study.Pevensly opened the door and glanced inside, assuming all would be in order. But before he closed the door a breeze drifted through the room from an open window facing the mew below. Papers on the desk rustled, and the curtains slowly lifted and fell.Frowning, Pevensly walked over to the window and slid it shut. A maid must have left it open, for what purpose he could not fathom, but he would speak to the maids and remind them not to leave open windows in

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  • The League of Rogues   Chapter 136

    Lord Pembroke was as good as his word. By the time the waltz had ended, with Pembroke pressing himself as close to Rosalind as he could for every turn, Ashton had pushed away from his wall and was stalking toward her, eyes blazing. But before he could speak to her, Rafe slipped in between them."Sorry, brother, but I am next." Rafe flashed a wolfish smile at his brother.Ashton attempted to take Rosalind's other hand to pull her away. "Surely you should not be dancing after your fall.""Nonsense," Rafe replied. "I've been resting too long. Some activity will do me good."Rosalind bit her lip to hide a smug smile as she walked past Ashton to follow Rafe out onto the dance floor. "I'm sorry you shan't have what you desire, Lord Lennox."Ashton visibly clenched his fists.Rafe glanced at his brother with a chuckle. "So, Lady Melbourne, tell me, are you going to marry my brother? The talk of the house is that you will, which makes little sense to me. I noticed a tension between you t

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  • The League of Rogues   Chapter 137

    This night was hell on Ashton's control.Watching Rosalind, his Rosalind, going around the dance floor from one man to the nextit was going to kill him. Every time someone touched her hand or made her smile, he flinched."Two more dances. That's all I have to endure." He forced his attention to the rest of the room. His mother was laughing as she huddled in a corner with the other married ladies. A dozen or so ostrich plumes bounced as the ladies bent their heads to gossip. It was his mother's element: the social scene.She was the daughter of an earl, one with a vast fortune, and despite having had her pick of eligible bachelors had married his father out of foolish notions of love. His father's decline had hurt his mother by association. It was only in the last few years that she had entered back into society.He'd helped arrange that, of course, using the fortune he'd built for their family to buy their way back in with wealth and influence. Not that his mother had any notion of

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  • The League of Rogues   Chapter 138

    Rosalind clutched her shawl tightly about her shoulders as Ashton offered to lift her down from the coach."Come on, darling," he teased. "Don't be frightened.""I'm not." She held out her hand, but he stepped closer and caught her waist, lifting her down. Beyond him the lights of the house bathed the front lawn in a soft golden hue, a lovely contrast to the heavy darkness of the midnight hour."I'll have a footman bring us a bottle of wine. By the looks of it, we'll need it." He was chuckling as he helped her up the steps. The butler opened the door for them, and Ashton took him aside to speak to him while a footman collected her shawl."Ready?" Ashton asked as he returned to her."With you I doubt I'll ever be truly ready," she said as Ashton led her up the grand stairs. Risking her future on a game of chess? It was madness, but it was a risk worth taking if she could free herself from Lennox's manipulative agenda, and it was not much of a risk at that, if Rafe was to be believe

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  • The League of Rogues   Chapter 139

    Her dressRosalind suppressed a shiver as Ashton stood behind her, his warm breath fanning across her neck. Once she removed her dress, they would both be completely indecent.Exposed.Ashton's hands moved to the laces of her gown, and he began to pull the threads out. His touch made her jump."What about my slippers?"His lips twitched and a devilish gleam settled in his eyes. "I don't want your slippers.""This is entirely unfair.""Steady on, darling." His chuckle was bedroom soft and deliciously dark."Just take it off," she muttered, her temper sparking.His fingertips stroked her bare shoulders, teasing patterns over her all-too-sensitive skin."And ruin the delight of the moment? Not a chance." The heat from his body enveloped her from behind, and she fought the part of her that wanted this infuriating, seductive man.The movements of his hands were slow and methodical. The fabric gaped slightly when he'd undone all the laces. She clutched her hands at her sides as he

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  • The League of Rogues   Chapter 140

    Ashton stood on the steps of the Sheridan townhouse on Curzon Street and tried to quell the sudden bout of nerves in his stomach. He'd risen well before dawn at his estate and slipped out of bed, pressing a light kiss to Rosalind's lips before leaving. It had taken two hours of hard riding to reach London, and his horse was lathered and exhausted. But it was important that he arrive in time to catch Cedric before he left his house for the day. He and Anne were likely to be selecting new mares at Tattersall's this afternoon.For the mission he had this morning, he only trusted Cedric. Today he was acquiring a special license to marry Rosalind. In the past, he'd always been the one to accompany the others to the Doctors' Commons, but it was strange to think today was his turn.He couldn't ask Godric or Lucien. They had married for love alone and would challenge him for marrying Rosalind for mercenary reasons. He could, perhaps, admit that he was marrying her because he wanted to, becau

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  • The League of Rogues   Chapter 311

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  • The League of Rogues   Chapter 306

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  • The League of Rogues   Chapter 305

    Ella followed Mr. Boucher through the house as he escorted her to her chambers for the night. Most of the furniture was covered in cloth to protect from sunlight and dust. Many of the tall paned windows throughout the house were shuttered, effectively sealing off the rooms from light and life. This beautiful house had been emptied of people. Closed off, just like its master.They passed into one of the few more well-lit rooms, a long hall with paintings of fine-faced men and women. She glanced up at more than one of the portraits, seeing Phillip's eyes or chin, even his nose in several of the ancestors upon the walls."Mr. Boucher.""Yes, Lady Ella?""Is he in much pain?" She was perhaps indelicate to inquire about Phillip's injuries in such a way, but she needed answers.Boucher paused to look at her in the moonlight. Whatever he seemed to be looking for he must have found."Yes. In the beginning, he couldn't walk. He lay in bed for several weeks, only moving with the aid of oth

  • The League of Rogues   Chapter 304

    Phillip sat in the faded armchair in his study, staring into the crackling fire in the fireplace. His left leg ached, especially during the damp winter months. He rubbed his thigh, squeezing the muscles, and then farther down to his shin and calf. The muscles were still weak from the lack of use. But it hurt too much to walk, so he did so only when necessary.A sound from the hall below caught his attention. Voices. Who the devil could Boucher be talking to? They'd reduced the staff over the last year, mainly because he had shut up most of the house since he remained close to his bedchamber and never entertained. He sat up a little in his chair, listening to the sounds of a woman. The pair of maids he still employed were likely on the first floor of the house at the farthest end where the other bedchambers were or in the kitchens."Boucher?" he called out, but his voice was hoarse since he hadn't used it in what felt like days. He hadn't had occasion to see anyone or truly talk to an

  • The League of Rogues   Chapter 303

    One year later"If I have to listen to one more man explain to me that business and politics are not things to concern myself with," Ella growled over the rim of her teacup."It is most frustrating," her friend, Audrey St. Laurent, agreed. "I often say some men need a good whack to the heador between their legs, depending on the man."Ella snickered but then sighed as her mood deflated again."What's truly bothering you?" Audrey inquired.Ella glanced about Audrey's morning room, seeking a distraction from her mortification, but they were alone. A fire crackled in the hearth, and sunlight glinted off the snow outside. It was a perfectly lovely day, which made her black mood all the worse."At one and twenty, it seems I'm now to attract the worst sort of men. I was at Lady Hearst's ball last evening, and every single man I danced with lectured me about how fortunate I was to even be dancing at my age. To make it worse, the younger ladies have taken offense at my being there. More

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