Zehra couldn't help but laugh as Lawrence did his best to lay a blanket down on the soft cool grass. A light breeze kept flipping the fabric into uneven layers rather than behaving and lying flat on the ground."Here, let me." She grasped the other side of the blanket, and together they were able to get it down."Ah! There we are." Lawrence helped Zehra down beside him. Once seated, he opened the wicker basket he'd had his kitchen prepare. She took the opportunity to watch him as he pulled the food out of the basket and placed it on the blanket. He was kneeling next to her, and she admired his strong thighs, outlined by the tightness of his trousers in his current position.Zehra was fascinated by the way his dark hair caught the sunlight on the hill. Golden amber glinted and sparkled in the strands. She'd never seen a man with such hair color. Now that the shock of what she'd been through had finally begun to fade, she was starting to pay more attention to the unusual aspects of hi
Lawrence looked up in surprise as he heard Zehra climb out of the bath behind the screen. She hadn't been in there very long and he worried the water had cooled too fast."Was it hot enough?" he asked."Oh yes. I didn't need to stay in very long." Zehra came around the changing screen into view, a blanket wrapped tight around her body. She came toward him on dainty bare feet, clutching the edges of the blanket around her shoulders. He caught a glimpse of her bare skin as she moved, and his body turned taut with arousal.She deserves a gentleman, not a rogue. He forced himself to stay where he was. The old Lawrence would have been on his feet in an instant, sliding that blanket off her, determined to get her on her back on the nearest comfortable surface. But he wanted to be a better man for this woman. When he took Zehra to bed, he wished for it to mean something for both of them. It would be about more than simple pleasure, even if it was doomed not to last. He swallowed hard, his
Zehra's heart hammered as Lawrence removed his trousers. The man was beautiful, every muscle defined far more than she'd ever expected; every part of him was toned. His skin was paler than hers, and she couldn't help but imagine how it would look to see the two of them pressed together, skin to skin. She had decided to seduce him, afraid he would never make the move if she did not, yet she hadn't realized just how excited and afraid she would be. Fear now hummed at the edges of her consciousness, but it was overpowered by the intense excitement that rippled through her as her desire climbed higher and higher.He climbed up on the bed, fully exposed now, and she couldn't help but fixate on his erect shaft. No book she'd ever read had prepared her for this. A wave of panic subsided as he lay beside her, rather than on top of her. He cupped her face in his hand and kissed her, making her worries fade into nothing. He was a master of kissesno two were the same. Each one sent her pulse s
Lawrence leaned back against the closed door, pausing to reflect over what had just happened. He had made love to Zehra, and it had been Lord, it had been unlike anything he'd ever felt with any woman. He had been focused solely on her pleasure, showing her how intimacy between a man and woman should be. And yet she'd been the one to teach him things. Like how staring into her eyes as she came apart was like watching a sunset over a lake: brilliant blue water bathed in gold light. It consumed him, drowned him in its ecstasy. She'd been so open with herself that he hadn't been able to maintain his emotional distance as he did with past lovers. Being with her, even just holding her in his arms, made him want to tell her a thousand things and to ask her just as many questions. For the first time in his life, he was fascinated by someone in a way he couldn't get enough of. That was why he dragged himself away from the bednot for food, but to clear his head.I cannot let myself get att
Zehra slept for much of the coach ride back the following morning. Lawrence was to blame. He had spent all night making love to her. She had collapsed near dawn from sheer exhaustion. It was true, one could have too much of a good thing. She nuzzled his shoulder as the coach rolled to a stop."Are you awake?" His tender voice made her want to sigh and burrow deeper into his arms."If I say no, can you have the coachman take us back to Richmond?" she asked drowsily.Lawrence's laugh warmed her to her toes. "Don't tempt me, darling. I'd like that more than you, I'd wager. Why don't I take you straight to bed and let you rest?" He brushed the backs of his fingers over her cheek, and she smiled."That sounds nice, as long as you join me. No more separate rooms.""No more separate rooms," he agreed. For a moment they simply stared into one another's eyes, their faces close enough for a kiss. In that moment Zehra felt that she could have wanted nothing else in life, except to be with hi
Emily St. Laurent, the Duchess of Essex, sat in the drawing room of Lord Denbruck's townhouse in Mayfair, sipping tea. Beside her, Horatia and Audrey were also holding teacups. Lord Denbruck, an older man who still bore the vestiges of his handsome features, had been delighting the ladies with tales of his youth."My lord," Emily said at an appropriate lull in the conversation. "The portrait behind youmay I ask who that is?" She nodded politely at a beautiful woman with blonde hair painted in a green gown, leaning against a pillar covered with English ivy. The woman was Zehra's mother, Joan, she was sure of it. The resemblance in the eyes was uncanny. Even though Zehra was dark-haired and olive-skinned, there was no mistaking those eyes."That's my daughter, Joan." Lord Denbruck gave a world-weary sigh. "I have two other children, Elizabeth and Archibald. Joan was my eldest." He chuckled, though it held more sorrow than humor. "I swore never to have favorites, but damned if she wasn'
Avery met Zehra halfway across the ballroom and gripped her by the arm. She flinched, not from pain, but from the memory of the night the auctioneer had grabbed her the same way. Not as a person, but as a thing."Avery, you cannot do this!" Lawrence said, his tone full of fury and panic. "If you send her back, Zehra will face slavery again."Avery shook his head. "I assure you, the slavers are dealt with, both here and abroad. And I warned you this had to be done.""Yes, in a week," Lawrence fired back. "That time has still not passed. Why this sudden entrance? Were you not content to have this concluded peacefully? You required some grand show of force? Why?"Avery's face hardened. "Matters have changed, brother. The Persian ambassador has been informed about what happened at the White House, and in his outrage he has demanded a swift resolution to the affair. Somehow he learned that you were in possession of one of these women, and he insisted we take action immediately."Lawren
Lawrence stood at the back of the crowded assembly room, watching the most beautiful woman in the world descend the steps to the main dance floor. There was no sorrow in her eyes, no hint of the pain she'd endured. The man who had hunted her in London, Al-Zahrani, was at the bottom of the ocean after a sea battle with Ashton Lennox's merchant fleet. Zehra was safe. Now and forever."Miss Darzi!" Her name was announced by the master of ceremonies, and the crowd erupted in applause."Can you believe it? Denbruck's granddaughter?" a lady in front of him murmured to a friend. "She's a princess, you know.""Indeed. Persian royalty, they say," her companion replied. "True exotic beauty. No debutante this season will stand a chance against her. Thanks heavens my daughter is already married." "I heard she was sold into slavery but was rescued by a gentleman here in England!" the first woman whispered scandalously. Lawrence tensed, expecting to hear them condemn her.Her friend shuddered.