One wretchedly long month. She couldn't stand it. But she would have to—unless she stowed away on his vessel, and even she was never so bold. Though her family would disagree, especially if they knew the extent of her involvement with Samuel Bennett. She smiled, feeling a shiver of anticipation as she approached the rooming house on Bowdoin Square.
Knowing Claire's docile horse would stand for hours without fussing, Rose left the carriage pulled up close to the sidewalk and darted up the short flight of stone steps to the main door. She drew her hood more tightly around her face as she approached the three-story brick building. Glancing up to the second floor, the first window on the left, she then let herself into the foyer. A lamp was lit, a telephone sat on the hall table alongside a pile of mail. She hurried up the stairs and rapped softly on the door. Instantly, it was wrenched open, and Rose found herself nearly splayed across the threshold. Instead, she fell into Sam's arms.
"My Rose," he murmured against the top of her head, his lips on her dark hair. She loved the way her name sounded when he said it with his slight Maine accent.
With her face against his chest, she breathed in the brisk ocean scent of him that somehow clung deliciously to his skin and his clothes.
"I don't like you coming out so late," he said. "You should have let me come to your house."
What a dear man he was for worrying over her.
"You know you can't do that," she told him, looking up into his beloved face.
He took a deep breath and released her, walking to the window and turning his back on her.
"How long do you plan to keep our love a secret?" he asked looking out into the dusky evening, lit by the flickering gas lamps that dotted her neighborhood. He folded his strong arms over his chest.
Rose sighed. She didn't want to have this conversation with him again, not tonight, not when he was leaving at dawn.
"Please, Sam, let's not discuss this now."
She ventured closer, eventually wrapping her arms around his trim waist and pressing herself against his solid back, though she only came up to the middle of it.
She could feel his tenseness in all the lean muscles of his body, but the longer she nestled against him, the more relaxed he became. His breathing steadied. At last, he turned in her embrace.
"We'll have to settle this sometime. We can't hide forever, Rose. And your family will have to accept me."
Or would they? Rose knew there would be a confrontation, which she hated. She imagined the repercussions and stern discussions. Lastly, there would be disapproval. She couldn't stand to think of the look on her mother's and brother's faces as they learned of her decision, one they would consider rash and ruinous. And of course, they would be crushed by her deception.
"I'm your husband," he said, running his hands down her back and pulling her even closer. "And there's not a bloody thing they can do about it."
She shivered at his seductive touch, but felt a frisson of fear, as well. Her brother was renowned for his legal mind. Oh, she had no doubt there was something he could do about it. Especially as they hadn't yet consummated their marriage.
As if reading her mind, Sam bent low and kissed her, sweeping his tongue into her mouth without preamble, stealing her breath and her senses as he always had. She felt his hand leave her back and come between them to slip inside her coat. His fingers brushed across her blouse to tease her breast beneath.
As usual, she wanted him desperately. And as usual, she denied them both.
An Inconceivable Deception
by
Sydney Jane Baily
~
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Sydney Jane Baily completed her first novel at the tender age of 17. Thankfully, that manuscript currently resides in an undisclosed secure location. She went on to get B.A. degrees in English literature and in history, and an M.A. in literature with a concentration in Romanticism.
During her career while continuing to write stories, she has been a copy editor, cat snuggler, proof reader, production editor, mother of two, developmental editor, indexer, website developer, and dog walker, among other things literary and not. Besides writing historical romances, she also writes contemporary women's fiction, and believes in happily-ever-after stories for an already challenging world.
Born and raised in California, she now resides in New England with her family—human, feline, and canine.
Sydney welcomes email from fellow writers and readers at [email protected].
To learn more about the author, you can visit her at:
www.SydneyJaneBaily.com
www.facebook.com/authorsjbaily
www.facebook.com/sydney.jane.baily.
@sydneyjanebaily
Table of Contents
Cover
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Excerpt from AN INCONCEIVABLE DECEPTION (The Defiant Hearts Series, Book 4)
Meet the Author
An Inescapable Attraction Page 32
