She opened her eyes to stare dumbfounded into his face. “What do you mean, she ran away?”
“They found her a week later.” He paused.
She waited; her breath lodged like granite boulders in her throat.
“Investigators believe that in her hurry to escape justice, her carriage overturned. She was pinned beneath and crushed to death, her pretty hair and face were soaked in mud and fetid ditch water.”
Haven gasped. “Oh my God.That’show she died. Oh, Logan. I’m so sorry.”
After a long period of silence and steady breathing, she lifted her head and smiled. He’d fallen asleep again, curled into her,his long, thickly muscled thigh laying over hers, his well-toned and strong arm draped possessively over her breasts, his head nuzzled into the crook of her neck. She could lay there forever, warm, well pleasured, and in the embrace of someone with whom she felt adored, protected...loved?
She knew their little bubble of unbelievable intimacy would burst with the first stirrings of the household, so she peeled away from his side, and began the annoying but necessary task of dressing.
She turned to murmur her goodbyes to her slumbering lover, and caught sight of him lying on his back. Her heart heaved from her chest.
His tight, muscular arms were stretched over his head. He was relaxed and still drop-dead gorgeous in his sleep. He looked like every woman’s fantasy come to life, and she’d just spent the best night of her life with him.
Tiptoeing to the edge of the bed, she leaned over and kissed the tip of his nose. He stirred only enough to let the sheet hovering over his chest slide to the juncture of hard muscle right above his groin. Dear Heaven, even in sleep he was a tease.
What am I going to do with this man?
Choking back a wave of emotion, she fought the urge to lie down beside him again. It felt right to lie next to him, beneath the weight and strength of his body. If she allowed herself to care for the stuffy, duty-boundduke, she’d still have a protective wall around her heart. But if she allowed herself to care for the vulnerable, yet deeply honorablemanwho’d known betrayal and tragedy, she’d be lost.
Shattered.
Never to be whole again.
Sighing deeply, she walked to the door, turned the lock, and pushed down on the latch. After checking to make sure Loganhadn’t woken, she slipped from the room, pulling the door shut behind her.
She leaned back against the wall, her mind racing.
Sure, she could walk away and close the door on him and the events of the past evening, but she didn’t know if she’d have the strength to shut the door again. Forever. Not when everything she ever wanted was on the other side.
The next morning,Millie informed Haven they’d be taking lunch with Lady Bleydon at her home. Haven was filled with a mix of emotions: anxiety, excitement, fear, and a heaping helping of depression as she continued to mull over what Perez had said to her. It gave her pause, made her angry, sad, and more determined than ever to get home. She had to prove him wrong—her life in 2025 was just getting good. The idea of living the rest of her life in 1817 wasn’t even an option.
Right?
The mind-altering sex she’d had with Logan shouldn’t be the only reason to stay there. Yes, the sex was explosive, but what if, to him, all they had was sex? That wasn’t enough to keep a relationship together. Even if she did have feelings for him, which were scary enough, she was sick and tired of being the only one in the relationship who’d invested more than their genitals. What would happen if the blazingly good sex fizzled? She couldn’t give up her life in 2025 to be a Regency booty call.
Could she?
Her still deliciously sore body said,hell yes!But her brain and her experiences with men said,you’ve lost your damn mind.Her heart? Well, it still beat erratically from the orgasms.It didn’t have the energy to weigh in, but she knew it would side with her body in a second. It terrified her. She wanted to keep her heart out of it so when Perez finally sent her home, it wouldn’t hurt when the time tunnel closed, effectively sealing away 1817, leaving Logan and a piece of her soul behind her.
It all seemed straight forward, but when she dwelled on what she’d experienced yesterday, the amazing sex and blissful intimate hours afterward, the teasing, the laughter, and the open and vulnerable duke, she wondered if a life with him was possible.
Could she forget about everything she left behind, and build arealfuture with him?
Despite the petrifying uncertainty, and her total lack of breeding or knowledge of how to live in Regency England, she wanted to believe she could be happy with him.
As the carriage rolled to a stop outside the large, white stone mansion, she craned her neck to take it in. It was a square building, lovingly hugged by long, branching ivy adorned with vivid orange and purple blooms. Before anyone could move for the carriage door, two well-dressed men emerged from a set of large, dark-wood double doors. The footmen had the carriage steps down, the door open, and the women safely on the ground in the blink of an eye.
She gasped.
With an unobstructed view, the building looked square from the driveway, but in truth, it had two wings flaring out from the main block of the house, each one in an opposite direction. Verdant green lawns, well-kept gardens, and plants in full bloom surrounded the enormous mansion. The estate could easily be the backdrop of a popular BBC drama.
According to Millie, Hughgate Hall was built in the late 1600s, but had undergone extensive renovations over the lasttwo decades. Fires and age had damaged several of the rooms in the east wing, but the entire structure looked brand new.
After following Millie up the grand stone stairs to the front doors, Haven hesitated in the entranceway.
