It's always great to have a book released for publication. So at the end of this chapter, everyone can read about my newest romance out at Red Sage Publishing.
(Click the title to go back to Chapter One)
by Brenda Williamson
(A Free Read ~ A Work in Progress)
Copyright 2010
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Chapter Six
Valentina leaned against the solid mahogany door for support. Regrets ran deep. After having sent Mary down to the stable with an invitation for the stranger to stay in the house, she rethought the idea. They had no visitors for a reason. If her mother warned her once, she warned her a thousand times to be wary of strangers. She was never to let anyone come close enough to learn the secrets of her existence.
Upset by her rashness, she moved toward the staircase. She’d just stay in her room until he left. It worked with other uninvited guests over the years. Though, they were at the house briefly—not overnight. No, she had to take up the role her mother left. As the lady of the manor, she had to show the gentlemen gracious hospitality. She just wished she knew his real reason for trudging up hill to her house, when farther down the road he would have come upon an easier place to stable his lame horse.
She went up the stairs to her room. She had to believe she could be on her best behavior, and she needed a distraction from her grief. What was a little nervousness?
After removing her clothing, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. The worse of her concerns lay in the way she felt when she had been near him. Even now, thinking about him made her incisors lengthened. She lay down on the bed as the pulsating primal flow of blood remained fresh in her body. Dampness trickled in droplets down the inside of her thighs. Bloodlust was never so strong as that of the desires of another nature.
Instinctively, she turned her head at the sound outside her door.
“Miss Valentina,” Mary called.
“Yes?” She sat up.
“I told Harold to tell the gentleman to come up to the house.”
“Thank you. When he arrives, show him to the dining room and serve him lunch. I will be down shortly.”
“Very good, Miss.”
Valentina’s heart raced with energy. She dropped back on the bed and fingered her fangs. She had feasted on the boar and satisfied one hunger. But what of her other desires?
***
Nathan rose from his chair at the dinning room table. Women generally wore enough clothing that finding them under the layers was a task. The young lady that entered the room wore no corset, no bustle, not even a shawl. The fabric of the green dress hugged her slender shape as if it were another layer of skin—as if she preferred nakedness to clothing. One focal point stood out—her breasts. The prominent pebbling of her nipples gave him an immediate excruciating ache in his lower region. He shifted uncomfortably on his seat. The swells of flesh of her greatly endowed best feature crested the dark fabric as if hinting at a forthcoming seduction.
“Good day,” she greeted with a breathy tone. “I’m Valentina Wells.”
“Nathan Hawks.” He resisted the urge to massage a throbbing part of him that jutted with excitement.
“Please forgive my abruptness earlier. My mother died last night.” Miss Wells explained.
“I’m sorry for your loss.” He watched her lower into a chair at the far end of the table.
“Please, sit, Mr. Hawks.”
The space between them could have seated another ten people—five on the right and five on the left. Once she sat, he did so too with delicacy to his stiffened condition.
The housekeeper, Mary came through a door. She carried in a plate and placed it in front of him. From her expression, she regarded his presence with suspicion. He suspected strangers were uncommon. By reflection of the poor upkeep to their grounds, the lack of modernization to their home, and the neglect in fashion, it appeared they were not so financially stable. A social maven would never be so behind in the times if she could afford it.
“Miss, do you wish anything?” the housekeeper asked.
“No thank you,” Miss Wells answered, her gaze never shifting from her inspection of the centerpiece on the table.
Mary shook her head and walked away.
“It’s a magnificent house you have,” Nathan commented, letting his gaze stray from her to wander over the portraits and porcelain figurines decorating the room.
“Thank you, please, do eat. I’m sure Mary has done her best in the kitchen.”
“The food looks superb.” He wished her closer.
Then, as if she read his thoughts, she stood.
He rose from his chair.
It appeared curiosity overcame her appearance of timidity and she gracefully glided toward him. The lines of her figure grew more evident as she neared. The thin fabric fit her curves shamefully close. He clenched his fist, digging his fingers in his palms as an image flashed in his head of her undressing.
“I do think it easier to talk if I sat here.” Her voice purred with a polite, yet unhidden excitement.
She touched the chair closest to him at the side of the table. He moved to pull it out for her.
“You’re not having anything to eat?” he asked.
She lowered to the seat as he pushed the chair into place.
“No, I had a late breakfast, but please don’t let me keep you from your meal.” She waved her hand toward his plate. Slim, pale fingers stretched as she gestured toward the food he had not given much notice. The movement had a refined elegance, displaying her genteel upbringing. The scent of roses surrounded her. He inhaled the sweet, alluring fragrance.
Errant hunger pangs caused his stomach to growl. It didn’t mean the taste of Miss Wells’ pale honeyed lips wouldn’t sate his inclination for food.
When a long strand of her dark unbound hair slipped from her shoulder and landed on the table, he reached out and touched the black-as-night tendril. She pretended not to notice his brazen inspection. Only the sudden sharp breath she took gave away her surprise.
He leaned his arm on the table. He continued to finger the silky lock, as if it was the magical spell keeping Miss Wells’ gaze on him. His mind drifted. Without combs or ribbons there would be nothing restricting the thrust of his fingers into the curls, drawing her face close to his.
He sifted through the reasons why he shouldn’t kiss her. She’d shriek like a banshee and throw him out. On the other hand, what if he ignored the social etiquette of good behavior? She lived alone with a couple of elderly servants. The risk seemed minimal against the benefits of having her submit to his every lustful request.
From the rising glow tinting her cheeks to the steady increase in her breathing, she expressed an excitement almost akin to his. It made him wonder, was she really a virginal recluse or a scarlet woman hiding on a big estate. Maybe entertaining men with the pleasures of her body wasn’t a farfetched scenario. She had him debating how strong his willpower was against bedding the ravishing and outwardly teasing beauty.
Suddenly, she leapt out of her chair. The bottom of the legs scraped the wood floor, groaning in protest to her sudden move.
“Please, excuse me,” she whispered, and fled the room in a hasty retreat that left him speechless.
The idea Miss Wells knew his thoughts gave him an unsettling feeling.
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NEW RELEASE!
by Brenda Williamson
ISBN: 9781603105590
Red Sage Publishing
Real Estate agent Randi Brown works the rich crowd, selling high-priced homes. With her parents dead it’s up to her to financially support two teenage siblings and she wants to spread her wings by negotiating a billion dollar land deal. Only the landowner, a business mogul no one has seen in years isn’t interested in selling his mountain to a development corporation, and Randi sets out to change his mind any way possible, even if that means sleeping with the reclusive billionaire.
After two years, since his wife’s brutal murder, Nicholas "Nick" Wolfe prefers to mourn her than get involved in business. So he lives cut off from society on Wolfe Mountain. Through his attorney, he’s offered billions, but no one knows to what extent the value of the land is more than the inhabitants—the Lycans, human wolf-like animal shifters.
When Randi shows up on the mountain one rainy night, Nick tires to fight the desires of the wolf in him to take a mate. Unfortunately, nature has made it impossible to resist the animalistic urges strengthened by the influence of a full moon and the power of lust in this woman’s eyes. Can love know no bounds?
Randi has no idea of where this torrid affair can lead until she learns the gruesome details of a woman’s murder by a creature not quite human. Then she becomes the next target and she discovers how falling in love can lead to a fatal attack from a Lycan.
Brenda
Christmas, Christmas time is here! Time for joy and time for cheer…
