|
a5ba5e9
|
He was like a young tiger, all muscle and passion, and she wanted to ride him--not to tame the beast, but to feel for a small moment all of his vitality.
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
cd051d9
|
Darling," she said and caught his face between her hands, making him meet her eyes. He didn't want to. He didn't like the look in her eyes--a grim determination. "I love you," she whispered and his soul soared until she uttered her next words. "But I must leave you." "No." He clutched at her hips as if he were a child of three refusing to give up his toy sword. "No." "Yes," she replied." --
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
bc8a6e2
|
He immediately took her in his arms and cut off her stays. She didn't move. He shook her. "Artemis." Her head flopped back and forth limply. Makepeace laid a hand on his arm. "Your Grace." He ignored the other man. "Diana." "Your Grace, I'm sorry--" He swung back his arm and slapped her face, the sound echoing across the water. She choked. Immediately he flipped her so that her face was over the gunwale of the boat. She coughed and a great ..
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
a4a0a01
|
He inhaled and spoke without thinking, ignoring their audience. "What has happened?" "You know full well, Your Grace, for what--who--I fight." Her eyes were glittering and he couldn't believe it, but the evidence was clear. Tears. His goddess should never weep. He took her arm. "Artemis."
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
4f98086
|
This is my brother we're talking about, Maximus." "You'll take his part before mine?" Oh, he knew it was a mistake even before the words left his lips. Her shoulders squared. "If I must. We shared a womb. We're flesh and blood, tied together forever, both physically and spiritually. I love my brother." "As you don't me?" She stopped, her chemise in her hands before her. For a moment her shoulders slumped and then she raised her head. His go..
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
980f8a6
|
If I've never stepped outside the role that's been assigned to me since birth, I've never tested myself. I've been too afraid of others' opinions, I think. I've been a coward. If that woman needs me, why not help her--for her... and for me?
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
dc15a91
|
If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride. -Lady Georgina Maitland-
|
|
wish
george
harry
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
91d2042
|
It would be the height of idiocy for the Duke of Wakefield to pursue the cousin of the woman he wanted as wife. And yet, for the first time in his life, Maximus wanted to let the man rule him instead of the title.
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
1bd2f36
|
It was the sad state of the world that people judged others not by the best that they could be but by the worst thought in their own hearts
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
52bd0c3
|
He came for me. But the Vicar never got very far with what he intended. I was not raped." A sudden, rather awful thought assailed her. "You do believe me, don't you?" A wide grin spread across his handsome face. "Darlin', I don't believe in God, but I believe in ye." "Michael, that's blasphemy," she chided, even as she couldn't keep the corners of her own mouth from turning up. "No," he said, very serious now, "that's love. I hear ye, I ..
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
390a055
|
In that moment Apollo resolved that no matter how ridiculous their mating might be, he wasn't going to let her change her mind. She was his now--and if he had any say in the matter, she'd be his always.
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
5cb4ffb
|
Apollo widened his eyes, trying to look harmless--sadly, nearly impossible. He'd hit six feet at age fifteen and topped that by several inches in the fourteen years since. Add to that the width of his shoulders, his massive hands, and a face that his sister had once affectionately compared to a gargoyle's, and trying to appear harmless became something of a lost cause.
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
55b46a5
|
Then you've never been in love?" "Never." She nodded. "Nor have I." "A pity," he said, pursing his lips. "I wonder how it would feel? To be swept away by a grand passion? To give everything for only one person in the world?" Her lips curved wryly. "So idealistic for a rake. Really, you do spoil my prior understanding of what the word entailed." "This is my social face," he said lightly. "Don't confuse it with the animal beneath."
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
57e6e50
|
He was like a star in the night sky above and she but a sparrow. No matter how high she might try to fly, she'd never reach him.
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
65c4945
|
He doesn't deserve to die," she said. Tears pricked at her eyes. "Does anyone? Whether he deserves it or not is neither here nor there; it's simply his fate. You can no more change that than you can change the course of the stars."
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
81a2f70
|
If she'd been quizzed as to His Grace's eye color, she would've had to reply simply that they were dark. Which they were. Very dark, nearly black, but not quite. The Duke of Wakefield's eyes were a deep, rich brown, like coffee newly brewed, like walnut wood oiled and polished, like seal fur shining in the light, and even though they were rather lovely to look at, they were as cold as iron in winter. One touch and her very soul might freeze..
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
9e3b546
|
Her breath caught on the thought. Was he saying that a woman would put her hands--her mouth--there? Her bodice felt suddenly too tight as her breaths became faster. She didn't know where to look: at those long fingers massaging his own leg or his glinting, knowing green eyes. "And of course," he continued, "a woman can pleasure herself--with her hand--and a man..." His hand drifted up, straight to the top of his widely spread legs. He gripp..
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
b9f768c
|
Her nostrils flared as she inhaled. There was a musky scent in the air, salty and animal, and it made her clench her legs together. He grinned suddenly, his white teeth gritted together, as if he knew what he did to her. His fist was moving faster now, the deep red head of his cock appearing and disappearing between his fingers. It shone, fully revealed, and so big she bit her lip. "Now," he grunted. "Now, Eve, watch me. Are you watching me..
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
73898a2
|
Because I deserve more," she said. "I deserve a man who loves me above all else. I deserve a family and happiness." "Then go!" he growled. "Go off and find this mythical man and spread your legs for him if it'll give you what you want." She took two strides toward him and slapped him, quick and hard, and then her eyes widened as she realized what she'd done. "Oh, I'm sorry." He turned his face back to her slowly, almost lazily. "I'm not." A..
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
f6381e9
|
The sight of her was like a swift, cool wind through his frame, quickening his body, alerting all his senses, making him completely aware he was a male and she a female.
|
|
male
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
b97f3a3
|
Lily stopped dead in the doorway to her room and then took a step back. Apollo cocked his head. It'd been a very long day full of trepidation mixed with tediousness and he'd used up all his patience. "If you leave, I'll follow you out and we'll have this discussion in the hallway where everyone can hear." She scowled ferociously at him, but came all the way in the room and shut the door. "What do you want to talk about?" "Us." "There's noth..
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
8f4fb9f
|
Temperance Dews stood with quiet confidence, a respectable women who lived in the sewer that was St. Giles. Her eyes had widened at the sight of Lazarus, but she made no move to flee. Indeed, finding a strange man in her pathetic sitting room seemed not to frighten her at all. Interesting. "I am Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire," he said. "I know. What are you doing here?" He tilted his head, studying her. She knew him, yet did not recoil in ..
|
|
maiden-lane
historical-romance
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
12e44f1
|
Miss Greaves drifted behind them, silent as a wraith. He had the most persistent urge to turn and confront her--make her say something to him.
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
cb8ffc9
|
She moaned, long and low, wanting to arch, to thrash, to scream. Instead she opened her mouth and bit his shoulder, tasting salt. Tasting want. Then she gasped. "Please." "What do you want?" he whispered in her ear, an incubus, dark and alive and in her. "Tell me. What do you need?" "I..." Her mouth opened, wordless. "Tell me," his smoky voice curled around her. "You." He chuckled, dark and low."
|
|
passionate-love
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
68506c2
|
Edward got up from his desk, limped across to hers, and placed both hands, palms down, upon it. He leaned over until his eyes were only inches from her hazel ones. "I am not ashamed," he said very slowly. "I did not fall off my horse. I was not thrown from my horse. I wish to end this discussion. Is that amenable to you, Mrs. Wren?" Anna swallowed visibly, drawing his eyes to her throat. "Yes. Yes, that's quite amenable to me, Lord Swarting..
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
7adee75
|
If looks could kill, Lord d'Arque would be a writhing, bloody mess on the earl's pink marble floor. Well, this is interesting. She really ought to be contrite. Poor, darling Lord d'Arque hadn't done a thing besides act the rake he'd apparently been born. It wasn't his fault that she'd flirted outrageously with him, triggering his rakish instincts. But there was something terribly satisfying at seeing her husband mentally slaughter another m..
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
4909819
|
The peach gown she'd chosen was the color of the sunrise, the rippling watered silk seeming to subtly change from rose to pink to nearly orange in different lights. She'd fallen in love with it at once.
|
|
iris-de-chartres
peach-color
gown
colors
sunrise
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
57fa872
|
He looked down the table again and felt an irrational urge to push poor Mr. Watts out of his chair when Miss Greaves tilted her head toward him to hear something he'd said. He caught her eye briefly and she stared back in defiance, her mouth twisting tragically before looking away again. Something was wrong. She was leaking emotion.
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
74738d4
|
ARTEMIS WOKE TO the feel of strong arms grasping her tight and lifting her from her bed. She should've been alarmed, but all she felt was a strange rightness. She looked up as Maximus carried her into the corridor outside her room. His face was set in grim lines, his eyes drawn and old, his mouth flat. He wore his banyan, its silk smooth beneath her cheek. She could hear his heart beating, strong and steady.
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
a6ab610
|
No, the Duke of Wakefield would never be a darling of the feminine members of society. Something about him was so opposite to female that he almost repelled the softer sex.
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
d4dbd9e
|
Your Grace seems out of breath. I do hope you're not being chased by an overly enthusiastic heiress?" "Pack a light bag, Craven," Maximus snapped. "We're going to London to help a murderous lunatic escape from Bedlam."
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
2c31ba7
|
He rolled onto her, his body caging hers as if he could cage her heart as well. This woman. His woman. He'd make it all up to her, give her anything she'd wish for, if only she'd never leave him. Behind them, the door to his bedroom opened. "Get out," he growled to whichever servant had dared disturb him. There was a squeak and the door was hastily shut. Below him, Artemis cocked an eyebrow. "That was ill done." He scowled. "Would you like ..
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
42f93d3
|
Besides, they'll all know soon enough, won't they? That I'm your mistress?" He snorted, hitting the bed with one arm as he sprawled. She raised a delicate eyebrow. "That is what you want, isn't it?" "I can't have what I want." "Can't you?" Her voice was light, nearly careless. "But you're the Duke of Wakefield, one of the most powerful men in England."
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
2c3de47
|
I believed... No. I knew we had an attraction. Then you left and I realized you were taking what you felt for me and giving it to another woman. A woman you didn't even know. And I wanted--needed--" Anna threw up her hands in frustration. "I wanted to be the one you-you swived with."
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
3814dca
|
You were the one who left for London. You were the one who decided to-to tup another woman. You were the one who turned away from me. From us. Who is the greater sinner? I will no longer--urp!
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
4ae57e0
|
He was a being of action and vitality, and when he moved, when he smiled, he became almost impossible to resist.
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
802f826
|
For a moment she studied the sketch. It had been done in pencil and the artist was very skilled. The single sharp line that edged her nose, the delicate shading on her bottom lip, the suggestion of light reflected off her forehead. In the sketch she lay asleep and peaceful- and beautiful. Iris had never thought of herself as beautiful. That word was for the lauded belles of society. The women who walked into ballrooms and made conversations..
|
|
iris-and-raphael
sketches
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
94c5337
|
We all know that we'll die someday, but believing it is another thing entirely.
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
29798fd
|
He thought he saw her smile waver when she read it, then she was hugging him tightly. "You're the one who needs to take care of yourself. Your escape is still all the news. They'll be searching for you." She drew back to look at him, and to his consternation he saw that she had tears in her eyes. "I couldn't bear to lose you again." He bent and kissed her forehead. Even if he could speak there was nothing he could say to comfort her."
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
90d7418
|
BUT HOW, EXACTLY, did one go about seducing a husband one hardly knew?
|
|
seduce
|
Elizabeth hoyt |
|
e5be648
|
Well, Scarborough cares, doesn't he? Maximus doesn't--not really. No doubt he's a bit compelled by the chase, but if he doesn't win"--she shrugged her shoulders--"he'll simply find another suitable heiress. She--Lady Penelope herself--doesn't really matter to him. And if it comes right down to it, wouldn't you chose passion--however old--over dispassion?" --
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
36555ca
|
Yet she could imagine him so--intent, focused on his goal, his woman. He'd guard his chosen mate, make her both fear and long for his attention. She shivered. He would be relentless in his pursuit, unmerciful in his victory.
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
e982736
|
Oh, how she wanted this man! She wanted to hold him like this tomorrow and fifty years hence. She wanted to be by his side every morning when he woke, she wanted his to be the last voice she heard before she fell asleep at night.
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |
|
cc70d2a
|
You're not to go wading in my pond again," he said. She shrugged and picked up her shoes and stockings where they lay on the path. "Very well, Your Grace, but it's a great pity. I should've liked to go swimming."
|
|
|
Elizabeth Hoyt |