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79e9e8b
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He was in the doorway, his gaze locked with hers- hot, hungry, and very, very male. Then he let his eyes drop and deliberately perused her. From her flushed cheeks to her naked breasts, still encircled in her hands like an offering, down to what the water barely hid. She could almost feel his gaze on her naked skin. His nostrils flared and his cheekbones went ruddy. He looked up again and met her eyes, and she saw in his look both salvation..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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1ff5aaf
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Fine. You can pull away from me for now. You can keep your distance and shake. But Eve, I'll not let you do it forever." She looked up at that, blue eyes wide and startled. "What do you mean?" "I mean," he said, a deep sense of rightness spreading through him even as he gathered the words, "that I won't let this stand. I will touch you. Sometime. Somewhere. I'm going to touch you all over, Eve, and what's more, you'll enjoy it." His voice h..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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294eb1a
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He turned to see her glaring at him, her blond hair a halo about her head in the carriage's lantern light, and felt his lips quirk. She really was rather extraordinary. A pity he could not make her his wife in reality.
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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f1efe63
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She lies!" cried the Fox, and he leapt toward her, his arm raised. The Wolf lunged, seized the Fox's right arm, twisted it up behind his back, and slammed the other man to his knees. Iris stared and felt a tremble shake her body. She'd never seen a man move so swiftly. Nor so brutally. The Wolf bent over his prey, both men panting, their naked bodies sweating. The snout of the Wolf mask pressed against the Fox's vulnerable bent neck. "Don't..
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raphael-de-chartres
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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3bc40fc
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I believe in you, my darling. I believe in you." He closed his eyes. And when he opened them the ice had melted. He was looking at her with tears in his crystal eyes. "Iris, my Iris," he whispered, and drew her lips to his. He kissed her like a man dying. Like a man taking his last breath. As if he cherished her. And something in Iris blossomed open and expanded in her chest and seemed so full it would make her burst. She wasn't sure she co..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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054d63a
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He was watching her. As if her gaze was important to him as he worked himself. As he touched his 'cock.' She inhaled on the thought of the word, looking back down. He'd pushed his shirt out of the way with his other hand and she could see the flat muscles of his belly flexing as he worked himself. A tangle of dark hair surrounded his navel, narrowing abruptly below to a thin line that disappeared into the thicket of curls around his cock. H..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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b12667a
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He rose up suddenly and turned her, so that she lay on the bed. He pushed up her skirts, found the ties to her panniers, and yanked them off and threw them to the floor. Then he was on her again, trailing his mouth down her neck, biting at her collarbone. She ran her fingers into the hair at the back of his head, grasping, trying to hold on as he moved on her so intently. He'd always been in control when he'd made love to her. Now he seeme..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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cdb0afd
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Tell me the truth, Raphael. Now. Tonight. No more evasions and lies. What is it you feel for me? Is it affection- or merely indifference?" He finally moved then, snatching the sketchbook from her hand and tossing it to a chair. He wrapped one arm around her waist and fisted her hair with the other hand, bending over her until she had to grasp those broad shoulders or fall. "Believe me, Wife, the last thing I feel for you is indifference." T..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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5e47d50
|
God.' She'd tasted of oranges and honey and he'd felt her shake beneath his hands. He'd wanted to strip her right there in the carriage with his men riding outside. She was driving him mad. He couldn't look at her anymore without feeling the pull. And yet he could not send her away- everything inside him rebelled at the thought. She had to stay with him so that he could protect her. So that she could illuminate his darkness just a little.
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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3914c7e
|
She heard the door close as she examined the dog. "You're looking much better," she told the animal. "Good enough that Jean-Marie might be able to take you outside to wash you. Oh, don't get up." This last was said nervously as the dog climbed laboriously to his feet. "Really, you shouldn't." Eve watched wide-eyed as the animal staggered toward her. "Sit back down, 'please,'" she said, arms raised, but the animal either didn't know what an ..
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eve-dinwoody
dog
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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371efa8
|
You tend a wound nearly as well as you dance." Her blue-gray gaze flicked up to his, wide with surprise. "I wasn't sure if you recognized me from the ball." This was intimate, her face so close to his. He naked and she with the upper slopes of her breasts uncovered. He felt hazy with desperate temptation. He could smell her, above the scent of his own blood- a faint flower scent. Not cedarwood, thank God. "You're hard to forget," he murmure..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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b2abc3b
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Asa looked up, drawing a deep breath, and saw that his harpy wasn't amused by his laughter. "I don't think why you find the thought of me helping with your books so funny," she said in a stiff little voice. "Or, for that matter, letting me paint you." Her mouth- the only soft part of her, as far as he could tell- trembled a bit. Well, he hadn't meant to hurt her feelings. "Don't worry about it, luv," he said, tearing off a bite of the bread..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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8d54bdd
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A wicked idea crept into his mind. She was a temptation- a temptation aimed at his one weakness. He'd walked alone for so long. For his entire life, really. He'd never thought to seek another. To permit any light into his darkness. But she was right here, within his grasp. To let her go again was beyond his control right now. He was weakened, dizzy, lost. Dear God, he wanted to keep her for himself. And the means to convince her to stay wit..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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79799a7
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She was... different from other women in some way he still was unable to understand. She was more pure, more bright, more golden. She called to him on an animal level. Her song had seeped into his veins, his lungs, and his liver until he could no longer divide her from his marrow. He needed her. And now he was marrying her, Iris Daniels, Lady Jordan. The notion was as wrong as that of a spring robin tied to a carrion raven. Yet he could not..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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6e1baa2
|
Raphael lifted his good hand- it felt uncommonly heavy- and stirred a finger through the jewels until he found the ring. His hand trembled as he lifted the ring from the box. "Lock it again and give the key ring to Her Excellency." Nicoletta pursed her lips but did as he said. His duchess merely looked bewildered on being handed a key to a treasure box. "It is yours now," he said, his voice... Something was wrong with his breath. He gasped...
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ring
raphael-de-chartres
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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dc54be6
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Iris lay there, her eyes closed, her golden hair spread on the pillow, half-turned toward him. She must've been exhausted to have fallen asleep so swiftly. The candlelight sent shadows spilling from the tips of her eyelashes, made her brow and cheeks glow, and left the valley between her breasts in darkness. She was so lovely it felt like a hook digging into his heart, tearing a jagged hole. He turned and went to his traveling trunk, then k..
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sketching
iris-de-chartres
raphael-de-chartres
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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008c031
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Do you remember that I said I have something to show you?" Back when they were entering the house. Before she'd seen Hugh. Before their argument. "Yes?" He pushed open the door to her bedroom. "Look." She went inside and saw Valente sitting on the floor in front of her fireplace with a basket. He had a silly grin on his face. She glanced over her shoulder to Raphael. "What-?" Her husband tilted his chin toward Valente and the basket. "Go a..
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puppy
iris-and-raphael
tansy
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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7642023
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He looked back at Eve, holding out his hand. "Come on, then." She looked between him and his hand, pressing her lips together, but not moving. He frowned. "Eve." She inhaled and took his hand, awkwardly inching toward him without a sound. "Brave lass," Asa purred. He caught her other hand, ignoring her flinch, and pulled her into his arms. What a small thing she was! She might be tall, but Eve's body was as light as a bird's. He could feel ..
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eve-dinwoody
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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dce03ae
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For a moment all was silence, save for her breathing. Triumph raced through Bridget's chest. At last! Then she heard a masculine chuckle behind her. Bridget froze, ice sliding down her spine. The sound could be nothing else, not the wind or a creaky house or even a mouse in the walls. She turned, pushing the panel shut with her shoulder, and palming the portrait as she did so. The Duke of Montgomery, all golden hair and sharp blue eyes, and..
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bridget-crumb
val-napier
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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13de371
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Come with me, sweet girl." She blinked up at him, wide blue-gray eyes a little dazed. He covered her mouth again before she could speak- either to consent or decline- and drew her slowly backward, step by step, toward the bed, until he hit it with the backs of his legs. He broke the kiss, looking down at her, her wet ruby lips parted, her cheeks flushed pink. She looked edible. "Raphael," she whispered, his name on her lips like a plea, and..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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dd6a9ae
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I want to be with you however you wish. I want that closeness. And I want that joy." She lifted her chin and met his gaze- even with her cheeks aflame. Something softened in his face. "I think you deserve much more." She shook her head. "No. We may not have married in the conventional way- I may not have chosen to wed- but I choose you now." A corner of his lips quirked up. "Then I'm content to take you to bed tonight, madam." She arched an..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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6b3412e
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The angel was sitting by his bed when Simon Iddesleigh, sixth Viscount Iddesleigh, opened his eyes. He would've thought it a terrible dream, one of an endless succession that haunted him nightly -- or worse, that he'd not survived the beating and had made that final infinite plunge out of this world and into the flaming next. But he was almost certain hell did not smell of lavender and starch, did not feel like worn linen and down pillows, ..
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iddesleigh
viscount
simon
hell
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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ddfa240
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Why did men think that saying something louder made it true?
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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f1a850e
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Have you no sense?" he snarled. "I tell you that you are 'in danger' and to stay inside the abbey, and that causes you to go tripping about the countryside?" She tried to step back. "I merely-" "No." He yanked her into his chest, his face within inches of hers, his breath hot on her lips. "No explanations, no excuses. I've had enough of your carelessness, madam." Her eyes widened and for a second she was almost afraid. Something in Raphael'..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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ecda556
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He loved her, he knew that now. 'That' was what that longing, this never-ending want was. How she believed in him- despite all that had happened, despite all that he was- he did not know, but he was grateful. He angled his head, taking her sweet lips with his, drinking her succor, her faith in him. She was his light, his hope, guiding the way out of the depths of his Stygian despair. "Iris," he murmured against her wet lips, "my radiant wi..
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true-love
iris-and-raphael
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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826f608
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His heart stilled at the mere thought of her hurting herself. 'He was a fool.' Of course this debate harkened back to her recent capture. To her near rape. What she must have thought when she'd been kidnapped? When she'd been hooded and dragged before the Lords of Chaos and made to kneel in front of a sacrificial stone? She must have been out of her mind with terror. And yet she'd controlled her fear. More, despite her firsthand near experi..
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iris-de-chartres
iris-and-raphael
noble
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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9030610
|
They were already out of her lands, and in another day Yorkshire would be behind them altogether. By the end of the week she'd be in London, resuming her life as if this trip had never happened. Three or four months from now, Harry, acting as her land steward, might write to ask if she wanted him to present his report on her lands in person. And she, having just returned from another soiree, might turn the letter over in her hand and muse, ..
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loss
love
georgina
harry
regret
remember
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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6c617e9
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As if she'd merely sleepwalked through everything else in her life prior to his arrival.
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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add1f39
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He caught her and drew her against him, pressing kisses into her mouth as he murmured, "So beautiful So beautiful." He sat up to pull the covers over them both and then he took her into his arms as he lay back down. The fire crackled and the few candles still lit guttered and she thought, as her mind began to drift, that perhaps her feelings for her strange, dark husband might be more than just affection."
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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52525ac
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One gray eye opened, staring at her warily. She felt as if she were looking at a wild thing- some animal much more powerful than she, deciding whether to trust her or to devour her. He must have made a decision, one way or the other, for he placed a heavy hand on her shoulder and stood. His face was gray, highlighting the livid scar, and she wondered what had happened to make him so wounded- both on his face and his soul. She rose as well,..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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37ad26f
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He opened his eyes to see her licking her lips nervously. "I... er... We should remove your banyan. At least the upper portion." If he were a man given to mirth he might've grinned then. She was playing in the flames of his control. Did she not understand her own peril? But her blush had deepened and she was deliciously out of sorts. He simply could not resist- either his own urges or her innocent befuddlement. He spread his arms and said g..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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6fa887e
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Iris tasted of red wine- the red wine she must have drunk at dinner- and all the reasons he shouldn't do this fled his mind. A vital chain broke in his psyche and everything he'd held back, everything he'd restrained with all his might, was suddenly set free. He surged into her mouth, desperate for the feel, for the taste of her, his wife, his duchess, his Iris. She was soft and sweet and warm and he wanted to devour her. To seize her and h..
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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8581390
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Now, had the dressing of her- and why should he not?- he would put her in reds- rose and scarlet and deep, sensual crimson. Those dark inquisitor's eyes would from a foil of crimson cloth, mysterious, feminine. Beautiful. He was startled at the thought. Plain Mrs. Crumb beautiful? Well, most might not think her so, but oh, if she burned-
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fantasizing
reds
val-napier
sexual-attraction
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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f85d630
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She placed the soapy cloth on his shoulder, briskly stroking over smooth skin, trying not to notice how firm the muscles beneath her fingers were. She kept her gaze strictly on her hand. Still, it was impossible to ignore the elegant sweep of his collarbone, the bulge of his upper arm, the way a single vein ran along the inside of his forearm... She realized that her hand had slowed along his arm. The room was very quiet. Nicoletta had left..
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raphael-de-chartres
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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c833472
|
But then again, maybe a woman never really knew the men in her life.
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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2ad449e
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One would not think that fish were so silly as to confuse feathers and a hook for a fly alighting on the water, but apparently fish were foolish creatures. Or perhaps they were simply very nearsighted.
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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8ee7ff2
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She nudged his arm to wash under it, where his dark hair grew in a swirl. Where the scent of his masculinity was the strongest. She shouldn't find this erotic. A lady shouldn't find this erotic. And yet she did. His lifted arms made the muscles move over his ribs stand out in intriguing ridges, and she wanted- rather badly, in fact- to lean down and inhale his scent.
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raphael-de-chartres
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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8f78e26
|
Her breath caught as she swept over his nipple with the cloth. Did he feel that? Did it feel any different from the rest of his skin? Did he feel as she did when cloth brushed over her bare nipples? She dared to peek from under her lowered eyelashes. His nostrils were flared, his eyes mere slits. And his nipple was erect now, a sharp little peak on his chest. It might've been from the cold of the water and the air. Perhaps. She washed down ..
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raphael-de-chartres
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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f0bc3ea
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He appeared to have pushed down the coverlet and undone the first few buttons of his banyan. Sweat had pooled below his throat, just at the junction of his collarbones, and she could see a few black hairs peeking up from the black silk. They were stuck to his chest with the moisture. She'd seen this man naked. She grew warm at the thought. He was so... so... male, even lying here, unconscious and wounded. She could feel the heat rolling off..
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raphael-de-chartres
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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a5ee1c2
|
Iris gasped. Dyemore's mouth burned. Almost his entire weight had sagged against her- and he wasn't a small man- but it was the kiss that most startled her. He... She could taste him, the wine he must've drunk this morning, the scent of smoke in his hair, drifting about her face, the heat rolling off him in thick waves. He was so overwhelmingly large, so excruciatingly masculine. She'd been married. She'd been kissed before- of course she h..
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kiss
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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d871fe1
|
On the night that she'd been brought here she'd had the idea that the abbey was closed in by trees. Now she could see that a little green stood on the other side of the gravel drive. Yellow flowers were in bloom here as well- a veritable carpet of them. She walked across the drive, heading toward the flowers. Daffodils. They were daffodils, thousands of them. Iris knelt in the grass and inhaled the faint perfume. A breeze passed by and all ..
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iris-de-chartres
daffodils
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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89756a6
|
Would you prefer it if I'd continued to wear your shirt and banyan?" Actually he'd quite liked her wearing his clothes, both because her breasts had been unbuttoned it made something in him very, very content. The yellow dress, however, quite suited her. She seemed to glow in the candlelight, like a beacon of purity."
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iris-de-chartres
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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c8e5da4
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And then he saw her burning eyes. They gazed at him calmly and he saw in them benediction. He fell to his knees before her, pressing his face to her purple-velvet-clad-belly. "Seraphine, Seraphine, Seraphine. O most beloved of women, most fiery of saints, never leave me, please. I'll erect columns of white marble to you, build gardens of delight for you, cause ships to sail and warriors to rise for you, if you'll only remain by my side." Sh..
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confession-of-love
val-napier
i-love-you
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Elizabeth Hoyt |
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882d8c8
|
Oh, Seraphine," he purred, pushing his nose close to her jaw to inhale her righteous scent. "Who do you suppose sits in Parliament? Who makes the laws, runs the government of this great and lofty nation, hmm?" She hadn't bathed this morning, he could tell, and she smelled of herself: woman, sweat, sex. He licked across her cheek, tasting salt and pure saint, to her mouth. He bit her lips. Once, twice, a third time, wanting, ."
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seductive
val-napier
scents
desire
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Elizabeth Hoyt |