A Viking For The Viscountess (31 page)
Read A Viking For The Viscountess Online
Authors: Michelle Willingham
Tags: #Romance, #Historical Romance, #Viking, #Regency Romance, #Time Travel Romance
Since it was already dark and they’d finished their dinner, she shook her head. “Help me out of my stays, and I’ll get ready for bed.”
Her sister obeyed, and Victoria put on a cotton nightgown that fell to her ankles. Then she sat in a rocking chair and picked up her needle and thread. It was easy to fall into the rhythm of sewing, making each stitch neat and even. In time, Amelia left her alone.
Victoria pushed the needle with her thimble, reminding herself that it would be all right. Yes, it would be lonely without her family on Christmas, but she would manage.
She would fill her days with sewing, letting the activity push away her loneliness. And this time, she had a new challenge to attempt. There was still the problem of finding the right fabric, however.
Victoria set aside her sewing and went to open the trunk on the far side of the room. It was filled with old gowns that she and her sisters had played in as children. They had pretended to be grand ladies, hosting parties for their dolls.
She rummaged around the trunk, looking for a bit of silk. Near the bottom, she found a crimson satin shawl that had once belonged to her grandmother. Her mother had loathed the color, believing it was far too garish.
But it was irresistibly soft. She ran her hands over the surface, wondering if it would be too delicate for an undergarment. Frowning, she eyed the door. Downstairs, she heard the sound of her sisters talking, and the low voice of her mother.
There wasn’t a great deal of time, but she went to the door and locked it. Then she brought over the stays she’d worn earlier, examining the construction. The boning tended to mash a woman’s rib cage, making it hard to breathe. But it was the stiff, unyielding buckram that made it itch.
Victoria stripped off her nightgown until she stood naked in her room. It was cold, and she shivered as she reached for the crimson satin. Gathering it into a length, she molded it against her breasts, experimenting as she lifted them up to create cleavage.
In the mirror, she stared at herself. The soft fabric enveloped her nipples in a sensual way, making the tips erect. The candlelight cast a golden glow over her skin, and the red satin appeared scandalous.
She looked like a courtesan, a woman about to be undressed.
What would it be like to have a man standing before her? Would he want to caress the satin? Would it allure him, making him desire her as a woman?
Though she’d never touched herself in that way before, Victoria moved her palms over the fabric. Her breasts ached, and a sensual warmth bloomed between her thighs. She knew, from talks with her mother, that within a marriage, a husband would touch his wife intimately. And that she would enjoy sharing his bed.
She let the satin fall away, baring her nudity before the mirror. For as long as she buried herself within the house, no man would ever touch her. No man would ever want her.
The thought made bitter tears spring up in her eyes, for she simply didn’t know how to overcome her fear.
If you enjoyed the excerpt, you may purchase
Undone by the Duke
at
Amazon
. It is also available in print and audio.
OTHER BOOKS BY
MICHELLE WILLINGHAM
(Click the title to purchase)
Forbidden Viking Series
(Viking Age Ireland)
A Most Peculiar Season Series
(Regency)
A Viking for the Viscountess
A Maiden for the Marquess
(coming in 2015)
Secrets in Silk Series
(Regency Scotland)
MacEgan Brothers Series
(Medieval Ireland)
“The Viking’s Forbidden Love-Slave”
(novella)
“The Warrior’s Forbidden Virgin”
(novella)
“Voyage of an Irish Warrior”
(novella)
“Pleasured by the Viking”
(novella)
“Lionheart’s Bride”
(novella)
The MacKinloch Clan Series
(Medieval Scotland)
Claimed by the Highland Warrior
Seduced by Her Highland Warrior
“Craving the Highlander’s Touch”
(novella)
Tempted by the Highland Warrior
“Rescued by the Highland Warrior”
(novella in the
Highlanders
anthology)
The Accidental Series
(Victorian England/Fictional Province of Lohenberg)
“An Accidental Seduction”
(novella)
Other Titles
(A novella of the sixteenth-century Ottoman Empire)
(time travel novella to medieval Ireland)
About the Author
Kindle bestselling author and Rita
®
Award finalist
Michelle Willingham
has published more than thirty romance novels and novellas. Currently, she lives in southeastern Virginia with her husband and children, and is working on more historical romance books in a variety of settings, such as medieval and Viking-era Ireland, medieval Scotland, and Victorian and Regency England. When she’s not writing, Michelle enjoys baking, playing the piano, and avoiding exercise at all costs. Her books have been translated into languages around the world. Visit her website at
www.michellewillingham.com
to find English and foreign translations.