His Abductor's Desire (6 page)

“Stay there!” he ordered.

Despite herself, Charity obeyed and discreetly pulled a blanket up to cover her nakedness as she watched him prowl the room looking for something. She had no idea what it might be but kept the question to herself, unwilling to provoke him further. He plucked a graphite pencil from a tin can on the table and, after much internal deliberation, seemed to give up the search and selected an old newspaper from the pile beneath the table. Without a word he leaned over the newspaper and began writing furiously.

After several minutes of writing interspersed with a few thoughtful pauses, he picked up the newspaper and walked over to her before silently surrendering it. Charity watched him warily before her gaze flicked to the paper in her hand. She leaned closer to the fire to make out his surprisingly elegant handwriting in the dim light.

After a moment her lips parted in a silent O. It was a dated and signed order for his bank to pay her an obscene amount of money from his account.

“It’s enough to cover the cost of your home, furnishings, clothing, jewelry, carriage, horses—everything you lost. Every
material
thing you lost.” He amended. “I’ll accompany you to the bank and it’s yours, whether you marry me or not. Just please don’t rob any more banks.”

Charity was helpless against the tide of emotion that overcame her. She closed her eyes against the tears but one slipped out anyway and left a silver trail down her cheek. Her hand clenched the paper and she tossed it into the waiting flames before turning on her knees to grab his hand, still outstretched to her.

“You’re enough,” she whispered hoarsely. “I love you.”

He dropped to his knees and crushed her to his chest, burying his face in her hair. “God, I love you, too.” After a moment he pulled back far enough to look at her. “So you’ll marry me?”

“Yes, yes, yes.” She laughed between kisses.

He laughed, too, and before she knew it she found her back pressed to the furs with him sprawled on top of her. His laughter faded but his smile remained as he looked down at her. “You’re an amazing woman, Charity. I sensed it before but was too stupid to realize what that meant. I won’t let you go again and I’ll spend my life making it up to you.”

She shook her head and brought a hand up to caress his cheek. “No, I don’t want that. I just want you. Now. As we are. A fresh start.”

He lowered his head and kissed her gently. “A fresh start,” he agreed and continued kissing down the column of her neck. “I love that.”

Charity closed her eyes and basked in the warmth of Brent’s loving attention. She knew with her return to Boston and his uncle’s impending arrest that the coming months would be challenging, but his arms felt like home. With his arms around her, she could face anything.

* * * * *

About
the
Author

Harper St. George was raised in the rural backwoods of
Alabama and along the tranquil coast of northwest Florida. It was a setting
filled with stories of the old days that instilled in her a love of history,
romance and adventure. By high school, she had discovered the historical romance
novel that combined all those elements into one perfect package. She was hooked.
She read as many as she could find and even tried writing a few. It became her
dream to be published, but the real world intervened and she began a career in
business and tried to forget about writing.

Thankfully, the stories wouldn’t let her forget. They kept
traipsing about her head until she finally wrote them down. It didn’t take long
before her love of the historical romance genre was rekindled.

She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and two young
children. When not writing, she can be found devouring her husband’s fantastic
cooking and reading. She would love to hear from you. Please visit her website
at
www.harperstgeorge.com.

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Interested in writing for Harlequin Historical UNDONE? Send
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ISBN-13: 9781460328262

Copyright © 2014 by Harper St. George

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now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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