Captivated by His Kiss: A Limited Edition Boxed Set of Seven Regency Romances

by Cheryl Bolen

  Helen didn’t say anything for a long while, just rode in silence. She didn’t want to think about Martin or what they were going to do when they got back to Bath. All she could think about was Gareth—his smile, his touch, the sweet way he kissed her, and the passionate way he showed her how close a man and woman could be. The union of bodies and souls, when all time seemed to slow and nothing was stronger than the shared breathing and the locked gazes. There was a holiness to that moment, a sacred spell woven between the lovers’ hearts that could never be undone. No matter what harsh words one might say or the cruel actions one might do, a person was bound forever in the depth of that connection, unable to escape the pull. She was no different.

  Martin tugged the reins of his horse, bringing it closer to hers. “Helen… Was it true, what he said?”

  “About what?” She struggled to focus on her brother.

  “The food…and the clothes.” His mouth pulled into a grim line.

  She was tired of pretending that everything was fine, that life was good. Martin’s decisions had cost her too much.

  “Yes, it’s true.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have…”

  “You would have what? Gambled harder? Lost me to another man? No thank you. I’ve paid your debt to Gareth and it stops here.” She vowed resolutely. Things were going to be different now. She was not going to let Martin control their future. He’d had his chance and she’d suffered long enough.

  “How did you pay him?” Martin’s voice was hoarse, as though he was afraid he already knew the answer.

  “He was very lonely. You see… He lost his wife and child. In exchange for your life, I stayed at his house and kept him company. I was his companion.” She felt strangely compelled to justify his actions. She understood him, after all…his unhappiness was from his loneliness.

  Martin’s face paled. “Companion? You mean he actually…”

  “Yes, I was that sort of companion. He ruined me, as he put it.” She did not spare him anything. After his lack of responsibility, it was time Martin understood what price she’d paid for him.

  “I should have shot him,” Martin cursed.

  Helen flashed him a vicious look. “No, you shouldn’t have. He was kind to me, more than kind. I wanted for nothing and…” Helen stopped before she said something she’d regret.

  “And?” Martin prompted, his eyes suddenly sharp, seeing something in her reaction that she hadn’t meant to betray. “Don’t tell me you fell in love with him.” Martin stared at her.

  Helen blushed, more from anger at herself than anything else. “It wouldn’t matter if I did. He didn’t want me. He let me go.”

  “Helen, the man only let you leave because I had a pistol on him. Bullets can be very persuasive. He cares for you—” Her brother’s features were blurred with confusion, as though he was sorting something out in his mind.

  “He doesn’t.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I do,” Helen snapped. There would be no way to unhear the words he’d spoken in his study when speaking with Ambrose. He’d never marry her. If he loved her, marriage wouldn’t have been a problem. It was that simple.

  “Well, you didn’t see his face when he was lecturing me on how I failed you. He loves you. He practically shouted at me that he loved you. I may be terrible at cards, but I’d wager my very life that he would marry you if he thought he deserved you. If you love him, I won’t stand in the way.”

  Martin stopped his horse abruptly, forcing Helen to do the same. The skies shook with distant thunder.

  “Hurry, Martin. We’ve a long way to go before nightfall.” Helen’s response held a note of irritation.

  “Helen, perhaps you should go back to him. If he loves you…and you love him…well, it’s that simple isn’t it? I’d rather you were safe and happy, that you were loved, than suffering with me.”

  Since when had he ever given her happiness a second thought?

  “I’m serious, Helen. At least think about it. I saw his face. He cares deeply for you. How can you turn your back on that?”

  She peeped up at him from under her lashes. For the first time in years, she felt that old connection to him, as twins, return to her. He was thinking of her again, about how she felt. He hadn’t done that in a long time. It made her consider his words more carefully. Could she return to Gareth? Would he take her back if she threw herself upon his mercy? Did he care enough about her that they could make a go of it? Did he truly love her?

  “What about you?” she asked softly. If she returned to Gareth, she’d be leaving Martin to fend for himself.

  Her brother flashed her a winning smile. “I’ll get by. It is time I took care of myself.”

  Helen stared at him for a long time, wondering if he could. His face was solemn and his eyes were hard with determination, a look she’d never seen before. Had her leaving him changed him for the better? Perhaps he realized she was not a crutch he could lean on.

  “I mean it. I am done with the gambling hells. I’ll apply for clerkship positions with some of the local barristers starting first thing tomorrow. Father still has a few friends here, and I know which men to call upon for employment.”

  The tightness in her chest eased and she knew he meant it. Martin would be fine, and she could be with Gareth. Everything would be all right. It had to be. She would fight for her happiness and Gareth’s.

  Finally, she turned her horse back to face Gareth’s home—her home—if he would still have her.

  “What the devil are you waiting for? Go back to him!” Martin reached forward and whapped her horse’s flank with his crop. The horse jumped into a slow gallop back down the road. Helen clung to the reins and dug her heels into the stirrups to remain astride.

  By the time she reached the house, she was soaked to the bone. A groomsman ran out to catch her horse’s reins and help her down. She breathed a quick thank you to him and went inside. Mary, lecturing a servant on tracking mud through the house, froze when she saw Helen.

  “Where is he?” Helen asked her.

  “In the garden. Determined to catch his death in this weather. He was muttering about climbing trees. I couldn’t stop him. He’s in one of his moods,” Mary replied grimly.

  Helen headed toward the door to the gardens. Through the small window, she caught a glimpse of a pair of fine legs in black trousers vanishing up between the branches of a tree. Helen opened the door and strode out to the tree, trying to figure out what she was going to say.

  She looked up to see him resting on a familiar branch, his eyes gazing into the distance. He didn’t seem to hear her approach. She waited a long moment, burning him into her memory in case he sent her away again. His shirt was wet and clung to his muscles, their fine lines so vivid in her memory that her body shivered at the ghost of lost passion. Gareth’s hair was nearly black with the rain as it curled slightly at the ends.

  “Shall I have the head gardener fetch you a ladder, Master Gareth?” She mimicked Mary’s voice.

  “No Mary, that won’t be nec…” His head dropped as he peered down at her. His eyes were wide, his lips parted as though stunned to see her.

  “Helen?” He scrambled quickly back down the branches, sending a storm of leaves around her head. He dropped to the ground in front of her.

  Helen’s momentary coyness evaporated. She felt a wave of desperation to beg him to let her stay.

  “What are you doing here?” He sucked in a breath.

  “I had to come back…” When he didn’t say anything, she wondered if she had to justify her staying. “I could work for you. I can be a maid…whatever you want. It doesn’t matter, just let me stay. I’ll earn my keep.” Helen tried to make her voice steadier, but she still sounded terribly desperate.

  “Earn your keep?” Gareth looked like he was trying not to laugh.

  Helen’s eyes burned with tears of shame. “I can learn to clean. I may not be good at it, but I’m sure that Mary could teach me the
proper way.” Helen started to reach for him but stopped and wrapped her arms around herself instead.

  “Please, Gareth…” One brave tear fell down her check, and all the merriment in his eyes died.

  He took two slow steps toward her, cupping her face in his hands as he gazed into her eyes. “I won’t let you stay on as a servant, Helen. You could never be a maid.”

  “But…” Her voice constricted with panic, but he silenced her with his lips.

  He kissed her in a strange mix of fierce passion and aching emotion. He had never kissed her this way before. It felt like the first time he’d kissed her in the drawing room, yet it seared with the passion of the meadow and warmed her soul like when he’d first made love to her. It was a kiss that would never end, a promise that they would remain this way forever. When he finally freed her lips, he rested his forehead against hers, keeping them close.

  “Stay here because you love me, because you’ll make me happy again,” he whispered.

  “I will, even if you don’t love me. If you care enough to want me even a little, I’ll stay.”

  “Care for you? Helen, I not only care for you, I love you. I want to marry you, if you’ll have me, the black-hearted monster that I am.”

  “You want to marry me?” It couldn’t be true, he couldn’t love her that much… The idea was too wonderful to be true.

  “Will you marry me, Helen?” Gareth’s hands slid from her face down to her shoulders.

  “Of course!” She stood up on tiptoe to kiss him. He happily obliged.

  “Could Martin visit us?” she gasped suddenly, remembering her brother and how he and Gareth hadn’t been friendly towards each other.

  “Devil take it,” Gareth muttered. “As long as he stays clear of the card tables, he is welcome to visit or even stay here. There is plenty of room, and he’d be one more person for Mary to happily fret over. Perhaps I can offer him a better example of how a gentleman should conduct himself. It is time he learned.”

  “You would do that?” Helen’s brows rose in astonishment.

  “For you, I would do anything.” The husky timbre of his voice had her trembling. His words rocked her to her very core. It was the words she’d always longed to hear from a man she’d someday hoped would love her. She trembled in his arms, overcome with awe of his love and hers.

  “We should get inside before we freeze,” Gareth said, aware of Helen shivering in his arms. He wrapped his right arm about her waist and they began the short walk back to the house. He paused as they reached the door.

  “You know, we’ll have to come up with a story as to how we met,” he said pensively.

  “You don’t want to tell people that you blackmailed and seduced me over my brother’s gambling debts?” Helen smiled devilishly at him.

  “That, I would happily own up to. It is the part where my wife nearly kills me in a duel which is the most disturbing part of the tale.” He grinned.

  “But I rather liked that part! It makes me sound very brave.”

  “You were brave, my darling.” His laugh reverberated through her as he held her tight against his chest.

  “Say that again,” she begged.

  “That you were brave?” He raised his eyebrows, his eyes crinkling with silent laughter.

  “No, the other part,” she breathed.

  “My darling.” His lips brushed hers in a fiery prelude to his kiss.

  The End

  ABOUT LAUREN SMITH

  Lauren Smith is an attorney by day, author by night, who pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smart phone flashlight app. She’s a native Oklahoman who lives with her three pets—a feisty chinchilla, sophisticated cat and dapper little schnauzer. She's won multiple awards in several romance subgenres including being an Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-Finalist and a Semi-Finalist for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award.

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  Thank you so much for purchasing the Captivated by His Kiss Boxed Set. We truly hope you enjoyed our stories and that we kept you up all night reading them. If you liked them a lot we’d appreciate you sharing your opinion with friends by way of review or recommendation.

  Much love,

  Cheryl, Bronwen, Barbara, Collette, Wendy, Heather, and Lauren.

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