They turned together to face the myriad guests who had filled King's Chapel to see one of Boston's favorite sons marry the lauded writer from out west.
Reed's own family—including his older sister, Elise, her husband, and her children—gave a loud cheer, unmistakably pleased that Reed had finally taken a wife, one they'd come to love over the past few months.
Middle sister, Sophie, who played Mendelssohn's wedding march as Charlotte entered, now began a joyful tune to accompany their first moments as a married couple. Youngest sister, Rose, jumped up to adjust Charlotte's train as she started the walk down the aisle as a married woman. And Evelyn Malloy winked at Charlotte as she welcomed a new daughter to the family.
* * *
Charlotte sighed deeply when they finally got to bed that night, after hours of celebration with family and friends at the Tremont. There had been music and dancing, and a wedding feast that would have suited heads of state. And most of all, there were lots of well-wishes.
She had never felt so blessed in all her life. It was like coming out from under a dark cloud that for years had blocked any but the dimmest rays of light, and all at once stepping into the brilliant sunshine. Here were people who cared about each other and about her.
"Now you've had a tour of my whole house," he told her, tracing his finger down the length of her arm, causing goose bumps to raise there. She laughed. She had seen his bedroom before, having to pretend she hadn't when his mother accompanied her to advise on changing the décor.
Charlotte had kept silent, then, not intending to change a thing in Reed's home—except to find places for all her books, her desk, and a few other items she had had shipped east with Sarah Cuthins' help. The spare rooms would belong to Lily and Thomas, who could not believe their luck in getting Reed for a father. But tonight, they were staying with their grandmother.
"I do enjoy this room most," Charlotte fairly purred, turning over onto her stomach and pushing aside the thick draperies so she could look out the window beside their bed.
From this vantage point, she could enjoy a view of the dark sea spread out to the far off horizon. To her left, in the distance was the Boston lighthouse, shining every seven seconds with comforting regularity.
But Reed wasn't looking at the view outside. He was eyeing his wife's enchanting backside. In a moment, he kissed it, causing Charlotte to dissolve in giggles.
She released the curtain and turned over to be enveloped by his strong arms. He stopped her giggling with a tender kiss on her lips, then trailed soft caresses over her breasts and down her slender stomach. Instantly, she was molten at her core.
"Please," she said as she released her breath.
"Please what?" he asked playfully, his voice a whisper as he blew on the curls at her cleft.
"Reed," she insisted.
His tongue touched her, and she bucked, hearing his husky male laugh a moment later. "Shall I get protection?" he asked.
She just shook her head, not bothering to tell him it was too late for that. Grabbing his shoulders she urged him upward, wanting to feel the tantalizing weight of him on her body.
"Now, Reed," she demanded in no uncertain terms, clenching her slender fingers around his stiff shaft and squeezing. He sucked in his breath, his whole lean body tensing. Then he settled between her soft thighs.
"Yes, Mrs. Malloy. I am yours to command." And he entered her.
They didn't speak again for many minutes. When he finally rested his head on the pillow and she lay hers on his shoulder, he asked, "So, my lady writer wife, will you be happy here?"
"How could I not be? I have an intelligent, handsome, humorous husband," she punctuated each word with a kiss on his bare chest, "who loves me most in all this world, and I have two bright, beautiful children who are so happy with their new home, and I have been published steadily since I came here," she paused, making sure she had all his attention by kissing him on the mouth before whispering against his lips, "and I'm carrying your baby."
She was glad to share the joy of her recently discovered secret. Just six months earlier, she would have been petrified at the thought. Now, she relished the idea of being a mother to Reed's child. Truly, children were just as perplexing and distracting as she'd believed, but they were also the best challenge she'd ever faced.
For his part, Reed was torn between surprise and happiness. "You're—then I'm to be a—but how can this—of course I know how, but—"
"Shh," she silenced her new husband with another kiss. "You talk too much, Mr. Malloy."
He agreed and proceeded to show his exquisite new wife how very much he loved her, in a manner as timeless as the sea that crashed on the rocks below.
The End
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AN IRRESISTIBLE TEMPTATION
The Defiant Hearts Series
Book Two
Excerpt from
An Irresistible Temptation
The Defiant Hearts Series
Book Two
by
Sydney Jane Baily
With almost all the strength gone in her arms, she was attempting to heave the trunk up onto the sidewalk, perching one end on the wooden planks, when someone collided with her from the rear.
"Oomph," she expelled all the air from her lungs as her stomach caught on the tilted edge of her trunk, then she slid slowly down the length of it back onto the dirt road, head and hands first. For a dreadful moment, she sprawled there, knowing her dress was up at her waist and her drawers, lavender-colored and lacy, were on view.
"Shit," she heard before she could right herself. The man's sentiment echoed what was in her head, though she was too much of a lady to voice it. And then, "Oh, Jesus, ma'am" as strong arms lifted her off the ground.
Sophie was not one to take offense, though she was getting sorely tired. Anything she was about to say, however, died on her lips at the spectacle of the man who now had hold of her.
To compose herself, she looked down to see what had happened to her things—her carpet bag was upended in the street—then she looked back to the man's mud-splattered boots, up his worn, fitting blue jeans, and to what had once been a pale blue shirt now covered in grime.
Her gaze traveled higher to his equally grubby but ridiculously handsome face that had stopped her cold for a moment, with his burnished brown eyes, dark eye lashes, and inviting mouth that curved as though it tended to smile often.
He tipped his black brim to her, with a quick tap of his hand.
"Ma'am," he said and gave her a brief smile that showed a dimple in his right cheek, his teeth looking all the whiter for appearing in the midst of his dirty face. Dirty and devastatingly attractive—a combination she hadn't experienced before.
He was tall, clearly, for she had to look up to him, despite her own uncommon height, at least for a woman. And she realized he was still holding her arm with one hand, a strong capable hand. She felt his warmth right through the fabric of her dress and her mantle.
Letting herself feel his fingers gripping her for a moment more, she then shook him off by taking one step back.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
Sophie looked at her hands, stretching them in front of her and wriggling her fingers. Everything seemed fine except for her white gloves being torn and filthy.
"I'm fine," she said at last, seeing as he was watching her careful examination. "I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going."
"Me neither," he offered. "I was talking to Dan and walking out of Drew's." He gestured to the feed store. A man wearing a heavy apron and standing in the doorway chuckled.
"Yup, he was," Dan confirmed. "Riley, don't you know better than to leave a store ass first? Unless you're trying to drum up future business for yourself."
Riley laughed and looked back at Sophie, who tamped down the inappropriate notion that he had a very sweet, even sexy laugh and that his eyes sparkled wickedly when he was amused.
> "Most women would have given me a tongue lashing for knocking them into the street and ruining their gloves."
"As long as you don't make a habit of it," she said, glad that she hadn't been in Boston, where she would have been run over by a brougham within seconds.
"I'll try not to." He treated her to a broad grin—a very sensual grin, too, Sophie mused. She must be very tired and lonely to keep having these incorrigible thoughts.
An Irresistible Temptation
by
Sydney Jane Baily
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Sydney Jane Baily completed her first novel at the tender age of 17. Thankfully, that manuscript currently resides in an undisclosed secure location. She went on to get B.A. degrees in English literature and in history, and an M.A. in literature with a concentration in Romanticism. During her career while continuing to write stories, she has been a copy editor, cat snuggler, proof reader, production editor, mother of two, developmental editor, indexer, and dog walker, among other things literary and not. Besides writing historical romances, she also writes contemporary women's fiction, and believes in happily-ever-after stories for an already challenging world.
Born and raised in California, she now resides in New England with her family—human, feline, and canine.
To learn more about the author, you can visit at:
www.SydneyJaneBaily.com
www.facebook.com/authorsjbaily
www.facebook.com/sydney.jane.baily.
@sydneyjanebaily
Table of Contents
Cover
Table of Contents
An Intriguing Proposition
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Epilogue
An Improper Situation
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Epilogue
Excerpt from AN IRRESISTIBLE TEMPTATION (The Defiant Hearts Series, Book 2)
A Note from the Publisher
Meet the Author
The Defiant Hearts Series Box Set Page 41