Temptation's Kiss

by Lisa Bingham

  “Older brother, as a matter of fact.”

  The giant bent to place a kiss on her wrinkled cheek. “I am so pleased to finally meet you, Grandmama.”

  Dazed, she reached to cover that spot as if the kiss and the man would disappear.

  “Older bro—” She could not continue when another man stepped onto the block.

  “May I also introduce your eldest grandson, Gregory Wicket Cane Sutherland.” Biddy uttered a choked cry. So tall, so lean, with golden brown hair, green eyes, and her husband’s smile.

  “Grandmama,” he murmured, kissing her just as his brothers had done. Then, before she could speak, before she could reach out to ensure they were not phantoms from a feverish brain, he returned to the carnage.

  Sullivan continued, “Grandmama, I fear I must confess. I have lied to you all these months. I am not Richard Albert Sutherland IV.”

  Biddy was so dazed, she barely heard his words.

  “My father christened me with your maiden name. Sullivan. Sullivan Arthur Cane Sutherland.”

  “Oh?” she responded weakly.

  “But I should be very pleased to introduce you to your husband’s namesake.”

  Gregory extended a hand into the carriage, and there was a flutter of movement Biddy took a step forward. Two. Her heart pounded, filling her with a breathless vitality like none she had experienced in years.

  “Another son? Your father had another son?”

  “No, Grandmama.” It was Gregory who answered. “I have a son. As the seventh Earl of Lindon, I have an heir.”

  A childish head poked out of the carriage. Dark curls framed a pale face and eyes as black as midnight. If Biddy had not known any better, she would have thought it was her own son, Richard Albert. Her dearling. Her little one.

  Upon seeing her, the boy giggled. With his father’s aid, he clambered down the narrow step. He could not have been more than six.

  The Sutherland brothers watched the proceedings with pride as Sullivan announced, “This is Richard. Richard Albert Sutherland IV.”

  “Then this is the boy in the portrait I received?” she breathed.

  “Yes, Grandmama,” Sullivan answered gently.

  Biddy’s chin trembled, her limbs shook. Kneeling, she extended her arms.

  The boy sought his father’s gaze in reassurance, tacitly asked his uncles’ approval, then stepped forward, shyly considering the woman who waited.

  “Gramma-great?” he asked in a near whisper.

  Biddy sobbed aloud in joy. “Yes! Yes, my boy. I am your grandma-great. Come. Won’t you give me a kiss hello?”

  A cool summer breeze sifted through the opened windows of Bellemoore Cottage, filling the corridors with the subtle scent of flowers. The old house creaked and groaned, settling for the night, but to the wizened woman making her way through the halls by the light of a single candle, the sounds had a melodious air to them.

  There had been many happy days in her life—her courtship, her wedding, the long-awaited birth of her son—but Biddy honestly couldn’t remember being more content than she was at this moment.

  Easing open the door next to the scullery, she peered inside the servants’ quarters, her lips tilting in a fond smile. Greyson. Smee. What true friends they had proven to be. When everyone else had abandoned her, these two men had stayed by her side. They had never thought her a crazy old woman clinging to pipe dreams but had believed just as strongly as she that one day she would find her grandson.

  Shifting, she extended a finger from the rounded ball atop her cane and nudged the black mask draped over Smee’s footboard. Yes, they had been good to her. So much more than servants.

  Family.

  Easing away, she made her way up the back stairs to the guest room. A sliver of light stretched beneath the door. Tiptoeing inside, she found that her grandsons, Rupert and Gregory, had left the candles sputtering in their own wax and wasted to nubs. Uttering an indulgent tsk, she limped forward, first drawing the coverlet more firmly over Rupert, the gentle giant, then Gregory, so sober-eyed, so keen. Her hands lingered over the sprawled shapes, absorbing their warmth and vitality, before she blew out the lights and withdrew.

  Peeking into the room across the hall, she smiled at the figures entwined on the bed. Unlike most newlyweds, Sullivan and Chelsea had not spent most of their wedding night alone. Upon discovering that Greyson and Smee had secreted the portrait upstairs, Rupert and Gregory had teased the new couple mercilessly, then stormed the bedroom in an effort to see it. Chelsea, red-cheeked, had tried to prevent their actions, but Sullivan, proud of his new wife and her evident beauty, had taken a hammer and nail and hung the picture on the wall opposite the bed.

  Biddy breathed a pleased sigh. Over the years, Chelsea had been like a daughter to her, and now that wish had come true. Beatrice remembered the frightened young girl who had come to her for help. What a lovely woman Chelsea had become. Beautiful in form and spirit. Biddy’s heart soared to see her finally looking so free, so untroubled. So loved. Sullivan did love her. Of that Biddy had no doubt. He would take care of her. He would adore her. Little knowing that in doing so, he had made his grandmother inestimably proud.

  Sullivan. His grandfather would have applauded his actions—the way he had remained true to his loyalties and the age-old pull of blood. His efforts had allowed for the safety of his brothers, the revival of his grandmother’s hopes, and the restoration of the family name.

  Albert also would have approved of the invitation Sullivan bad extended for Biddy to join him and his new wife in paradise. Beatrice might be touched with a bit of celebratory fever, but she intended to go. She wasn’t so naive as to fool herself into believing she had an abundance of years left on this earth. And before she joined her dear Albert in the hereafter, she intended to live each day to the fullest. As soon as Gregory had put the family affairs in order, they would all go together. Then, after a year or two, when little Richard was ready for more formal schooling, they would return to carry on the Sutherland dynasty.

  Retreating, Biddy made her way last of all to the nursery. Opening the door, she felt a tangible pang of joy strike her heart Toys had been scattered on the floor. Clothing had been dropped here and there by the armoire. The room smelled of powder and chocolate and jam. Fingerprints smeared the panes of glass where a little boy had pressed his nose to the window and looked out over the moors. On the morrow, Biddy would inform Greyson that the spot was not to be washed. Not for some time, at any rate.

  “Gramma-great?” A curly head peered sleepily at her from the pillow. Chubby hands clutched a balding toy dog that had once belonged to her own son.

  “Yes, my wee handsome one?”

  “Will you tell me a story?”

  Biddy’s throat tightened with unshed tears. Tears for Richard, the man she had married, Richard, the son she had lost and Richard, the boy she had gained. As well as more, so much more.

  “Yes, my little love.” Limping forward, she sat on the bed and drew his slender frame into her arms. “Let me tell you a story. A story of brave men, daring deeds, greedy villains, and beautiful maids. Someday, when you are grown, you must promise to tell your own children. Then, one day, your children’s children. If you do, we will all live a thousand years and beyond, somewhere … in someone’s heart.”

  More from Lisa Bingham

  The Bengal Rubies

  A young woman makes a desperate attempt to find freedom, only to fall prisoner once again — to love.

  Condemned to be auctioned off to the highest bidder by her own father, Aloise Crawford makes a desperate attempt to escape. When the ship she is imprisoned on docks, she jumps overboard. When she finally swims ashore, she finds herself at the feet of a dark stranger with a face as angry as it is alluring.

  For years, Slater McKendrick has lived in hiding, awaiting his chance to seek vengeance against the man who stole his family’s precious jewels, the Bengal Rubies. So when Aloise arrives on his lo
nely beach hideaway, it seems as if the opportunity has at last been delivered to him. But while he holds her captive on his estate, he recognizes the same broken spirit in her that sees in himself.

  As the flame of passion ignites, Aloise knows that Slater remains the force standing between her and freedom. But while she cannot trust him, will she have the strength to resist her newest captor?

  Distant Thunder

  A chaste beauty, a hardened lawman, and a love impeded by the shadows of the past.

  A haunting truth too terrible to share drives beautiful Susan to live as a nun, hiding the reality of her past even from her lifelong friend, Daniel. Growing up, Daniel was her protector and savior, yet when he returns to town, her orderly life is abruptly thrown into disarray. No longer is he the boy from her childhood, but a striking lawman, both dangerous and desirable.

  Determined to make Susan his wife, Daniel arouses her deepest passions and unlocks her darkest secrets. But before they can embrace the promise of the future, Susan must confront the past she worked so hard to keep hidden.

  Eden Creek

  From the seeds of haunting secrets grows passion and love

  After a devastating betrayal leaves Ginny Parker broken and alone, she hastily agrees to marry a man she’s never met and start a new life in Eden Creek, Utah. Orrin Ghant only wants a woman to help raise his three daughters, and a companion with whom to share life in the Utah wilderness. But upon the arrival of Ginny, he soon finds his new wife has brought with her more than he could have hoped.

  As they slowly settle into their new lives together, Orrin never expects to fall so deeply for Ginny’s sweet smile and gentle charm, nor does Ginny expect to find such comfort in Orin’s strong embrace and the tranquility of Eden Creek. But while their marriage of convenience blossoms into true love, secrets from the past loom over them, testing the bounds of their fragile new beginning.

  Silken Dreams

  A wanted man seeks refuge with the girl who wants him most.

  Lettie Grey is in love with a man who exists only in her thoughts. The highwayman, dark and dangerous, dwells in her most wanton fantasies where he stirs her deepest desires. But when Ethan McGuire, a bank robber and fugitive, arrives in her small town, Lettie realizes the sensual stranger of her imagination is more than just a dream.

  On the run from the law and a ruthless band of vigilantes, Ethan seeks shelter in the safety of Lettie’s small attic bedroom, and in the heat of her embrace. But can a man who trusts no one give away his heart in the midst of a fight for his life?

  Silken Promises

  In games that are as perilous as they are passionate, everyone plays for keeps.

  When Fiona McFee first meets the straight-laced deputy Jacob Grey, he is naked and bound in a field of foxtails. A con man’s daughter through and through, Fiona leaves him there as he swears to never forget her. True to his word, Jacob tracks Fiona to Chicago years later, and he has an offer for her that she can’t refuse: A full pardon for her and her father in exchange for her help in catching a counterfeiter. All she must do is pose as a wealthy British widow and play poker on a tourist train heading West.

  With her freedom at stake, as well as another chance to outwit Jacob, Fiona must perfect her poker face as she gambles for the fate of her future. But neither she, nor Jacob, can ignore the undeniable attraction between them, and as the stakes of their deadly game soar to new heights, the thin line between inevitable danger and unyielding desire begins to blur.

  Now both Fiona and Jacob have more to lose than either of them bargained for— their hearts.

  Connect with Diversion Books

  Connect with us for information on new titles and authors from Diversion Books, free excerpts, special promotions, contests, and more:

  @DiversionBooks

  www.Facebook.com/DiversionBooks

  Diversion Books eNewsletter

  www.scribd.com/DiversionBooks