A Real Man
"Has Brady ever told you that you have beautiful eyes? They're hazel with flecks of gold." Brown eyes weren't beautiful, flecked or not.
"They flash when your angry," Edward said, his voice practically liquid heat, "but they're glowing now, because your feeling something quite different. Tell me...what your feeling."
She caught herself just in time before her treacherous tongue revealed she loved being in his arms..so strong and steady...that she longed to hear more about her eyes -that she knew weren't pretty- but loved his voice describe just the same.
"I'll bet Brady never did anymore than brush against your hand," he continued casually,while his hands trailed fire along her quivering body. "He's a fool. Anybody could tell him there's not a finer figure of a woman in La-Pinto Junction than you."
"Don't tell anymore lies," she managed to say weakliy.
"I've heard more than one man say Brady doesn't deserve what he's getting. They say he'll never warm you up. "
"I don't want t be WARMED UP! I want husband who'll respect and admire me. Who'll treat me as his equal, who'll-"
"I'll bet he never kissed you either."
One word could describe the flooding emotions overwhelming her: Panic
"I can tell I'm right I'm right. Well, I can't be a good friend, and let you marry a blockhead without at least having being kissed once by a real man."
She struggled, not knowing what was coming but listening to her instinct- which was that this dangerous. Then his lips brushed hers, and she was lost.
Just when she's decided to leave the Town, Lady Cressida Belverst is forced to marry Lord Calan Haverston, the man who coincidentally knows a way out. Agreeing to marry for all the wrong reasons, can Cressida and Calan find out where their hearts truly belong?
***
It is impossible to leave the Town, but one woman is determined to escape with the help of her betrothed.
Lady Cressida Belverst has always been judged as a walking scandal. Oh, how she tries (on some rare occasions) to be proper! When her parents arrange for her to marry a rich lord, Cressida has had enough. She has to leave the Town because she will not be forced to live with a man she doesn't love. But what happens if the very man she's betrothed to is the only one who can help her get out?
Calan Haverston, the Lord of Easton, takes the risk and helps his betrothed by using his knowledge of the Town's secrets because he is as willing as she to stay free of marriage for reasons completely different. He has dark secrets he cannot share with her, and his life is not one he can likewise open to anyone. But what happens when she leaves after awakening desires he thought he has under control? And what happens when he finds himself longing for her?
Cressida goes to a completely different place, one she has only heard in stories and read in books, with hopes of finding what her heart has always longed for. But love, mystery and secrets will chase her and it will only be a matter of time before she realizes what her heart truly desires.
*This story is a standalone title in the Haverston Family series.