Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 98745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98745 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
His arm went around her waist, feeling her strength wane. “He will receive the news soon.”
“What I don’t understand is how do they keep discovering the different things about the woman they search for? First, it was known that the woman was one of the three Murdock sisters: me, Elsie, and Sky. Then it was discovered that the woman had reddish blonde hair, and Elsie, having dark hair, was a target no more. The search then centered on me and Sky since our hair color is similar. Now it is Sky’s affliction that marks her. How was any of this information learned?” The answer came to her quickly. “Inherited traits. Hair color. Affliction. One could inherit them, helping to prove the identity of the woman they search for.”
“Whether this man claims you are not the woman he searches for makes no difference, extra caution will be taken with you until this puzzling situation can finally be solved.”
“You do not trust his claim?”
“I trust nothing about him since he came here with the intention of abducting or killing my wife, either could have been your fate. I will see that that never happens to you. We have a life to build together, wife, and I will let nothing nor anyone stand in our way. Besides, I am growing accustomed to you.”
“I missed you as well,” she said with a soft smile.
“You missed me?” He shook his head, having sounded like a young lad pleased by a woman’s attention. “I did not say I missed you.”
“Of course, you did,” Leora argued, and to her, sensibly. “You could have only realized you have grown accustomed to me if you missed me.”
“Your reasoning is questionable at times.”
“Not this time, since I feel the same as you do,” she said.
He slipped his other arm around her waist and drew her gently toward him on the bench. “You truly missed me?”
“Aye, surprisingly so,” she said, resting against him without even thinking about it. “It felt strange not having you around to talk with, share a meal with—” She stopped abruptly realizing what she was about to say. She missed his touch, the feel of her hand in his, his arms around her waist as they were now, the strength of his body when she leaned against him, and… his lips, not far from hers, reminded her of how very much she would like him to kiss her again.
Noble didn’t need to hear what else she had missed. It was easy to see with the way she looked at him longingly or how her body had easily rested against his. She was ripe for kissing, and he was just as eager to taste her once again.
He didn’t hesitate, he kissed her.
The strength of his kiss sent tingles racing through her, and she slipped her arms around his neck, wanting to remain tucked tight against him as he devoured her with his kiss. Her body came alive in ways she had never felt before, sending sensations racing through her that grew as his kiss deepened.
When the tip of his tongue glided lightly over her sealed lips, she instinctively opened to him, welcoming him. It was an intimacy she never knew existed but wanted desperately to explore.
She gasped when he ended the kiss suddenly and rested his brow against hers, his chest heaving close to hers.
“We continue this tonight in our bedchamber,” he demanded.
“You need not demand it of me,” she said a bit breathless. “I look forward to sharing intimacy with you, though I would have never thought it. But surprisingly, and pleasantly so, I enjoy your kisses, though…”
Noble drew his head back when she suddenly stopped talking and watched her brow scrunch.
“Though what?” he asked.
“Since yours is the only kiss that I have ever known, I have nothing to compare it to, though…”
“Another though?” he asked with a twinge of annoyance and did not wait for a reply. “You need not worry about that since I am the only man you will ever kiss.”
“Well, that is a logical assumption since you are my husband, though—”
“Not another though, Leora,” Noble warned, annoyed at the thought that she would even think of comparing his kiss with another’s.
“But you need to know.”
“That you want to kiss another man to see if there is a difference in the kiss?” he asked, his tongue snappish.
“Good Lord, never would I want that,” she said, squishing her face in disgust.
That made Noble smile.
Leora shook her head. “The thought alone distresses me.”
His smile grew a bit more, seeing how his remark had truly troubled her. “I am pleased to hear that, so if you feel that way, what was your other thought you meant to say?”
Her lovely smile proved she was only too glad to tell him. “Though, I am very pleased to have a husband whose kisses thrill me.”