More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
I really hated how hard he tried to charm the girl I adored. Right in front of me.
her legs, and her low-cut, red-and-black striped corset was sprinkled with just the right number of sequins to draw the eye strategically to her curves. I swallowed hard and cursed under my breath. She was dressed like one of the Moonlight Carnival performers, and she was a vision. And I was staring like a besotted fool.
It took all of my willpower to keep myself a decent distance away. One word or plea from her was all it’d take. It was more than lust. More than a physical need. I adored every part of her. If she asked me to, I’d unleash every one of my desires, pleasuring her in a way that would let her know precisely how much I cherished her. Once that happened, there’d be no denying the depths of my feelings. How wholly and madly I loved her.
She wasn’t aware of it, but when she gave something her attention, the force of it was overwhelming.
and attempting to prevent myself from becoming the monster my father convinced me I was by setting the girl I loved free. At the moment, that girl was making the last part extremely difficult, the more she seemed to want to wrap her arms around me.
I longed to touch her. First her mind, then her heart, and, finally, her body. I wished to own every inch of space between us and fill it with each emotion I’d ever suppressed or pretended away. I wanted to strip my soul bare for only her to see and then do the same with my clothing, giving her everything I had of me. Scars and all.
“I thought about you tonight,” she murmured, fixing me with a stare that promised all sorts of beautifully wicked things. “I drank the green fairy and danced with abandon. Don’t worry,” she swayed forward, and I held very still as she placed her hands on my chest and slowly, carefully, dragged them down to rest over my heart, “it wasn’t inappropriate. I’m saving that honor for you. Remember?”
We waltzed down the promenade and back until her eyes drooped, and I lifted her into my arms and carried her into her cabin. I tucked her under her sheets and pressed my lips to her forehead. Somehow our evening dancing beneath the stars and snow was more meaningful than sharing her bed. “Goodnight, Audrey Rose.”
I stared at the knife in Audrey Rose’s leg, imagining how it’d feel to slash his throat open with it. I’d never wished for anyone’s blood to be on my hands before, but, as I clutched the girl I loved, her lifeblood emptying onto me and the floor, I prayed for the chance to return the favor on him tenfold. I would gut him while he still breathed and feed him his innards. Jack the Ripper would tremble at my ruthlessness, the brutality in which I carved him open and laid him bare.
“Wadsworth,” I said, forcing my tone into a calmness I didn’t feel, “stay here. Stay here with me.” She struggled to look at me, her eyes glazed with a bright sheen. When she finally focused on my face, her expression turned peaceful. I wanted to rip open my flesh and give her anything she needed to survive, even if it meant sacrificing my own blood. “I’m not… going… anywhere.”
“Thomas…” Wadsworth’s voice was faint. Too faint. A strange, violent wave of emotions raged upward, threatening to pull me under. “Don’t leave me.” As if that would ever be possible. “Never.”
“You stay here with me, Wadsworth.” I clutched her hand. “I will follow you beyond death and drag you back if I must.”
In that moment, whether I wanted to acknowledge it or not, I understood, just a bit, how Andreas had plotted and exacted his revenge. If Audrey Rose died… it would take little effort to set the beast inside me free.
“You brave, foolish soul.” I fought the burning in my eyes. “You should have let the knife get me.” If she died… I swear I’ll take the knife Andreas used and I’ll slam it through his cursed heart.
“I fight against my innate selfishness because I love her. I want to be better not just for her, but also for me. I want to be the sort of man who earns her trust and love and then works to keep it by growing into an even better person.”
hoped Audrey Rose wouldn’t mind carrying around a symbol of my household—because I was sincerely hoping she’d agree to become a member of it. My business complete, I left the shop and ran back to the Etruria, hoping I wasn’t too late to tell the girl I loved how much she meant to me.
“Our work will always be important to each of us. But you have my heart wholly, Wadsworth. No matter what. The only way that will be taken is in death. And even then, I will fight with every piece of me to hold your love near. Now and forevermore.”
She paused long enough to offer a teasing smile. A spark ignited in my core, and I was suddenly overcome with a new sensation. Deep, unbreakable love.
It had been four days of leisure in her grandmother’s home, and I couldn’t get enough of spending time with her, doing the most mundane things.
Tell me what you truly want.” Her question surprised me into answering without holding back. “I want you. I want to give you pleasure, both mentally and physically all day and every night for the rest of our lives. I want to be the reason you smile.” I watched as a slight flush crept up her neck, pleased. She longed for that too, it seemed. “I want to spend hours and years of my life figuring out ways of making you happy. I want you to feel the same way about me. Not because I’ve demanded it of you, but because every piece of you longs for me. I want our passion to ignite the world around us,
...more
will not become a monster for you. The kind of love I crave isn’t cruel or possessive. Do not expect me to act either way. I will never beg or use subversive tactics to win your heart. I will earn it because you choose to give it to me of your own free will, or I won’t have it at all. I will never manipulate you. No one should. And if they do? They aren’t worth your time.”
And I do want you in all the ways you want me, you bloody fool. I want you so much it drives me to utter…” her attention fastened on my lips, her mind seemingly at a loss while she fought the longing I saw in her gaze, “… distraction.”
“I love you, Thomas.” “Of course, you do. I’m the tall, dark, hero of your dreams, remember?” I pressed my lips to her temple and drew her into the circle of my arms. “I love you, too. For much the same reasons.” She buried her face in my chest, shaking from laughter, and I fell a little more in love.
A pillow flew across the coffee table separating me from Audrey Rose. I glanced up, surprised to see her dissolve into a fit of giggles herself. Something tight unwound in my chest, bringing a bit of warmth to my cheeks. I loved when she set herself free.
“I’ve been thinking about what we talked about in Romania. About…” I rubbed a hand through my hair. “About whether or not you’d like to begin a formal courtship.” She became very still. My heart slowed. “Are you asking permission to write to my father?” “Yes.” I met her gaze unflinchingly. “I’d like to formally and publicly court you. I’d like to be yours officially, if you’d accept me.”
“I still choose you, Audrey Rose.” A tear slipped down her cheek. I gently brushed it away. “Would you be all right if I sent your father a letter also requesting a betrothal?” Her answer was a kiss. The kind that shattered dark walls and replaced them with light.
It might not be mathematically probable, but I was certain no one loved another as much as I loved Audrey Rose.
Dear Lord Wadsworth, esteemed Baron of Somerset, I write to you under great duress. I cannot seem to properly ask to formally court your daughter and ought to be put out of my misery at once. Please send a vicious brood of vampire bats to dispatch me at your earliest convenience. It would clearly be an improvement over this letter… Your daughter’s hopeful yet stupid suitor, Thomas
Dear Daci, I wish to ask for Audrey Rose’s hand and fear putting a foot in my mouth instead. The taste of leather soles doesn’t suit me. You know what I think of fools, and I’m the worst sort. Please help. Your massively intelligent yet moronic brother, Thomas
Perhaps one day there would be children, if Audrey Rose wished for them. Or perhaps we’d have a pack of cats and dogs to spoil. Whatever path we chose, we’d do it together. Our future belonged only to us. Our pasts might have shaped us, but we were the masters of how they’d continue to do so in our present. I would only be a monster if I allowed myself to be one. I was also free to choose another path. One that was filled with love and laughter and light. Dreams. I would always choose dreams over nightmares. Light over darkness, and love over hate. And I would continue to make that choice
...more
Dear Lord Wadsworth, I am writing to you today to formally request an audience at your earliest convenience. I wish to discuss the important matter of the possible courtship and betrothal of your daughter. It’s a bit unconventional, so I beg your forgiveness in being so bold, but I’ve already asked Audrey Rose if she’d permit my request. I realize you know as well as I do that she would tolerate no less from a potential partner. Equality is something we all ought to be given freely. Or at least I firmly believe so. I hope it pleases you—as much as it has me—that she encouraged me to send this
...more
