As I promised a couple of weeks ago, here’s another snippet from The Earl’s Enticement. If all goes as planned, Roark and Adaira’s story will release in May 2014, from Soul Mate Publishing.
They were introduced in Highlander’s Hope, and boy, was Adaira in trouble!
~~~~~
In this scene, Roark has just taken Adaira onto the dance floor.
The strains of a waltz floated by on the overly-perfumed air. Speechless, one of his hands resting proprietarily against the curve of her ribs, Adaira allowed Roark to guide her onto the floor. The room glowed from hundreds of candles resting in golden chandeliers and wall sconces. Would he really kiss her in front of everyone?
Appalling. And wonderfully delicious to contemplate.
She nearly giggled again, imagining the faces of his guests. Oh, that would give them some succulent on dit to bandy about.
“Did you truly hoard sweets?”
Suffering flashed across his face, quickly masked by a lazy smile. “I wasn’t permitted bon bons or anything sweet tasting as a child.”
“None? Whyever not?” Visions of Sorcha’s short bread, bon bons, and clooty dumplings danced in Adaira’s mind.
“My father thought them unnecessary.” He lowered his voice to a rasping growl. “‘Indulging in their consumption is a sign of spineless coward,’” he mimicked.
She searched Roark’s face, looking for the deprived little boy buried deep within the man. Hurt lay buried deep within his eyes. Her heart contracted as a surge of anger heated her.
He slanted his head. “An apt description of my sire.”
Adaira tightened her hand resting on his shoulder, feeling the faintest bump of one of his scars beneath her fingertips. “Roark. . .?”
He flicked his gaze to hers for a moment before resuming his perusal of the room. “Yes?”
She had no right to ask. But her tongue formed the words even as her mind screeched for her to be silent. “The scars on your back. How did you come by those?”
He stiffened. “You don’t want to know,” he said hoarsely.
But she already knew. The whip in his office. A ghastly reminder of what he’d been subjected to. “He did that to you? His own son? I’m. . .” her voice caught, mere words insufficient to express her sorrow and regret. And outrage.
How he must have suffered. Adaira inched closer and though it was unseemly, wrapped her arm farther around his back in a comforting embrace. “I’m so sorry, Roark.”
He responded by drawing her even nearer, holding her far to near to be acceptable. She didn’t care, as long as it brought him some degree of comfort.
Bending his neck, his mouth brushing her ear, Roark suddenly went rigid. “Blast and d—”
~~~~
So, what do you think happened to cause Roark to swear in the middle of their dance?
