An Excerpt from Beth D. Carter's An Innocent Heart
Harry closed his eyes to shut out the intruders clamoring in his brain and
reached out to pull Lou into his arms. He didn't think at all as his mouth
descended on her surprised lips in a brutal grinding that held neither passion
nor desire. The kiss was pure need. Harry needed Lou more than ever.
She sensed his craving and willed her body to fall pliant in his arms.
Just before he had pulled her to him, she had seen several fierce emotions
flutter through his eyes. While she was not sure what exactly had caused
them, she was positive she wanted to help him erase them.
The kiss started to ease up the bruising grip upon her arms suddenly was
gone and instead replaced with a gentle caressing of her skin. Harry's mouth
started to nibble at the corners before he took her bottom lip and sucked
gently on it. With a shudder of instant desire, Lou opened her mouth to his
probing and was...
...lost.
He swept her up in his arms, not breaking the searing kiss, moving from
the room and toward the staircase. All the way up the stairs, they kissed
while she let her hands explore the patch of skin rising from his black
cravat. His flesh burned her fingers. She squirmed in his arms, anxious to
explore further.
He carried her into the bedroom, covering her face and neck with a
thousand little kisses. She leaned back in his embrace to give him better
access while her eyes opened to view the room.
It was a dark room, decorated in dark colors with a voluminous bed
placed squarely in the middle. Harry carried her to the edge of the four posters and set her on her feet, spinning her around so his fingers could racedown the buttons at her back.
Lou let her senses reel at the electric sparks Harry ignited each time his
fingers brushed her skin. Her head dipped back lazily as her eyes narrowed
in languor to rest on a portrait that faced the bed.
For a moment her passion-fogged brain did not register the fact she was
staring at a woman, a very beautiful woman with dark chestnut hair upswept
and creamy shoulders accentuated by the black starkness of her gown. A
broach nestled at the base of her throat, an emerald broach surrounded by
diamonds that sparkled by the artist's brush.
Lou knew that broach for it had been the one she had seen in the
Ancestry Room at Midgington Manor. She thought it would be her surprise
Christmas gift.
Alas, she had found its true owner.
She stiffened and pulled slightly from Harry's arms. He stopped
immediately to look at her, a question burning in his eyes. He followed her
gaze to the portrait and gave a low groan, turning away to rub his hand over
his face.
"You'll always love her, won't you?" Lou asked very quietly.
"What are you talking about?" he demanded.
Lou turned to look at him. "The broach in that portrait. I saw it at
Midgington."
Harry went to his window and opened it before turning to face her.
"What does that signify? It's a valuable piece of jewelry. I didn't want to
leave it here in case this house was broken into."
Lou smiled as the obvious lie. "Of course, Harry. That would explain
why it fell out of your pocket and onto the floor where it could have easily
been lost and forgotten."
"What do you want, Louisa?" Harry demanded softly. "What would you
like me to say?"
"You don't have to say anything, Harry," she replied sadly. "I know you
loved her, but I thought I was making you forget her. Now I know you'll
never stop."
"Enough!" he snarled. "She has no bearing on you and me!"
"She has everything to do with you and me!" she shouted back at him.
"You're half a man, Harry. A good man, but still not whole!"
© Beth D. Carter, March 2010
All Rights Reserved
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