[excerpt] Read Online Free Page A

adhesions, returning to her the opportunity to bring life to this world.
    To get her healthy glow back—“Not again?” Serina gnawed on her bottom lip. The woman needed a transfusion too.
    Watching her blood replenish Lady St. James, Serina had a moment to feel good about what she’d accomplished tonight. She’d given two strangers a second chance at life. It was the polar opposite of working in the morgue. Her moment cut short when her head filled like a hot air balloon and started lifting off towards the stars. “Just let me get through this,” she prayed as she undid all the tubes and bottles and packed them into her bag.
    Her stomach in a tumultuous knot, Serina yanked out handfuls of cloths before she chucked the bag into the street. Picking up the last bucket of water, she chugged the fluid and then dowsed Lord St. James and the carriage, cleaning both as best she could. She didn’t want them to see a bloodbath that would scare the daylights out of them when they came to. At most, she thought they’d be disoriented. She certainly was. With that last viable thought, she passed out facedown into Lord St. James’s lap.
    Lucian St. James pried open his heavy eyelids, feeling as if the weight of the world rested upon them. Confused by his surroundings and unable to get a grasp of the evening events, he instead grasped a woman. He tried to recall what happened, but he drew blanks. His night became a jigsaw puzzle with missing bits and pieces. He was at a loss as to why there lay a scantily dressed female in the carriage with him with her face pressed precariously close to his groin.
    Doing what? he wondered. Had she fallen asleep? A curl touched his lips. “Could I have fallen asleep?” He scoffed at the very idea.
    Lucian found this situation most amusing. And so it seemed, the more amused he got, the more aroused he got. On the opposite seat his sister lay quiet. Completely out of her character. Chatting with no one conscious he said, “Please let Raven be asleep. Don’t wake up now. Good God, how much champagne did I consume? And who is this little slip of a thing?”
    Lucian ran his fingers through Serina’s wavy auburn locks to rouse her. With a gentle touch, he traced the outline of her body, over her back, her ribs and lower to her hips. He slid his hand over her bottom, and enjoyed the soft, supple firmness. For a split second, he envisioned her naked, lying across him while he gently spanked her. He laughed aloud.
    He thought about undressing her in her febrile state. All right, he agreed “feverish” was a lame reason, but if she came around that’s what he was sticking with. Then better judgment kicked in and he decided to keep her clothed...for now. What if she woke up naked and began screaming? Glancing at his soggy predicament of tattered trousers, a black shawl draped oddly across him, his shirt shredded, frustration set in. He squinted, while his fingers puttered with his five o’clock shadow and his free hand slapped her lush little behind.
    Lucian went back to his puzzle. Who was this woman with soft sensuous curves he would love to skim with his fingers and memorize with his heart? Why was she face down, buried within his loins...asleep, no less?
    Why was his sister snoring to the high heavens in the carriage? He’d seen her at the party with a shandy in hand, and he knew all too well it only took one to get her glassy-eyed and giggly. Therein lay his answer.
    Where the dickens did Duncan disappear to? He rubbed his jaw in thought. Oh wait, the last time he saw Duncan he’d been playing craps with a few friends with a nice mountain of winnings in front of him. Probably enough to buy London Bridge, not that England would ever sell her.
    And more importantly, was this little woman going to finish what he hoped she’d started? She’d obviously attempted to rip off his clothing in a heated passion. Wish I remembered it .
    “Excuse me, Miss.” Lucian gave her a gentle shake. “Would you