Her Wicked Sin Read Online Free

not, but I refuse to be raffled.”
    “Is this why you wander the woods?”
    She teased again, but oh, how her words gave him pause. Were he to admit his purpose, he would no doubt compromise it, but they had forged a bond of admissions. In the moment, he wanted little more than to remain her confidante.
    “I am looking for someone.” He spoke barely a whisper, but judging by her wide-eyed interest, he captured her attention on full.
    “Did a woman capture your heart after all?”
    “No. I seek a truth.”
    “Oh?”
    “My family suffered a loss that has broken my mother’s heart. It is my wish to free her of some of her burden.”
    Lydia looked a bit cautious now, and he feared he may have appeared aggressive. In hopes of lightening her mood, he asked, “Am I in one piece?”
    She looked to her hands where it rested motionless on his leg and made a faint noise of surprise. She stood. “You shall live through it. Enjoy your rest, Henry.”
    He placed a hand on her arm. “Wait.”
    Lydia looked at his hand then slowly worked her way to meet his gaze. “Yes?”
    “Why do you claim yourself to be married?”
    His words lowered an uncomfortable veil of worry over her face and he immediately regretted it. But he’d gone this far.
    “Why not say your husband is lost and move on?”
    “It is easier this way.”
    “To live in the past? To bear a secret that brings such pain? Surely neighbors ask about him.”
    “They do, and he is away. In this way, no one questions his death. Or his life.”
    “And when he does not return?”
    “I am not the first woman with an absent husband.”
    “But what of their inquiries? Surely after some time you will be expected to remarry.”
    His words gave her pause. After a long moment of staring into the fire, she again looked his way. “One day I might. This day, there are fewer questions. My untruth harms no one.”
    “Your purpose as a married woman matters a great deal to you.”
    She nodded. “I came here for the peace I have not felt since I was a girl.”
    “And did you find it?”
    “I am accepted, yes. They know little of my husband—just that he is away and I await his return. This is usual of many wives, especially those of seafaring merchants. I do not want to bring questions here, nor do I want to open my past for the scrutiny of potential suitors.”
    “Understood.” And though he spoke the truth, he could not help but wonder how much she did not say. What story lay beneath her surface? He did not sense an unkind thread in her, so her husband must have been a churl to earn such a dismissal of his life. Knowing what little of her to which Henry had become privy, he found himself stringently on her side in the matter.
    Suddenly hot—whether from rum, fire, or woman he did not guess—he sat up to remove his jackets. Lydia arrived to help before he could struggle out of his greatcoat, whereupon he discovered his torso had stiffened in the time he had lain supine. His groan must have alarmed her, for she quickly steadied him with an embrace that brought him to her chest and turned the heat into a blessed inferno. Why he thought her innocent—especially in light of her confessions—he did not know, but something in those wide, lovely eyes spoke of such purity. His thoughts shamed him, for his want of furthering the experience demanded liberties not his for the taking, yet he could not clear his mind of them. Nor did he want to.
    She made no haste in distancing him, rather holding him in position as she slipped free his topcoat and lay it aside with the other garment. When he thought she might move away, he reached for her, lightly grasping her upper arms.
    She looked to his fingers, imploring another wave of heat against his skin.
    “Tell me,” he said, drawing her gaze to his face. “Do you miss the attention of a man?”
    Her voice low and serious, she said, “Not the type of attention to which I was accustomed.”
    “Then you deserve better.”
    “Few