Quinn's Undying Rose (Scanguards Vampires #6) Read Online Free Page B

proposing to me?”
    He nodded. “And your answer?”
    She flicked her fan at him. “Has nobody taught you how to propose?” She clicked her tongue, clearly amused. “Well, on your knees then.”
    Laughing, he dropped to one knee. “You’re not making this easy, my love. But since you insist.”
    “I do indeed. Since this will be the only offer of marriage I shall entertain, I would at least like to enjoy the performance.”
    Her encouragement lifted his worries about a possible rejection. “My darling Rose, will you marry me and let me love you for the rest of our lives?”
    “Yes!” She threw herself at him, making him land on his back, with her on top of him.
    “Ah, I like this position.”
    “Quinn Ralston, you are a scoundrel!”
    “Yes, a scoundrel on his wedding night. Now my sweet bride, release me from this utterly compromising position, so we can meet the minister and enjoy the rest of tonight’s performance .”
    As he repeated her words, she let out another delightful laugh.
    The minister was waiting at a little chapel only a short stroll from the grounds of the Somersby’s estate. Next to him, his friend James Worthington, stood patiently.
    If anybody asked him to recount the ceremony later, Quinn would be unable to do so. He was too mesmerized by the sight of his alluring bride. All he could do was look at her, knowing that shortly she would be his wife in every sense of the word.
    “I do take thee, Quinn Robert James Ralston . . . ”
     

4
     
    When the door to the chapel shut behind the minister and his friend, Quinn lifted Rose into his arms.
    “My wife.”
    “My husband.”
    He started walking them toward the door.
    “Where are we going?”
    “To a small cottage.” Quinn had arranged for a place nearby, where they could spend a few hours alone, knowing there would be no time to take her to his own townhouse, which was clear across town.
    When they reached the house that was tucked away in a side street, he wasn’t disappointed. The owner had made sure the inside of the small cottage was clean and comfortable. He headed for the door that led to the bedroom. Clean linen covered the bed in the corner, and a single candle burned on a chest of drawers nearby.
    While he’d hoped for a more lavish environment to make Rose his, he knew there was no time to lose. He was leaving at first light, and consummating their marriage was paramount. It was the only way of making sure that her father couldn’t marry her off to one of the titled suitors who, even now, were hovering in the ballroom for their chance at claiming her. She would have to wait for him and him alone.
    He set Rose back on her feet and closed the door behind them. When she turned to him in the dim light, he recognized her heavy breathing and her flushed face.
    “Don’t be afraid, my love. I won’t hurt you. I’ll be the gentlest of lovers. Your pleasure is my pleasure.” He meant it. Now that he knew she would surrender to him, he would take his time to create a memory she would look back at with joy until he returned.
    “I’m not afraid,” she whispered, her lips trembling nevertheless.
    She was so brave, his beautiful Rose.
    Slowly he lifted his hands and stroked along her neck down to her shoulders, where the puffed sleeves of her gown sat like little butterflies, delicate and nearly transparent. Gently, he took hold of the thin fabric and tugged on it, inching it down her arms.
    Her breath hitched, her lips parting in the same instant as she lowered her lids to avoid his gaze.
    “Rose, look at me.”
    She lifted her eyes.
    “You should feel no shame. What is between us is pure and honest.”
    He moved his hands to her chest, slowly pushing her bodice lower. Without the restraints of a corset, the fabric moved out of the way, freeing her breasts, delivering them to his hungry eyes. Dark rose buds sat on pink mounds of flesh that despite the lack of any support were firm. Her breasts weren’t large, but they were