The St Nicholas' Day Wager Read Online Free

exploring the new world and sometimes even playing house when Gabriella whined enough and Nick was in the mood to cave in to her demands. And then he had hurt her and she’d not seen him again, bar a few glimpses at balls during her fruitless London Seasons.
    Now here he was with a proposal of marriage and a devastating smile that caused her stomach to knot and her breath to hitch. Oh dear, she was just so confused.
    ****
    Nick lay in bed, tossing and turning and running over in his mind how to convince Gabriella to marry him. He could not help but think she had been tempted by his bold, honest proposition. Gabriella had always been a sensible chit and she was getting on in years. She appeared to have no other marriage prospects and his proposal did make financial sense. But she was a female and despite some of them claiming to be practical and pragmatic, he suspected most ladies wanted romance too.
    He turned onto his side, pulling the blankets over his shoulders. His mind filled with imaginings of Gabriella lying on a pillow, her hair splayed out over it, her lips swollen from his kisses and the skin on her chest and breasts scraped by his day beard. He tried to push the thoughts away. It wouldn’t do for him to have to tamp down his frustrations again and he was growing hard again at the thought of her.
    She had taunted him all evening with her low-cut neckline, the long eyelashes she had batted whenever he caught her gaze and the arse which teased and tempted as she walked.
    They had not discussed their earlier conversation at all during the day or during dinner and the ensuing game of cards but Nick knew she was considering it. But how to push her to the next stage? She was an innocent, so seducing her would have to be done carefully so as not to frighten her.
    He flung himself onto his back. This was no good. He couldn’t get her out of his mind and sleep was not going to happen at this rate. He needed a plan and in order to formulate one, he needed some exercise. He threw the covers off, marched over to the chair and hauled on the breeches he had worn the day before. It was a full moon outside. The perfect weather for a middle of the night walk.
    ****
    Gabriella sat on the large seat at her bedroom window, watching a fox sniff the frozen ground in search of food. The poor thing would find nothing to eat around the old manor house. The weather had been crisp and cold for days now and they ground was rock hard.
    The fox raised its head, listened for a moment and then fled. Gabriella lifted her eyebrow, wondering what could have frightened the creature. A figure appeared in the silvery light of moon, hunched up against the cold, but unmistakeably Viscount Eastden. Unfortunately, his greatcoat covered up his lean, muscular form, but she still had memories of him striding into her office, his breeches stretched over his thighs, showing off every muscle and sinew and causing her to blush and feel altogether too warm.
    What was he doing and why was he walking out of doors in the middle of the night on a freezing December night?
    She pulled her blanket around her shoulders. Could she really marry this man? And would he really try to seduce her? Excitement and fear wended their way through her and she shivered despite the heavy woollen blanket.
    Nicholas was now out of sight but she contemplated life with him. She had heard he was a rake and a libertine. But he was still popular among the mamas of the ton , because he was heir to a very wealthy earldom and because it seemed he did not debauch innocents or cause scandals. And did Gabriella want Nick to seduce her? It was a question she had yet to consider. After all, he intended to marry her so she would not be ruined if he succeeded.
    For the first time Gabriella wondered how much of his reputation Viscount Eastden deserved. Was he just a man with healthy male appetites or was he mad, bad and dangerous to know, in the same way Lord Byron was? Gabriella chuckled to herself.