WidowsWickedWish Read Online Free Page B

“Let me take the
darling up to his room.”
    Olivia relinquished her son with one final kiss on his cheek
and whispered “Thank you, Mary.”
    Luncheon was a festive affair with Fanny and Justine talking
and laughing together. Rather than a long rectangular table as most homes had,
Idyllwild’s dining room was graced with a big round table. It fit the wide room
and the family that ate around it. Jack had finally realized that there were no
servants in the house. The diners passed big platters around, and set up a line
of bowls that Olivia scooped soup into and passed back around.
    “There’ll be snow again soon,” Tom announced.
    “Can we go back up the hill before it starts?” Fanny asked.
    Olivia looked across the table at Jack, waited for him to
nod, and asked Justine, “Would you like to go sledge riding with us?”
    “Can I?” She looked at her father expectantly.
    “How many sledges have you got?” Jack asked Olivia.
    “There’s two more in the barn,” Tom answered.
    “Don’t even think about it!” his wife scolded.
    “Now, Molly,” he replied with a chuckle. “I’m not so old I
can’t hike up the hill.”
    “Well, I’m too old to be nursing you when you break your
fool neck,” she said with a scowl that was destroyed by the teasing light in
her eyes.
    “If he breaks his neck, you won’t have to nurse him, Molly,”
Fanny pointed out. “He’ll be dead.”
    “Good Lord, Fanny,” Olivia cried. “Wherever did you learn
such a thing?”
    “I don’t know. I just learned it,” Fanny told her mother
with a negligent wave of her hand.
    “Is that true, Father?” Justine asked in astonishment.
    “I believe Lady Frances is right,” Jack replied around a
laugh. Olivia was in trouble. The girl was too smart for her own good.
    They were on their fourth foray down the hill when the first
big wet flakes began. By the seventh trip the snow was falling thick and fast.
    Jack knew that he should have taken his daughter and left
with the first flakes, but he hadn’t said a word. Justine was having the time
of her life and he was loath to end her fun. And if the weather forced them to
remain at Idyllwild, so much the better. What better way to begin his campaign
to win the countess than to spend the night under her roof?
    Olivia had donned another pair of trousers, well-worn and
snug. As she trudged up the hill in front of him, he was given glimpses of her
delectable round backside. Forget making them illegal, it should be mandated
that ladies wear trousers!
    “This is the last ride down,” Olivia told her daughter,
bending down to look into her face.
    Jack nearly groaned at the sight of her ass in the air. He
felt heat envelop him, felt his groin tighten.
    “I’ll ride with Justine.” Fanny took the rope for the sledge
from her mother. “You ride with Mr. Jack.”
    Olivia looked around, clearly searching for Tom Jenkins.
    “He stayed below,” Jack said.
    “Oh, well, all right.” She turned away to make sure Fanny
was secure on the sledge in front of Justine, that the older girl had a firm
hold on the younger, before giving them a gentle push. They glided down the
hill, their laughter ringing out in the wind.
    “Charlie’s going to be awfully upset he missed this,” Olivia
murmured before turning to face him once more.
    He placed the sledge at the edge of the hill and stood back
to allow her to climb on before sitting behind her. He wrapped his arms around
her waist and pulled her snug against him. She came willingly, without a word
of protest.
    “Ready?” He leaned down to whisper in her ear, knowing his
warm breath caressed her neck, laughing when she shivered.
    He flexed his thighs on either side of her, gave a quick
lunge and they were off. He pulled his legs up beside her, cradled her hips between
them. His arms tightened and lifted until they rested just under the swell of
her breasts. Olivia sucked in a breath, her back rigid, and Jack wondered if
he’d gone too far too