Southern Seduction (34 page)

"Well, at least you've learned some manners," she commented wryly, referring to their very first encounter.

He was irritating her by being quiet. Brooke knew that what she’d told him was hard to believe, and she could probably show him the knot on her head as proof. But if they were going to have any kind of marriage, he was going to have to learn how to trust her. He was going to have to take her word for what had happened.

"So, tell me what have you been doing?
Rejoicing that you no longer had a wife?" When she received stony silence in answer, she got up and strolled over to where he stood.

"I noticed who was in your arms when I entered the ballroom,” she said, trailing a hand lightly down his arm.
“I must say, you didn't waste much time."

Travis flinched.
He said nothing in his defense just handed her a glass of Scotch, which she immediately drank down. The liquor felt good as it warmed her cold body.

“It’s better if you drink it slowly.”

Brooke gave him a small wistful smile. “Yes, but not when you need immediate results.”

Travis took a swallow of his drink and smiled.
His wife was jealous of Hesione, so she must really care for him, but he decided to test her further. "You were supposed to be dead, my dear, so I assumed I could dance with whom I pleased.”

Brooke’s eyes widened for a moment, then she drew back and slapped him again hard on the face.
Travis wouldn’t let most women get away with that, but he was purposely goading her. “You are beginning to make that a habit, my dear.”

"You could have, at least, let my body get cold before you replaced me!"

Travis jerked Brooke toward him, molding her body next to his. His steady gaze bore into her defiant eyes. They were pure gold when she was angry.

"Sweetheart, your body has never been cold, and I'm glad to see you’re jealous.
Does this mean you love me?"

She slid her hands up his hard chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. He tightened his hands possessively on her back and hips, molding her closer to him. But he didn't kiss her, he quirked a brow and waited for her answer.

"More than you'll ever know," Brooke whispered.

That is what he’d been waiting to hear.
“By God, you had better mean every word,” he told her in a husky voice. Then he lowered his mouth hungrily to hers.

Finally satisfied, he drew back for a moment.
"God, how I've missed you," he whispered and lowered his mouth again until it touched hers. Brooke kissed him back and desire exploded in him as a tenderness that he didn't know he'd possessed blossomed within him. He kissed her long and hard, enjoying the moment he’d never thought he would have again. "Do you have any idea what you do to me?"

"I--I think I have a vague idea," Brooke whispered, feeling the rigid evidence against her stomach.
"You don't play fair."

"I told you that from the first time we met."

Chapter Twenty

They did not return to the party.

Instead Brooke and Travis left the study.
He swept Brooke into his arms and hurried up the stairs. They figured they had spent too much time away from each other and a party was the last place they wanted to be.

“We really are remiss as hosts by not returning to the party,” Brooke said as she snuggled up against her husband’s broad chest.

“I thought it might be preferable to seek our privacy than for me to remove that lovely gown of yours in the ballroom,” he told her as he kicked open the door.”

Brooke chuckled softly as they swept into the room.
“It has been a long time,” she said softly when he set her down.

Travis grabbed her arm before she’d taken two steps into
the room and pulled her back into his arms. “Yes, it has, my dear,” he groaned, his eyes full of desire. “You feel so damn good. Kiss me,” he whispered, trailing his mouth across her cheek until he found Brooke’s mouth. His tongue drove into her mouth, processing her completely. Pulling back from her, he gazed into her golden eyes. “I thought I’d never be able to hold you like this again.”

“And I wasn’t sure you wanted me back,” she said kissing his chin.

“Don’t want you?” Travis squeezed her so tight she was afraid that he’d cut off her air, but finally he eased up. The shocking pleasure of being held again in Travis’s strong arms warmed her more than any fire.

“The last month thinking that you were dead has been a living hell.
I can’t tell you how many bottles of Scotch that I’ve been through.”

“I’m so sorry that you were worried, but I couldn’t come home until I remembered where home was,”
Brooke said with a soft smile. “I’m glad that you didn’t replace me with Hesione while I was gone.”

Travis laughed richly.
“A funny thing happened,” he said, pausing to think, “After having you, I have no desire for another woman ... only you.”

“I love you,” Brooke said.

With a silent groan, Travis bent his head, his mouth closing over hers with urgent hunger while his tongue plunged into her mouth, withdrew, and then plunged over and over. A shudder racked his body. She was driving him crazy with desire.

He slid his lips along the curve of her neck, it had been much too long.
Sweeping Brooke up in his arms again, he carried her to the bed where he didn’t intend to release her until some time the next day.

Lost in as sea of desire, Brooke knew she’d found heaven
as she yielded to his tender kisses. She kissed him with unrestrained ardor. When she lifted her head to trail kisses down to his chest, she felt Travis’s muscles harden as he jerked at the unexpected direction her lips were heading.

Tonight she held nothing back.

The next morning Brooke opened her eyes and looked around. Relief flooded her when she realized that last night hadn’t been a dream. She was still home, wrapped protectively in Travis’s arms.

Brooke didn’t feel well this morning, however.
She’d felt like this on and off for the last week, figuring it was the anxiety from not knowing what would happen to her.

She didn’t go down to breakfast.
Instead, she and Millie Anne moved some of her things into Travis’s room, their room.

They had nearly finished when Travis came back up.
Leaning in the doorway he said, “I’m going to the mill this morning. I see you have kept busy.”

“Yes, I have,” Brooke said with a happy smile.
“Your room may never be the same again.”

“So I see,” Travis commented dryly
, shoving away from the door.

Brooke held up the drapes.
“Do you mind if I take down these dark drapes and have something a bit lighter hung in here?”

“My love,” Travis said, coming up behind her and gathering her into her arms.
“You can do anything you please.” His mouth slanted over hers and he kissed her with fierce tenderness. As always, Brooke melted against him.

It was amazing how wonderful Travis made her feel.
He’d managed to turn a cold-hearted woman into anything he wanted her to be. Of course, she would never tell him that, she thought. Drawing back, she looked up at Travis. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Since he still hadn’t let her go, Travis leaned down and kissed her on the end of her nose.
“You can count on it. By the way, I asked Mammy to bring you something to eat. I don’t like you not eating. You’re too thin as it is.”

“Thank you,” she said with a smile.
Travis’s loving concern touched her. “I just felt a little queasy this morning. It was probably too much excitement.

“I know it might seem soon, but I also wanted to get my things moved into yours so the servants wouldn’t gossip about my room being the furthest away from yours.
I believe those were your instructions the first day I arrived.”

“Ah,” Travis said with a grin, “I remember that day well.
And I was wise to keep you at arms’ length, because you were much too tempting even then.”

“So that is the reason you were so hard to get along with,” Brooke teased.
“And all the time I thought it was because you didn’t like me.”

“Well there was that, too.” Travis chuckled, then he grew serious.
“Listen, I’ll talk to my mother. I don’t want to think that she pushed you,. Nevertheless, if she cannot get along with you, I’ll make arrangement for her to live elsewhere.”

A lump formed in Brooke’s throat when she realized that he would actually do that for her.
But the woman was still his mother, no matter what. “I don’t want to come between you and your mother. She really has never given me a chance, so perhaps now that she knows I’m here to stay, she might change.”

Travis kissed her briefly before letting her go.
“I’ll leave it to you then, because you are here to stay.”

“I love you,” Brooke said.

“I love you, too,” Travis said with a smile and then he was gone.

Millie Anne sighed. “Dat’s so beautiful. I’ve never seen Master Travis look at anyone else de way he looks at you.”

Brooke blushed.
“We’ve come a long way.” She stepped over to the window and fingered the heavy velvet drapes. “This room will look much more inviting with these gone, so you can pull them down.”

“I broug’t you somet’in’ nice fo’ dat empty tummy,” Mammy said as she swept in without knocking on the door.
“And I trus’ you’ve not forgot how good Prosper’s cookin’ is, yes?” She set the tray down.

Brooke felt like her mother had swept into the room.
She went to Mammy and hugged the big woman to her. Brooke couldn’t talk for the tears that were threatening to fall.

“W
hat’s dis,” Mammy said, and Brooke could hear that her voice sounded funny too. “Tell you de truth, I missed you, too. Now why don’ you eat at least a biscuit.”

“Oh, Mammy,” Brooke said with a smile.
“I think I missed you most of all.” She lifted the cloth from a bowl and removed a big fluffy biscuit. I am a bit hungry now, but this morning I just felt queasy every time I thought about eating. I suppose my stomach will settle down now that I’m back at home.”

Mammy raised her brow as she peered at Brooke. “You do look a pale, yes.
I suppose you’ve not been takin’ care o’ you’se’f.”

Brooke sat down and invited Mammy to do the same and then she told her everything that had happened since the last time she’d seen her.
Of course, Brooke gobbled down three biscuits, talking with her mouth full as she ate hungrily.

Mammy had an odd look on her face by the time Brooke finished the story.

“What are you thinking?”

“Fo’ someone who wasn’t hungry, you sure devoured ‘
dem biscuits. When is de last time yo’ had yer monthly?”

The question surprised Brooke and she felt her face flush.
“I--I’m not sure.” She thought for a moment. “Not since I’ve been married.”

“Lordy, Lordy,” Mammy said with a grin.
“We’s goin’ to have a baby, yes.”

Brooke opened her mouth then quickly shut it.
“I feel so stupid . . . I never even thought about that possibility, but I think you might be correct.” Just like Travis had predicted. It worked well with his lie.

“Jus’ you keep you
’se’f dere and let me get de curtains,” Mammy said as she got to her feet. “You got to take care o’ you’se’f.”

“I don’t think I need to worry so soon,” Brooke said.
“Maybe once I’m further along.”

But Mammy would have none of it.

Once the room was straightened, Brooke surveyed the room, pleased with the improvement. Without the heavy curtains, the light poured into the room, taking away the dark uninviting appearance it had before.

That done, Brooke was still full of energy.
She decided she needed to seek out Margaret, since the woman didn’t seem to be coming to her.

Brooke found Travis’s mother in the sunroom located at the rear of the house.
Margaret was bent over, working on an embroidering frame. She glanced up, then right back down to her work as Brooke swept into the room and took a seat next to her.

“I see you’re back,” Margaret said briskly, glancing Brooke’s way then back to her sewing.

Brooke took a deep breath. She wasn’t going to let this woman get under her skin. “I assume Travis told you what happened?”

“Yes.
He told me this morning,” Margaret said as she jabbed the needle into the fabric. “You were very lucky to have survived such a fall.”

“Yes
, I was. It’s a good thing that I could swim enough to save myself. And probably even better luck that you were not still standing there, or you might have gone over with me,” Brooke said.

Margaret swung around to Brooke.
“I never thought about that. I’m sure I would have drowned since I cannot swim.”