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An Excerpt From: APHRODITE’S NECKLACE
Copyright © ANH LEOD, 2007
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing,
Inc.
Emily caught a glimpse of the mysterious woman in the doorway
that opened onto the corridor. She walked forward as quickly as she could
without losing all decorum, but the woman had vanished into the hall.
Nearly skipping in her eagerness to reach her, Emily didn’t see the
obstacle until she stumbled over it.
A candelabra cast its light to the floor
and she saw what had impeded her progress, nearly causing her to fall. She
gasped and reached down a hand. It was the woman in red’s necklace.
How could she have missed her jewels tumbling to the floor?
Emily examined the piece. The clasp was undone, though it didn’t appear to
be broken. Perhaps it was loose, or hadn’t been fastened properly. Emily
saw the winking diamonds and sparkling emeralds were quite real. If it were
hers she could sell it for not only a significant dowry, but also a year’s
household expenses.
Holding such expensive gems made her feel funny, as if her
heart and senses wanted to jump out of her skin. What felt almost like a cool
breeze lifted her skirt and the air caressed her womanflesh.
She shuddered and looked around. Thankfully, no one was paying any
attention to her.
Holding the necklace and feeling quite steamy in her private
area, she stepped into the hallway. She pressed her thighs together and
when she separated them, they were sticky with some kind of hot fluid that
had moistened her inside. She swallowed her shock as her nipples thrust
against her corset. What was happening to her?
Once again, she saw Coxe coming toward
her. Clearly she had strayed too far from the party for a second time. This
time, instead of embarrassment at shirking her duties, she felt a hot flush
of excitement. She folded her arms around herself and leaned against the
wall.
Her face felt feverish and she licked her lips, thirsty
despite the lemonade she had so recently finished.
“Are you well, Miss Rogers?” Coxe
asked. She saw genuine emotion in his eyes, an unusual concern for her as
she held up the necklace to him.
“Where did it come from?” he asked, touching the pearl drop at
the end of the necklace’s center stones.
She watched with wonder as his entire body shuddered and when
he looked at her again, his eyes were alight with the same kind of fever
she was experiencing.
“The lady in red,” she whispered, “I saw it on her before.”
“It’s quite a piece,” he said in the same low tone.
She put a hand out to him. “I would like to sit. I feel a bit
unwell.”
“Of course,” he stammered and in a quite uncharacteristic
motion, took her hand, leading her behind a curtain into an alcove.
“Where is the Roman statue?” Emily asked, perplexed to find a
daybed in the small space rather than a towering statue of the god Jupiter
with his thunderbolt.
“Sit,” he urged her, then reached
around the curtain to take a candle from its wall sconce. He placed it in a
marble stand above a carved daybed that had formerly been in a guest
chamber. “Your father sold it, Miss Rogers.”
“Oh.” She seated herself and placed the necklace on the daybed
next to her. Their situation must be even worse than she realized. But she
couldn’t think about that now. Her head was buzzing and that secret area
between her legs was swollen and aching.
In the candlelight she couldn’t be sure, but as her eyes were
inextricably drawn to Coxe’s own lower torso, she
could have sworn she saw a bulge there. Trembling, she brought her hand up,
a pale ghostly shadow in the dimness and placed it on his trousers.
She felt his body nearly leap out of its clothing but
underneath he was all heat.
“Miss?” he whispered.
She leaned forward and danced her fingers up and down, feeling
a long, hard, dangerous shape beneath the thick fabric. She drew in a
breath. What was happening to her?
“Miss?” he protested. “You shouldn’t be doing that.”
She felt the tip of her tongue protrude between her teeth as
she stroked the fascinating length again and heard him gasp.
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