Page 101 of The Dravenhearst Brides
This cold, haunted life.
Had she chosen wrong?
The chimes of the grandfather clock tolled.Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Downstairs, the centaurs screamed.
The bottle on her nightstand twinkled. Slightly blue, such a beautiful boozy blue. Margot knew precisely what it would taste like on her tongue. What it promised.
It whispered sweet nothings. Painted a portrait of velveteen oblivion. Of bitter sacred relief.
It whispered. Whispered, whispered, whispered.
And God help her—God forgive her mortal, weak, fractured soul—she listened.
Margot reached.
And she drank.
She didn’t wake until twilight. Merrick roused her, shaking her shoulder.
“Margot, love?”
Bleary, she opened her eyes, blinking away the drug-induced slumber. Her limbs were torpid. Merrick’s edges blurred.
Even hazy around the edges, he made her heart squeeze. She smiled. “Hi.”
“Hello.” He smiled back. The grin was indulgent. Irresistible. “Having a bit of a lie-in, are we?”
“Just a bit.” She chuckled, feeling lighter simply for his nearness. “My…my head hurt, and the house is so very cold. Might we turn up the heat? We’re on the heels of winter.”
Merrick winced and bit his lip. “It’s a large house, hopelessly drafty.”
Margot frowned, not understanding.
“It’s only…” Merrick swallowed. “It’s very expensive to heat.”
Ah. There it is.
“We’ll get more blankets for your bed. And sweaters. I usually wear layers in the winter,” he explained. “It helps.”
Margot didn’t want to wear layers. She just wanted the house to be properly warm, his pinchpenny ways be damned!
But she was too weary to argue. She yawned.
“Still tired?” he asked.
“It was only a short nap, not nearly enough.” Half the day was short, no?
His hand slid down the blankets, warming through them to her stomach. “It’s normal, I hear, in your condition. And you don’t sleep well at night. Perfectly normal.”
Normal.He thought her normal. Oh, she could kiss him for that.
So she did.
His lips were hot and soft. She sighed against them, wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged. She opened her eyes as he tumbled into bed with her.
Then she saw them.
