Read Constant Hearts, Inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion Page 2

Chapter 2

  Reed stared at Amy kneeling within reach, his heart hammering against his ribs. She was even lovelier than before, with a fuller, riper figure, and skin still as smooth as a child’s. She sat as if rooted to the floor, her eyes darting between his like they once did when trying to divine his thoughts. Wariness had replaced their trusting innocence of bygone years.

  He fisted his hands lest he do something stupid, like shake her shoulders and shout.

  Or haul her against him and kiss her until the years melted away.

  “Forgive me,” she said breathlessly. “I didn’t realize anyone else was here.”

  “Sorry to disappoint.” He didn’t bother to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

  She stilled. “I’ll leave.”

  “Perhaps that would be best.”

  She didn’t move.

  Neither did he.

  Bound in a spell woven around them, they sat on the floor of the library locked in each other’s gaze. The air crackled with the kind of electricity that comes with a thunderstorm. His focus fell to that luscious mouth that had tempted him years ago, lips she’d said were too full but which he’d always found utterly delicious. Her perfume curled around him, a heady blend of innocent rose and seductive jasmine.

  “Amy,” he whispered.

  Caught by an irresistible force, Reed touched her smooth cheek, caressing back and forth, then he cradled her face in his hands.

  She closed her eyes and tilted her face up toward his.

  So tempting, so lovely.

  He leaned in and brushed his mouth over hers. Tingles spread outward, immersing him in a long-absent warmth.

  She let out a tiny sigh. He lowered his head and kissed her again, tugging gently. Her lips, unbearably soft and welcoming, filled him with intoxicating desire. As warmth turned to aching heat, he devoured her mouth, pouring out long-suppressed passion.

  She slid her arms around him, one hand touching that sensitive place at the back of his neck. He crushed her to him as their mouths sought to regain the lost years, to repair broken hearts and shattered dreams.

  Laughter and voices outside the door brought Reed back to consciousness. He ended the kiss and pulled away. Without her in his arms, cold seeped into his soul.

  Her moist and swollen lips parted, and she let out a sob. A tear fell from each eye. Reed watched, mesmerized, as they trickled down her cheeks. How had he hurt her?

  “Oh, how I’ve missed you,” she whispered.

  Reed almost cursed out loud. He’d just opened himself up to further pain and rejection by the very women who’d nearly destroyed him years ago, a mistake he would not make a second time. Reed snapped his head back and looked down at her with contempt. “Really? Was that before or after you raced to the altar with another man?”

  She flinched at his venomous tone. Another tear fell. “Since I bade you farewell.”

  He summoned every drop of scorn in his voice that he could muster. All those long, lonely nights, those days without hope, the utter emptiness, surged through him in hot bitterness. “That was your choice, madam, not mine.”

  “I was trying to do the right thing. What could I do? I wasn’t old enough to marry without Uncle’s permission, and I couldn’t bear the scandal of an elopement. I just…couldn’t go against my family’s wishes.”

  I would have waited for you, he wanted to shout, but he held his tongue. Betraying how badly his heart ached for her even now would not serve.

  It was ironic, really, that she’d wished to avoid scandal by marrying him, only to find it with the man she’d married.

  “So you wed someone of whom your uncle approved. Have you ever regretted that?”

  The bloom faded from her cheeks. “Daily. From the beginning.” She lifted her chin and a hard glint came into her eyes. “No doubt you heard about my divorce.”

  “I did.” The papers had spared no detail of the whole ugly affair.

  “I suppose you think I received what I deserved.”

  No one deserved what she’d received, but Reed fortified the barrier around his heart. “You might have regretted marrying me as well. Following the drum is a hard life. At least with him, you had everything money could buy. And you had your precious social approval.” He stood. “I’ll find another hiding place and leave you this one.”

  He left the library and closed the door behind him. In the next room, he leaned against the door, trying to remember to breathe, and pressed the heels of his shaking hands into his eyes. The shock of seeing Amy again left his insides swirling in a chaotic maelstrom. She was just as beautiful, but heartache had left its mark upon her. The shadow in her eyes reflected the same look he’d seen on countless wounded men brought in from the battlefield. Though he’d been the personal surgeon of a general on the peninsula, he’d lent a hand after each battle rather than sitting idly by and watching men suffer as they waited to receive medical aid. He’d seen more human misery than he’d ever thought possible. To find that same misery in Amy’s eyes smote him to the heart.

  Reed pushed off from the door and made himself walk across the room. He’d left another piece of his heart in the library, but refused to go back in there. She’d rejected him years ago. He wouldn’t give her the pleasure of doing it again.

  But, as he already knew too well, resentment was a cold bedfellow, and he feared he’d never be warm again.