Her Wicked Proposal novel Chapter 78

Cedric lounged back on the settee in his drawing room, arms folded behind his head as a white and brown puppy dragged one of his boots across the carpet. Little Forrest growled and snarled, his dagger-like puppy teeth making little scrapes in the leather. Cedric didn't care. Life was perfect, puppy teeth marks and all.

It had been two weeks since he'd been rescued from the waters off Brighton, and his sight had fully returned. Headaches had pained him the first few days, but once the swelling from the blow to his head had subsided, so did the pain.

The door to the study opened as Anne and Audrey flew in like a pair of doves. Anne looked ravishing in her rose-red gown trimmed with embroidered wildflowers on the van-dyked sleeves and hem. Her full hips accented her tiny waist, especially when she placed her hands on them now to glower.

"Cedric, you mustn't let him chew on your boots. You're spoiling him." She lunged for Forrest. The King Charles spaniel froze, as he always did when Anne got frustrated with his mischievous antics. After she snapped up the boot, the spell was broken and the dog ran in a wild scamper for her ankles, nipping playfully. Before he could damage her skirt, he tripped over his own paws and rolled onto his back, his pink tongue sticking out.

Audrey giggled. "Bit of a rogue himself, isn't he?" Cedric couldn't help but beam at her. She'd come home from Europe early, only two weeks after their escape from Al Zahrani's ship. It was as though she'd known he needed her, because she and Lady Rochester had arrived before anyone from the League had contacted them.

"Forrest is a scamp, kitten, not a rogue," Cedric clarified as he rose from the couch.

Despite Audrey's presence in the room, his wife walked up to him and curled her arms about his neck, kissing him fully on the mouth.

"How are you?" Anne asked.

He returned the kiss for a long moment before he replied.

"Like a better version of myself," he said, then smiled. "A much better version."

Anne pursed her lips. "As long as you remain wicked in one or two areas, I shan't complain." Her laugh made his body hum with desire. It was so good to see her smile. She had no idea how much he'd missed it.

"Are you ready to come see Sean? He needs another reprimand for trying to leave his bed," Anne said.

"Of course. I'm half-tempted to tie the man down to keep him there. Bloody fool."

Ashton and the others had thought Sean Hartley to be dead when they'd left Rushton Steading. Yet as Emily and Horatia had tended to what they thought were his final moments, the man had stubbornly clung to life. Stanching his wounds and making him comfortable, they had fetched the village doctor, who had once again worked a miracle.

Following Anne up the stairs, Cedric entered a guest bedroom. Sean was pale, but his eyes were clear and alert. One of the downstairs maids was spooning hot broth into his mouth. The maid jumped to her feet and curtsied as Cedric entered, her eyes downcast, cheeks flushed.

Cedric held up a hand. "Please, don't let me disturb you. Stay."

The maid sat down in the chair by the bed and resumed her task. Cedric leaned against one of the bedposts at the foot of the bed and scowled down at the willful young man.