Winter's Whispers (The Wicked Winters #10) - Scarlett Scott Page 0,50

were her fucking footman.

And then to wake this morning, realizing the unthinkable had happened and Blade Winter had fallen in love—with a lady at that? Hell, it was too much. He was too much.

Escorting her to her chamber in the early hours of the morning through the shadows had been pure and utter torture. But he had told himself he must be firm. That the lady had made herself clear—she needed to marry a wealthy lord, and while Blade had plenty of blunt, he would never be an earl or a bloody duke.

His mind hurt. He tried to turn it to something else. Anything else. Frantically, his eyes scoured the chamber for any signs Felicity had indeed spent hours in his chamber with him the night before. That he had not dreamed the entire affair. There was nary a hint of her, save the scent of her on his bedclothes. Seductive woman and jasmine.

His cockstand was instant and aching. None of these realizations were helping matters one whit.

Belatedly, it occurred to him that there could only be one source for the unusual morning light radiating from behind the curtains.

Freshly fallen snow.

He rose from the bed, drawn to that brightness. Naked as a babe, he crossed the room and drew back the window dressings. Below, and as far as the eye could see, spread a hoary blanket, interrupted only by trees in the distance.

It quite took his breath, that dreamy winter’s vision.

There was something ridiculously pristine about snow in Oxfordshire. Neat, glistening, perfectly white, and not besmirched by passing carts, carriages, hacks, horse dung, rat shit, donkey piss, chamber pots, and whatever other misery could be visited upon purity. He had never stopped to admire snow in the rookery. Even after first fall, it was gray with soot, trampled by hooves and boots, soiled and ugly and cold.

But this morning, he noticed the snow. He saw its beauty, its rarity.

Not unlike Lady Felicity Hughes.

She was rare and pristine and beautiful in a way he had never appreciated a woman. Hell, in a way he had never known. Until he had besmirched her, just like rookery snow.

Damnation. What was he going to do?

A sudden flurry of motion came into view below.

He recognized the laughing forms of his half siblings, Demon, Gavin, and Genevieve. They were having the devil’s own time at this house party. Romping in the snow. Laughing. Gen had even worn a gown and attended a ball. It was bloody unheard of. And what had he done? He had fallen in love and despoiled an innocent.

Dom and Devil were going to hand him his arse.

He was meant to have stayed out of trouble. Instead, he had found more trouble than he had left in London. Only, this was the sort of trouble he wanted to claim. He inhaled slowly, then exhaled, lowering his forehead to the cold pane with more force than he had intended.

His head connected with a thump. He winced.

Hell, mayhap he deserved that blow. Mayhap it would force some sense into him. Nay, he was still stupidly in love with a lady he could never have beyond what they had shared last night.

Belatedly, he realized his siblings had spied him. They were saying something, gesturing, laughing harder. But he could not make out their words.

Had Gavin just told him he could breathe a trick?

That made no bloody sense.

He made a rude gesture down at the trio. Demon tossed a snowball in his direction. It landed on the glass with a thud, a ball of white clinging to the pane.

More laughter from below.

He can seal your brick, Demon was shouting now.

Losing his patience, Blade opened the window at last, thrusting his head out against a blast of crisp, frigid air.

“Eh?” he called back. “What is it, you lot of criminals?”

“We can see your prick!” shouted Gavin.

Well, good Christ and all that was holy. He glanced down. The window was longer than he had realized. And there he stood, bare-arsed for all the monkery to see. Or in this instance, for his despicable siblings, whom he loved despite their glee at his abject humiliation.

He shielded himself with two hands.

“Stupid sod,” Demon added for good measure, laughing uproariously.

Gen clapped a gloved hand over her eyes. “Can’t see nothing.”

At least one of them had some fucking manners.

“Not that I expect I could,” she added, laying ruin to that naïve thought in the next breath. “Too small to see from here!”

He slammed the window closed, the laughter of his siblings ringing in