James held Gillian in his arms, watching the candles slowly burn down. He had been reckless, taking her like that, and yet he had not regretted an instant. She was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but he knew he was going to have trouble convincing her to marry him. There were secrets in her eyes, and sorrow upon her lips and he wished he knew what it was that filled her with fear and hesitancy. He lived his entire life feeling distanced and alone from others, it was hard to find a young lady in society who would marry a man who wished to keep his mother close, a mother who suffered from an early onset of an illness of the mind. Many young ladies he had met had mentioned they would wish to see his mother retired to the country, out of sight, out of mind, but James couldn't do that. Gillian seemed to understand him and had compassion like no other woman he’d met. That was the sort of woman he could marry.
He brushed a stray lock of her hair back from her face and she snuggled closer to him. The light floral scent that clung to her hair made him think of those long-ago summers when he was a boy in the country. His father had been alive and his mother well. He and Letty had dashed about the tea tables beneath the vast canopies of the pavilion tents which were full of friends from the surrounding villages and estates.
Summer days full of warm sunlight… That was what it felt like to hold this woman in his arms. She was a strange and wonderful magic he couldn't quite believe he’d managed to capture. When his mother had first fallen ill and had lost so much of her ability to follow conversation and remember details of the present, he promised he would find a way to make her whole again. His mother had held his hands in hers, the premature gray at her temples lending a melancholy elegance as she smiled sadly and spoken to him.
“Promise me, James, that you will find a way to harness the rainbows after the storms life gives you. Your father was my rainbow captured in a jar. You need not worry about me. Chase your own wondrous mystery to its colorful end and catch it before it's too late.”
He had not completely understood her, a boy of sixteen rarely wants to think about the philosophies of life. But now he wondered if Gillian might be his rainbow in a jar. But how to catch and keep her?
“I want you to belong to me,” he murmured against her forehead before he placed a soft lingering kiss there. Come morning he would begin chasing his rainbow to its wondrous and mysterious end.
About the Author
USA TODAY Bestselling Author Lauren Smith is an Oklahoma attorney by day, who pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smart phone flashlight app. She knew she was destined to be a romance writer when she attempted to re-write the entire Titanic movie just to save Jack from drowning. Connecting with readers by writing emotionally moving, realistic and sexy romances no matter what time period is her passion. She’s won multiple awards in several romance subgenres including: New England Reader’s Choice Awards, Greater Detroit BookSeller’s Best Awards, and a Semi-Finalist award for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award.
To connect with Lauren, visit her at:
www.laurensmithbooks.com
lauren@Laurensmithbooks.com
Other Titles By Lauren Smith
Historical
The League of Rogues Series
Wicked Designs
Her Wicked Proposal
Wicked Rivals
Her Wicked Longing
His Wicked Embrace (coming March 2018)
The Earl of Pembroke (coming March 2018)
His Wicked Secret (coming soon)
The Seduction Series
The Duelist’s Seduction
The Rakehell’s Seduction
The Rogue’s Seduction (coming March 2018)
Standalone Stories
Tempted by A Rogue
Sins and Scandals
An Earl By Any Other Name
A Scottish Lord for Christmas
Contemporary
The Surrender Series
The Gilded Cuff
The Gilded Cage
The Gilded Chain
Her British Stepbrother
Forbidden: Her British Stepbrother
Seduction: Her British Stepbrother
Climax: Her British Stepbrother
Paranormal
Dark Seductions Series
The Shadows of Stormclyffe Hall
The Love Bites Series
Brotherhood of the Blood Moon Series
Blood Moon on the Rise (coming soon)
Brothers of Ash and Fire
Grigori: A Royal Dragon Romance
Mikhail: A Royal Dragon Romance
Rurik: A Royal Dragon Romance
Sci-Fi Romance
Cyborg Genesis Series
Across the Stars (coming soon)