Read Ravishing Rose for Free Online Page B

what would feel good for her.
    She pressed her bare thighs together, feeling the twinges of his possession again. God—just thinking about him set up tiny twitches and ripples inside her!
    Annoyed, she unzipped her costume, stepped out of it, arranged it on its hanger, and checked it with care. She re-laced the bodice and tied a neater bow, smoothed down some of the crushed petals, and let out a sigh of relief when she found it hadn’t been damaged after its rough ride on the table. Some of the feathers on the helmet were crushed and broken—no doubt from its tumble onto the paving of the courtyard. She fetched her nail scissors and trimmed the worst of them. Would Bella notice?
    “That you Frankie?” came a croak from the next room.
    She grabbed her robe and slipped it on against her curiously aroused skin, hunting for the sash as she called back, “Yes, only me. Sorry—didn’t mean to wake you.”
    “No worries sweetie. I’ve been feeling so awful I haven’t been able to doze off yet. Come and tell me what I missed.”
    As if , Frankie thought, biting her lip.
    “It was great,” she said brightly as she trotted in to see Bella. “A string quartet and a rock band. Lots of fireworks. But I didn’t know anyone there of course, and your boots were starting to kill me, so I hitched a ride home early with one of the food ladies.”
    “Mike was enjoying himself?”
    “Talking non-stop. He said it’d be a good opportunity for networking and I’m sure he’s right. He knows everyone, doesn’t he?”
    Bella coughed thickly from her cozy nest amongst the magazines and pillows, and grabbed a tissue from the nearby box before sneezing again.
    “Like some more juice?” Frankie asked, eyeing the empty glass on the bedside table. “Pills, potions, painkillers?”
    “Juice please, darling. And perhaps just a little sandwich if you could make me one? I couldn’t face eating anything earlier. There’s some ham in the fridge. How was the food?”
    “Amazing. Total banquet. I had some fantastic lobster.” She avoided having to give any further description by dashing off to make the sandwich.
    When she carried the tray back to Bella a few minutes later, she decided the poor woman really did look ill.
    “Sure you don’t need anything else?” she asked, setting the tray down. “I’m going to have a shower, but if there’s anything I can do...?”
    “Stay and talk to me for a while. It’s nice to have company. How did my costume compare with all the others?”
    Frankie resigned herself to having the Captain all over her skin for a few minutes longer, and settled onto an ivory brocade armchair that was just so Bella it made her teeth hurt.
    “Outshone almost everyone,” she said without having to lie. “There were angels and shepherdesses and fairies and showgirls...”
    “But nothing like my warrior queen?”
    “Nothing remotely. I certainly felt exotic and powerful.”
    “Not like your shy little self then?”
    Frankie winced at that. “Is that how I seem? I’m not really. Just a bit self-contained perhaps. Maybe it’s living so many years at home.”
    “You were a saint with your mother,” Bella said through a mouthful of sandwich.
    A saint without much help from you or Mike, Frankie couldn’t help thinking.
    “I enjoyed being anonymous behind your mask tonight,” she said instead. “I felt brave. As though anything was possible.”
    “And did they wreck the old house?”
    “Plenty of graffiti and ripped curtains and smashed windows by the time I left.”
    Bella bit into her sandwich again and nodded.
    “I think your boots are going to need a good going over with a suede brush,” Frankie stammered. “The place was a bit rural.”
    Not to mention I got led up the garden path by a pirate.
    “I’m sure they’ll clean up,” Bella said, unconcerned. “We could go shoe shopping next week if I’m feeling better. I know some lovely stores.”
    Frankie shook her head. “No, I’m flying out to