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and it felt as if shards of glass had imbedded themselves behind her eyelids. She feared if she even moved, she would lose what little control she had. Still, circumstances demanded that she say something. Anything
.
    “ The sun’s too bright,” she managed to croak, sounding so much like a frog that she wished the earth would rise up and swallow her whole, before she made more of a fool of herself than she already had.
    Alec raised his brows and Julia placed her hands back over her hot, dry eyes and took deep, cleansing gulps of air. It was ludicrous. Here she was, her first morning as a wife, and all she could think about was how desperately she wanted to retch. “I’ll never drink rum again.”
    Alec crossed to the window and closed the heavy curtains. “Yes, you will. It will settle your stomach enough to eat. I’ll have some toast brought later.”
    Julia shuddered. “No. I don’t want toast. Or rum. Especially not rum.”
    “Trust me. You’ll feel better for it.”
    She didn’t even bother to answer, just squenched her eyes closed and prayed for a swift end to her misery. But it was not to be. The longer she lay, the more the room swirled and danced. Nausea hit her in waves. Forcing herself to sit up, she opened her eyes and tried to focus on her surroundings instead of Alec’s disturbing presence.
    A welcome fire burned in the grate of the elegant room. A small sofa and chair flanked the hearth, a neat table between them. Julia noted Alec’s jacket on the back of the sofa, the creased pillows pressed into one corner. It dawned on her that he had slept in the room with her. She looked down at her dress and noted that except for her boots, her clothing was completely intact.
    Of course it was. Devil Hunterston had his pick of London’s finest. Why would he bother with someone like her? She cleared her throat. “How did I get here?”
    “I carried you.”
    Julia risked a glance at him and then wished she hadn’t. His untucked shirt was startlingly white against his golden skin. His hair was in disarray, one inky lock falling across his forehead, while a day’s growth of whiskers darkened the strong line of his jaw.
    He had never looked so handsome. She wanted to trail her fingers along his jaw and kiss him like…
    Oh, God. Like she had before.
    The memory of the kiss at the inn flooded back in glaring detail. He had swept her into his arms, determined to ruin her reputation, and she had responded like a seasoned courtesan, clutching him tighter and even opening her mouth beneath his. Her head throbbed anew. Julia groaned and covered her heated face with her hands.
    “Do you need a basin?” Alec’s voice came from beside her.
    No matter how ill she felt, she would not admit to such a paragon of manly beauty that she was in dire danger of being violently ill all over his beautiful blue and gold carpet. She shook her head miserably.
    A warm hand came to rest on her shoulder. “Take a deep breath, love. It will pass.” Smooth and firm, his voice was as comforting as his touch.
    An unfamiliar wave of heat rose through her, blood thrumming a painful tattoo behind her bleary eyes. She wasn’t sure what hurt more, her head or her heart, but one of them was dying a slow and agonizing death.
    “Damn it! Where is Chilton with that rum?”
    Despite the irritation in Alec’s voice, his concern was palpable. She wished he would do something evil or debauched so she would have a weapon to fight off her unrestrained reactions.
    Instead, the hand on her shoulder slid up to rest on her head, sliding softly through her tousled hair. “Perhaps I should call someone?”
    “No,” she answered miserably. “Except for you, there is no one.”
    There was a moment of silence before he replied, “I meant a maid.”
    “Oh.” Her cheeks heated even more and she wondered if a person could expire from sheer embarrassment. Darn the man for making her so ill at ease. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her head. If she were