Read Wolf's Lady (After the Crash Book 6.5) for Free Online Page A

mate. Sand shook his doubt off, continuing down the stairs. That was a long time ago. Surely, after years of running a business like this, Sky had learned what women liked.
    *
    Amanda woke the next morning feeling oddly happy. She hadn’t felt this sort of fragile hope since her early childhood, before she learned lavish Christmas presents only came to rich little girls. A set of pretty clothes that were brand new instead of hand me downs had been at the top of her childhood wish list for years, until she realized a sanitation worker couldn’t afford them, even one who cherished his daughter above anything else.
    Sand wasn’t her Christmas present, but he could be. She lay on her back between cool sheets and cast her mind back over the events of last night. A giggle escaped when she remembered Paul’s misunderstanding. The giggle died. Sand’s violence had been controlled, but was there any doubt he could have killed Paul? No, not in her mind. What would it be like being married to him? The sex part would be fine, no matter what sort of lover he was. In seven years she had plenty of experience. Some men were good at it, others weren’t. She shrugged, her shoulders moving against the pillow. As long as he wasn’t cruel she could accept his lovemaking. Sex was only one slice of the marriage pie. There were other things that outweighed sex. Love. Devotion. Sharing. She had a month to decide if Sand could give her what she wanted from a husband.
    She got up and threw on a robe. Unlike her sexy working robes, this one was bulky and comfortable. Summer was winding down, and the morning air was a bit chilly. Was it always this cold in the morning? Since she normally slept until noon, Amanda wasn’t sure.
    She opened her door to go downstairs to breakfast and nearly tripped over a foot. Sand’s foot. He sat with his back against the wall, but he jumped up to steady her.
    “You okay?” he asked.
    “Yeah.” She tightened the sash of her robe. “I’m going to use the bathroom and then have breakfast. Have you eaten yet? I’ll meet you in the dining room in a couple of minutes.”
    Sand was still at the head of the stairs when she finished in the bathroom. He walked beside her down the stairs, through the empty reception rooms still littered with the debris of last night’s guests to the dining room. There she found a half a dozen women seated at the long table. They were what Amanda considered day staff. Debbie and Patty were laundresses, and Virginia and Heather were housemaids.
    Sand said a quiet good morning and headed over to the buffet under the window and loaded his plate with enough eggs and sausage to feed an entire family. Amanda filled a plate more modestly.
    Sand wasn’t one for chatting while he ate. Amanda watched him empty his plate one forkful at a time. He ate neatly, she noticed, but steadily. When he got up to fill his plate again, Amanda met Heather’s wide eyes with wide eyes of her own and a little shrug.
    He finished his second plate before she finished her first. He leaned an elbow on the table and put his chin in his hand to watch her. “What would you like to do today?” he asked. “Are there chores you need to finish first?”
    Ginny snorted, a sound loaded with sarcasm. Amanda put all her attention on finishing the last of her raspberries. “Let’s go for a walk,” she suggested when she put her fork down. “Give me five minutes to dress, and I’ll meet you by the front door.”
    Without looking at Ginny, Amanda went back upstairs. She put on ankle boots, jeans, and a loose blouse of pale green cotton. Because it was a little cool, she added her mother’s shawl. It seemed right to wear the shawl her mother had knitted when being courted by Sand.
    Sand stood in the foyer, deftly braiding his long black hair into a single braid that dangled between shoulders blades to his tailbone. Amanda’s fingers itched to do it for him. He had gorgeous hair.
    “If I decide to marry you, you’ll