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CHAPTER 32
Regina’s bare feet ghosted over the back lawn, damp from the evening’s dew. She couldn’t stand being cooped up in the house anymore. Damien had been gone five days. The amount of time Stanton had informed Joshua he was prearranged to be away.
After tonight, they would be in violation of the will. Damien hadn’t contacted her personally, so she had no idea if he planned to be home by morning... or not. Or if he’d ever come back…
She wished she had the option of escape, even if only for a few hours. Instead, she’d waited until June headed out for Wednesday night church. The sympathetic looks were more than she could handle.
“I must have been out of my mind… To let things go so far…” she said while walking slowly.
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TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 33
The men looked at each other, then around the back lawn. Damien’s whole body tightened.“I guess she didn’t come out,” Joshua said. “Maybe she must still be in the house… with mom.” Briar was already shaking his head as Damien spoke.“Have you ever known her to not be involved in something with this household?” He turned to sprint toward the cabin, adrenaline surging through his veins.“I thought the cabin was locked,” Joshua yelled from beside him as they ran. It seemed like forever before they reached the clearing now dusky with smoke. A quick glance back showed the other men were headed their way, loaded down with hoses and buckets.
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 34
Drawn to the woman he loved like a puppet on a string, Damien approached her hospital bed with caution. Sitting in the chair beside her wouldn’t do it. He needed to be near, to touch Regina and assure himself that she was okay. The doctor said they only wanted to monitor her oxygen, but the need remained. Her body was so still. Was she sunk deep in the healing sleep she so desperately needed? Or was she pretending to sleep so she didn’t have to deal with him at all? Taking a chance, Damien settled on the space beside her in the bed. There was just enough room for him to sit, his thigh resting along the curve of her back as she faced the opposite wall. Testing his welcome, he lay his hand on top of her hip. Sure enough, her body jerked
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 35
She was on her knees on the floor, in front of her open closet… Crying over her clothes… She missed Damien. He was always busy, but until today, always within reach. She missed arguing and the comfortableness of working together. But, above all, Regina missed the intensity of his passion and the feel of her soul mingling with his. The days were torture. The nights were devastating. They went to sleep, each on their respective sides of the bed. Some nights, lying there feeling useless and empty, Regina thought she’d give anything to have him curled against her back like he had that night in the hospital. Sure enough, by morning they would be tangled together, and her heart broke all over again. Something had to give soon because having him close but not having him for real was killi
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 1
Damien Kennedy suppressed a shiver that had nothing to do with the afternoon thunderstorm raging all around him. For a moment, he remained as if rooted to the spot, staring at the elaborate scrolls carved into the heavy oak door before him. A door he’d promised himself he’d never pass through again… At least, not while his grandfather was alive. ‘I should have come back here only for you, Mother… Only to see you…’ But he’d sworn never to let himself be locked inside the walls of Kennedy Mansion again. Damien had thought he had all the time he would need to make his absence up to his mother. But fate slapped him hard… In his youthful ignorance, he hadn’t realized everything
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD CHAPTER 2
Oh, he remembered her… Only too well. And from her ramrod-straight back, Damien gathered she remembered his little nickname for her. That stubborn I will get my way look brought it all back. Regina Duquesne used to look at him that very same way when they were teenagers after he’d brushed her off like an annoying mosquito, dismissed her without a care for her feelings. Just a pesky little kid always hanging around, begging his family for attention. Until that last time. The time he’d taunted her for trying to horn in on a family that didn’t want her. Her tears had imprinted on his conscience, permanently.“Damien,” she acknowledged him with a cool nod. Then she turned her attention back to Theo
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Regina listened to the men spar with one another as if from a distance. Shock cocooned her inside her own bubble of fear. As he spoke, Damien’s gaze tracked the lawyer’s movements, but Regina remained focused on Damien. The impenetrable mask of rebellion and pride that shielded any softer emotions. The breadth of his shoulders. The ripple of muscles in his chest and forearms, reminding her of his strength, his dominance. Could a man that strong prevail over someone with Theodore’s history of cunning maneuvers, both business and personal?“Well, old man… Why don’t you just lay it out for me,” Damien said, his voice curt, commanding the immense space of the master suite. A shiver worked its way down Regina’s spine.“The condensed version, pl
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“Oh, that’s so sweet of you, young lady, but maybe you should wait, since I have one last thing to add...” When spoken by Theodore Kennedy, those were not the words Regina wanted to hear. Yes, she said Damien she’d marry him, but now she wasn’t so sure about it… Not when Theodore was preparing to throw another bomb. Regina eyed the door to the suite with longing. Only a few more feet and she’d be free... From the old man and his grandson… For now...“Just wanted to let you know that a platonic relationship between you two isn’t acceptable. My goal is a legacy. I can’t get that with separate bedrooms or no sex between you.” Panic bubbled up beneath the surface of her skin until Damien replied with a droll.“O
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There were flutters of panic in Regina’s chest as she remembered that last face-to-face meeting with a seventeen-year-old Damien. She’d mooned over him from afar every time she came to visit Kennedy Mansion. Sometimes the hope of seeing him had drawn her just as much as Iris’s company, but that day had taught her well how little he felt for her. Whenever she’d come near Damien, he’d demonstrated the same unpleasant endurance as her parents, who also looked at her as a pest that they wished would disappear. He’d called her ‘Invader’ many times over the years she’d hung around, aching for a bit of Iris’s attention. Yes, that was definitely how he’d seen her time here at Kennedy Mansion. After that final rejection, Regina had stayed as
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