WEB OF CONNECTIONS

Isabella was the one to break the reverie - suchlike study, pulling back slightly though their bodies remained a hair's breadth piecemeal. Michael incontinently mourned the loss of her nearness like a physical pang. " Did you mean what you said?" she asked in a hushed tone, her amber eyes searching for him with naked vulnerability." That you will allow me tosimply.be myself? No prospects, no judgments?" Michael felt his throat grow thick with the weight of her question- and all it represented. This remarkable woman had been manacled by the ludicrous pressures of her birthright for far too long. What she craved further than anything was the freedom to define her own identity, to make her own choices without the spectre of status and duty brewing over her every move.

He traced the delicate wind of her cheekbone with one rough fingertip, authentically astounded by her quiet strength, her adaptability in the face of similar grim demands and scrutiny. " You have my solemn oath, Isabella,