Only Mine

Elizabeth Lowell

Lady Jessica Charteris refuses to marry any man except one. She has terrible memories from her childhood, and her old friend Wolfe Lonetree is the only man she trusts. She forces him into a marriage he doesn't want. She won't be a London aristocratic wife. He won't marry a woman who isn't from the American west. After their wedding, he takes her back with him to American, hoping to force her into an annulment.

Jessi shrinks from any intimate touch. She isn't trained for anything. She can't even brush her own hair. The West is still rough. The War Between the States hasn't been over long, and many of the renegades from it are now in the West. Wolfe knows it isn't anything like the pampered London life Jessi lead. He refuses to pamper her. He hopes the rough treatment will convince her to return to England. But he doesn't understand Jessi. And she doesn't understand Wolfe.

This is one of those story lines that annoys me. These two have been friends for about ten years. He protected her the first time he visited his father, her guardian. Since then, she loved having him near, and was sorry when he returned to America. Wolfe is an illigimate son, and not fully accepted in London society except as a nine-days' wonder. When he returns for her twentieth birthday, she traps him into marriage. They then don't talk about anything important until 3/4 of the way through the book. He is cruel; she is proud. She says hurting things; he works her so hard her muscles cramp up. This is one of those stories that a little communication between two people living so closely together could clear up most of the misunderstandings within a few days. In fact, that's what finally does happen.

I know that there is supposed to be miscommunication and misunderstanding in romance novels. That's what makes them satisfying when the characters finally come together. But I hate spending the whole book wanting to knock two stupid persons' heads together. I skipped over many parts until he learns her secrets and begins to understand her. After that, the story became satisfying rather than cruel. Now if she would only begin to understand him...

Notice: Explicit sexual content

Only His
Only Mine
Only You
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