WHAT A WOMAN NEEDS - Chapter 1 - Story excerpt

Jul 30, 2026

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婚姻与阶层算计交织在一段暧昧失控的情感里：男主斯图尔特计划与女主苏珊·特拉特的姻缘，条件明确、目标也极为现实，却在一切顺利推进时开始怀疑自己是否真正渴望这段婚姻。小说通过章节叙述展现苏珊的财富背景、监护人卡洛琳式的阻碍与家族安排带来的压力，并以他在图书馆徘徊、门后突发状况引出情节转折。

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages243

Reading Time6 h 14 min

Chapter One

Courtship and Conditions

The Guardian’s Obstruction

Financial Pressure and Doubts

A Sudden Turn

WHAT A MAN NEEDS Stuart grabbed her hand and led her toward the stairs. Charlotte picked up her skirt and ran after him, flushed and giddy. She felt young and reckless, having a clandestine rendezvous in the middle of the afternoon. At the top of the stairs, he stopped suddenly, catching her shoulders and pushing her back against the wall. His mouth came down on hers, hot and demanding, and Charlotte melted. “I have wanted you for so long,” he whispered, his breath flowing over her skin.“Tell me you want me. I have to hear it ...” “I want you,” she gasped as his fingers flew down the buttons at her back, then gathered the edge of her bodice and pulled it down ... [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) WHAT A WOMAN NEEDS CAROLINE LINDEN ZEBRA BOOKS Kensington Publishing Corp. [www.kensingtonbooks.com](www.kensingtonbooks.com) All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected. [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Table of Contents WHAT AMAN NEEDS Title Page Dedication CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTERELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Author’s Note About the Author Copyright Page [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) To Eric, for being just what this woman needs—sometimes more, but never less. [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) CHAPTER ONE Stuart Drake wasn’t opposed to a plain bride, but he didn’t want an ugly one. He didn’t require a witty girl, but he couldn’t bear a stupid one. Her disposition was negotiable, depending on her dowry, but he couldn’t see himself tolerating a shrew. His single inflexible condition was wealth; tall or short, plain or pretty, sweet or sour, she must be rich, exceedingly rich ifat all possible. If he had to marry for money, then by God, he meant to marry a lot of it. He didn’t think it would be difficult. What he had to offer a wife was not inconsequential: one of the oldest and most distinguished viscountciesin England, as soon as his grandfather and father shuffled off their mortal coils. Granted, it might be years before his wife lived as Viscountess Belmaine in the fine house at Barrowfield, but barring his own death it was an absolute certainty, and when the title came, it would bring enough wealth and status to satisfy any female. Fortunately he had come across a fine girl at what passed for a ball herein the wilds of Kent. Miss Susan Tratter, and her fortune of eighty thousand pounds, was everything he was looking for in a bride. She was pretty, in the rather pale tradition of English girls; clever, at least enough to sneak away from her chaperone for private strolls on the terrace; and more than wealthy enough. She was quite simply perfect, as well as completely infatuated with him almost from the moment they met. The only obstacle to his courtship was her guardian. Susan was convinced her guardian, who was also her aunt, didn’t want any joy in her life. Aunt Charlotte had traveled all around the Continent in her youth, but refused to take Susan even to London. Aunt Charlotte had kept company with any number of men when she was young—scandalous men, even—but refused to allow Susan to take so much as an afternoon drive with a gentleman. And, most damningly of all, Aunt Charlotte wore anything she wanted, much of it highly inappropriate for a woman of her age and widowed status, yet forced Susan to dress like a child in plain, girlish frocks that weren’t at all fashionable. Aunt Charlotte, in fact, did Stuart’s cause a world of good, all the more so by being out of town and leaving only a hired companion to chaperone her niece. In her absence, Stuart was free to console and sympathize until he found himself on the brink of a marriage proposal he knew would be accepted. That was perhaps part of the problem, he reflected one e

FAQs

斯图尔特最初对新娘的要求是什么？

他更在意财富与相匹配的条件，认为婚姻应以巨额资产为前提。外貌、机灵与性格可以因情况调整，但“富”是不可动摇的核心条件。

苏珊·特拉特的主要障碍来自哪里？

来自她的监护人、也就是她的姑母卡洛特。卡洛特不让苏珊接触伦敦与绅士社交，并用较为保守的穿着与陪同安排来限制她的自由。

为什么斯图尔特计划进展顺利后仍开始怀疑？

他发现追求过程缺乏挑战，事情过于顺利让他担心背后存在隐患。即使认为苏珊是合适的选择，他仍觉得“哪里不对”，并在做出下一步决定前陷入犹疑。

Jul 30, 2026

Upload by Quinn