A Dangerous Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

hands.
    “You don’t believe me?”

    To his surprise, she trailed her gaze down his body with the remote detachment generally used by men assessing a whore’s physical attributes. It unnerved him, although his “sword” had no such compunctions and grew rampant beneath her look. What a bold vixen. Utterly unlike any peer’s daughter he’d ever met.
    Then she sighed wearily. “I believe you. A man like you needn’t pick a woman’s lock to take her treasure. I’ll wager you can convince any woman to give you the key.”
    “What the hell does that mean, ‘a man like me’?”
    “A handsome ne’er-do-well.” She tossed down the sword. “An Irishman who quotes Shakespeare to further his purposes. I suspect you know precisely how to gain entrance into any woman’s bedchamber.”
    “But not yours,” he couldn’t resist saying. He wondered what she’d think if he told her that he generally gained entrance into bedchambers using gifts and cold currency rather than Shakespeare. It was more efficient, more dependable.
    She glanced away, and for the first time since she’d entered the room, she looked vulnerable and young. “No. I’m not easily persuaded by flattery. All that flummery about beauty provoking thieves…you may seduce other women with your paltry knowledge of Shakespeare, but not me. I recognize a double-dealer when I see one: the sort of man who memorizes only those lines of great literature suitable for deceiving women.”
    That was harsh, even if partly true. Her other sisters hadn’t been so wary either of him or Daniel. It intrigued him. He’d never met a female who hated him on sight, at least not since he’d become wealthy. “You have a poor opinion of me. That’s hardly fair, given our short acquaintance.”

    “I think it more than fair when you consider that I found you rifling Papa’s desk.”
    Damnation, couldn’t he get her off that subject? “For pen and paper.”
    “Yes, of course. Did you find any?” She turned, and the edges of her silk wrapper swished open to reveal a flash of shapely calf before she circled to the back of the desk.
    The one glimpse reignited his lust, burning up any memory of whether he’d seen pen or paper in the desk drawers. “No. But I’d only just started looking when you leapt into the room with sword and shield at the ready.”
    Ignoring his sarcastic tone, she bent forward to open a drawer, and two tempting swells of flesh threatened to spill from the wrapper. He gritted his teeth in a vain attempt to bite back his carnal thoughts. Did the woman have no modesty? He’d never survive a day in this house if she went around displaying her ample attractions with every motion.
    When she straightened she held a sheaf of foolscap, which she offered to him over the desk. “Here is your paper. If you look in the drawer of the writing table in your room, you’ll find a quill and ink. All the guest rooms are furnished with writing materials. I can only assume that our last visitor depleted the store of paper in yours.”
    Her challenging look roused his grudging admiration. Moving to the desk, he took the paper. Should he brazen his way through this any further? No. That was unlikely to work with this clever Amazon.
    He tossed the paper down on the desk. “I see I’ve been well and truly caught.”
    A ghost of a smile touched her lips. “Only a fool would believe that a man of affairs would forget thetools of his trade at home. And I am no fool, Mr. Brennan.”
    “We’ve thoroughly established that.”
    When a second passed and he said no more, her half-grown smile vanished. She braced her hands wide apart on the desk, much as a man might, and unwittingly allowed him a glimpse down the front of her wrapper. “Will you explain yourself or not?”
    “Not.” His mind was far too diverted by the display of her assets to think of a plausible explanation. He’d have to stay clear of this woman, or he’d never achieve his purpose. She’d be a