A Much Compromised Lady Read Online Free PDF

better to have this dark-eyed Gypsy full of
too many inventive ideas, a little liar and a thief, and fair match
for his own dark soul.
    She wet her upper lip with her tongue and
tipped her head to one side. “Perhaps then we shall talk more about
your helping me—if I help you beforehand?”
    St. Albans leaned forward to capture that
mouth with his, but a firm hand on his chest stayed him.
    “I said perhaps . But do you not wish
me to first help from your other clothes?”
    He eyed her warily. She tugged his shirt
loose from his pantaloons and smoothed a hand over his stomach and
up to his chest. Pinpoints of pleasure danced through him.
    “Whatever did you have in mind?” he asked
with a smile.
    “A game. A Gypsy game. You must stand in the
middle of the room with your eyes closed. And for every garment I
take off, you must take off one, as well. But there is one
thing—you must not open your eyes until I tell you to. It is bad
luck, and I will never trust you if you promise not to look and
then do so before I tell you.”
    She was at it again. Scheming. He glanced at
the chair propped under the door knob. She could not move it
without his hearing the scrape of wood on wood.
    So why not indulge her?
    “Where do want me to stand?” he asked.
    She led him to a spot halfway between the bed
and the door and asked him to close his eyes. The smile she gave
him as she asked had his pulse hammering.
    “Promise not to look before I say,” she told
him, her mouth pulling into a pout.
    “I promise.”
    “No, it must be a sacred vow. On your
honor.”
    “I have little enough of that, my
sweets.”
    “Then on your family’s name.”
    “Oh, very well. I promise, on the name of
Winters, that you have the word of the Earl of St. Albans not to
look before you say.”
    Her hand brushed his chest again, leaving his
skin tingling. He closed his eyes and was rewarded with the sound
of cloth rustling. Stiff fabric was draped across his naked
shoulder.
    “That is my corset. Now, in turn, pull off
your shirt. But keep your eyes closed.”
    He obeyed, and began to think that he could
actually become accustomed to such commands from her. For a time,
at least. Perhaps he would even keep her with him for a few days,
or so. It had been long enough, after all, since he had had any
such lengthy liaison.
    More cloth rustled, and soft fabric lay
across his shoulder. She whispered in his ear, “There is my shift.
Now I have nothing on at all. Will you match me before I tell you
that you can look?”
    It took a few moments for him to strip off
his pantaloons. Knitted from fine wool they clung to his legs, but
he soon dragged them off and tossed them aside. He did not wear any
drawers underneath, and the cool air swirled around his bare
skin.
    Straightening, he waited a moment for her
next command. What would she do before she told him to open his
eyes? He liked how resourceful she was. Perhaps they might even
enjoy each other’s company a few weeks?
    The silence lengthened. Tilting his head, he
stretched out his other senses. He had not heard the chair scrape,
so she must still be in the room—and yet, it was too quiet. Too
empty.
    A cold draft wound around his legs.
    Opening his eyes, he spun around.
    She was gone.
    He stood naked in an empty room. The chair
stood on its four legs beside an open doorway. Fury pulsed so hot
in his veins that he almost forgot his lack of dress and went after
her. But the cold air began to cool his body and his head. He
glanced down at his naked skin and a smile lifted one side of his
mouth.
    That little witch. So, she thought she had
made good her escape. She thought this was done.
    Well, she had not yet learned what it was to
deal with the Earl of St. Albans.
    * * *
    Glynis ran down the backstairs of the inn,
her bare feet slapping quietly on the wood and her heart quick as
her feet. The door creaked as she pushed it open, but the noise of
the tap room muffled the sound. From upstairs she heard