A Not So Respectable Gentleman? Read Online Free PDF Page A

set afire. She saw in his eyes that he, too, was affected by the touch.
    He released her immediately. ‘The Marquis de Sade wrote many...books, which detailed scandalous acts, acts he is said to have engaged in himself.’
    ‘Scandalous acts?’ Where was this leading?
    He nodded. ‘Between...between men and women.’ His eyes remained steady. ‘De Sade derived carnal pleasure from inflicting pain on women. It was his way of satisfying manly desires.’
    Mariel’s cheeks burned. No man—not even Leo—had spoken to her of such matters before. ‘I do not understand.’
    He went on. ‘For some men the pleasure that should come...in the normal way...only comes if they cause the woman pain.’
    She’d heard that lovemaking—at least the first time—could be painful, but he didn’t seem to be talking about that. ‘What pain?’
    He did not waver. ‘Some men use whips. Some burn with hot pokers. Others merely use their fists.’ His cheek twitched. ‘Sometimes the woman is bound by ropes or chains. Sometimes she is deprived of food or water.’
    Her stomach roiled. ‘Why do you say this to me?’
    His features twisted in pain. ‘Because Lord Kellford has boasted of such predilections. Because I have heard accounts about him. I have seen him use a whip—’
    An icy wind swept through her. ‘That is the information you needed to give me?’
    ‘Yes.’ His voice deepened. ‘That is it.’
    She glanced over at Penny, whose expression reflected the horror Mariel felt inside. Penny had heard it all.
    Mariel had known Kellford to be a greedy, calculating man hiding behind a veneer of charm. Now she discovered he was depraved as well and that he would likely torture her. Hers would not merely be a wretched marriage, it would be a nightmare.
    She turned from Leo and started to walk away.
    Again he seized her, this time holding her with both his hands, making her face him, leaning down so he was inches from her face. ‘You cannot marry him, Mariel. You cannot!’
    He released her and she backed away from him, shaking her head, anger rising inside her like molten lava.
    It was easier to be angry, much easier than feeling terror and despair. She fed the anger, like one fed a funeral pyre.
    Why had Leo saddled her with this appalling information? Did he think it a kind gesture? A worthy errand? Would he depart from this lovely park feeling all self-righteous and noble? Might he even pretend this atoned for disappearing from her life and breaking her heart?
    He had walked away from her without a word, as if she’d been nothing to him, and now he burdened her with this?
    She felt ready to explode.
    ‘Do you think you have helped me?’ Her voice shook.
    He seemed taken aback. ‘Yes, of course. You can cry off. It is not too late.’
    She gave him a scornful laugh. ‘I can cry off.’ Suddenly she advanced on him, coming so close she felt his breath on her face. ‘You understand nothing, Leo.’ Let him feel the impact of her wrath. ‘I have to marry Kellford. Do you hear me? I have no choice.’
    She swung around and strode off.
    ‘What do you mean you have no choice?’ he called after her. ‘Mariel!’
    She did not answer. She did not stop. She did not look back. She did not even look back to see if Penny followed. She rushed down the path and out of the park. Hurrying across Park Lane, she did not stop until she reached the door to her town house.
    Out of breath, she leaned her forehead against the door and waited for Penny to catch up.
    To herself she said, ‘I have no choice, Leo. No choice at all.’

Chapter Three
    L eo watched Mariel flee from him. Seeing her had shaken him more than he cared to admit. Her ginger-coloured eyes fascinated him as much as they’d done two years before. His fingers still itched to touch the chestnut hair, peeking from beneath her bonnet. And her lips? It had been all he could do to not taste of them once again.
    He thought he’d banished her image from his mind, but the full