Along Came a Rogue Read Online Free PDF

sister, and he knew Emily loved Thomas. And Grey’s heart melted for them both.
    He gently wiped away the tear with his thumb. “No, Emily.” His knuckles trailed across her cheek to soothe her. “Your brother’s alive.”
    Her eyes flew open. Watery sapphire pools stared at him, incredulous and vulnerable.
    “Thomas is alive ,” he repeated and cupped her face in his hands. “We never expected—but he survived.” He grinned at her, unable to hold back his own relief. “He’s too damned stubborn to die.”
    “Oh, thank God,” she murmured, her petite body sagging with relief. “Thank God!”
    She threw her arms around his shoulders and buried her face against his neck. His hands lifted to her back in a loose embrace to comfort her.
    As she shifted into his arms, her breasts pressed against his chest, and his breath hitched—well, she was certainly no longer a stick with blond braids. The brat had grown into a woman, one whose warm lips now brushed against his neck as she murmured over and over her thanks to God for saving her brother, her thanks to him for bringing her the news…and each word shot straight through him to the tip of his tingling cock. Sweet Lucifer.
    Swallowing hard, he gently took her shoulders and set her away from him.
    She wiped at her eyes. “You didn’t have to come all this way.” But gratitude swelled in her soft voice. “You could have sent word—”
    He grinned at her. “I’ve come to escort you to London.”
    Her hand paused in mid-swipe as the bright happiness on her face disappeared, replaced once again by that mysterious fear he’d glimpsed earlier. This time stronger than before. For a moment, he thought she might just jump to her feet and flee like a frightened hare.
    “Thomas asked for you,” he explained. “I promised to bring you to him.”
    “Thomas asked…?” For a fleeting moment, a desperate longing registered in every inch of her, the overwhelming compassion and grief she felt for her brother palpable. She pressed her hand against her heart.
    Then suddenly she stiffened, and the vulnerability he glimpsed in her vanished as a veil came down over her face. Yet she couldn’t hide the fear. That still shined in her eyes as brightly as her lingering tears. “Thank you for telling me about Thomas. I truly appreciate your kindness and your devotion to him, more than you know.” She hesitated, as if forcing herself to say, “But I’m not going anywhere with you.”
    He was stunned. “Emily—”
    “Mrs. Crenshaw,” she corrected, then more softly, “if you please.”
    He clenched his jaw. What should he care if she preferred formality from him? But inexplicably, it angered him. So did her refusal to see her brother. Had the sweet girl he remembered turned into a coldhearted bitch?
    “I can’t possibly travel right now, Major.” Her voice caught as she gave her apologies, but she hurried on. “So you and your man will have to leave after your tea.”
    “We’re spending the night,” he countered.
    Her eyes flared, as if she didn’t know whether to be furious or terrified at the prospect of having him as a guest. “There’s no room for you here.”
    Skeptically, he raised his eyes to the large country house behind her and silently arched a brow.
    “We’re not able to accommodate guests at this time,” she clarified with an almost desperate impatience to convince him to leave. Averting her eyes, she focused intently on pulling at her skirt with her fingers. “But there’s an inn at the village—”
    He grabbed her hand, stilling it against her skirt.
    With a shocked gasp, she looked up at him, her blue eyes round and huge.
    “You really expect me to believe that?” He kept his voice low and his anger checked, but he refused to release her wrist as she attempted to yank her hand away.
    “It’s true!”
    “It’s a damned lie,” he growled.
    “Captain Grey!” Aghast at his accusation, she struggled to free herself, but his grip only