Enticing Eve: Scandalous Secrets, Book 2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

tears clinging to her long lashes and watching as a few traced a path down her cheek. He brushed them away with the pads of his fingertips, noting that her once beguiling pout now appeared more pronounced and solemn. Then she met his gaze, her expression haunted. Gone were her bright eyes, as if their light – her very soul had suddenly been extinguished.  
    His mouth went dry.
    Something is wrong.  
    He knew it to be true, for his intuition was infallible. It had saved his life on many occasions.  
    Clasping her face in his hands, Colin continued, “I promised you that I would return, and I have.”  
    “I’m betrothed, Colin,” her eyes held his.
    He thought she was seeking a solution, so he offered one. “You can cry off.”
    “I can’t do that to him. I can’t hurt ...” Eve choked on her last words.
    It was as if she couldn’t bring herself to speak the man’s name. Colin stood firm. “You can cry off; you must.”
    “We could never hurt him like that, Colin,” Eve’s tears were flowing freely now, her eyes wide. In their depths, he discerned that something was terribly wrong. His chest constricted.  
    What in bloody hell has she done?
    In an instant, it dawned on Colin that none of his intelligence ever identified Eve’s betrothed.
    His breathing, like his thoughts, accelerated.  
    Dear God, he never thought to ask the question.
    “Who is he?” Colin demanded, struggling for breath. It was as if in one sudden rush, all oxygen vacated the room. “What is his name?”
    Eve remained silent. In response, Colin grabbed her arms. “Tell me, Eve.” He again received no response and shook her, unable to stop himself.  
    Colin had suspected the name before it escaped her lips in a tremulous murmur.
    “Tristan.”  
    A chill washed over Colin as if he’d been doused with an icy rain. Studying Eve, he searched for a sign, any sign, that he misunderstood her. Surely, the woman he loved would never become betrothed to his brother?
    The turmoil emanating from her piercing stare conveyed the very opposite as did her ashen complexion.
    “Did you know that Tristan is my brother?” Colin asked, his hands still clutching her arms.
    Eve nodded.  
    Her silence caused Colin to recoil from her very touch. “My, you have changed. The woman I knew would never be so malicious.”  
    She flinched as if his words stung her, and he hoped they did. It is why he added, “You are so beautiful yet your beauty is nothing more than a façade hiding a blackened heart.”  
    “Tristan doesn’t think so,” Eve countered, “then again, your brother is twice the man you will ever be.”  
    Colin slammed his fist against the gilded table in front of him, causing an antique vase to rattle. He then turned towards her, his tone deliberately low and dangerous. “Do not utter another word to me about my brother.”  
    He marched towards the windows at the far side of the small room. A bird flew past the glass, but he failed to discern its color or breed, his vision was so blurred by her betrayal.
    The irony failed to escape him. Colin postponed returning to England because he was ashamed of the man he had become yet, all the while, Eve had transformed into someone he no longer recognized.
    “You have no right to censure me,” Eve said, her tone as sharp and judging as her words.  
    Colin rounded on her. His fury must have been palpable for she took a step backwards.  
    “Make no mistake,” he warned, a vein pulsating within his neck. “I am the one who remained faithful. I returned to you.”
    “What did you expect me to do?” She reached for him, gripping his wrist. “I waited for you. I tried to find you without success. What other choice did I have but to give up hope?”
    Jerking his wrist as she leaned into him, Eve continued. “What would you have me do – pine for the rest of my life over a man who didn’t have the decency to say a proper goodbye?”
    “Out of all the suitors in England, why did you