Forbidden Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

absurdly long lashes.
    Justin’s smile widened. “That’s all right,” he told her blandly. “I was wet anyway.”
    This won him another chuckle, not quite so damp as the first.
    “You were, weren’t you? I’m sorry about ruining your bath.”
    “I’ll forgive you—this time. But don’t let it happen again.” A stern note entered his voice, but he was smiling.
    Megan smiled back. “No, I won’t,” she promised. “I really don’t make a habit of invading gentlemen’s bedchambers. I was just—upset.”
    “Then it’s to be hoped that you don’t get upset too often.” This was said in an extremely dry tone that made Megan laugh.
    “You’re really very nice,” she said, as if she had made a surprising discovery. “Not at all as I remember. You always seemed so—so distant. As if you didn’t like me very much!”
    Justin felt another pang of conscience.
    “I’m sorry if I gave you that impression.” His eyes were steady on hers. “I suppose the only excuse I can offer you is that I haven’t had much experience with children.”
    “I’m not a child,” Megan pointed out. Looking at the slender yet temptingly curved shape of her as she perched so trustingly on his knees, Justin was forced to agree.
    “No,” he said. “But you were.”
    “Well, since I’m not now, maybe we can wipe the slate clean and start all over again. I’ll try my best to behave like a proper young lady—Miss Chevington always said I could if I tried—if you don’t stay so—so far away all the time. After all, even though I knowwe’re not really related, you’re the only family I’ve got.”
    This last was said with such simple sincerity that it had the effect of making Justin feel like a villain. It also helped him to keep a tight rein on his baser instincts, which were reacting automatically to the girl’s undeniable loveliness. Her eyelids were red and swollen from crying; a few tears still sparkled in the sooty blackness of her lashes. Her little nose was faintly red at the tip, and her mouth had a soft, smudged look that he found very appealing. Her hair swirled around her face and upper body in a wild profusion of gleaming ebony curls, having escaped the last of its pins during her emotional outburst. Her blue dress, with its demure, schoolgirl neckline and long sleeves, was damp on one side from where she had lain against him. It clung to her breasts enticingly. They were surprisingly full for so young a girl, he noted, and beneath them her waist seemed incredibly tiny. He looked up again, to find her smiling at him. His breath caught a little, and his hands clenched convulsively over the padded arms of the chair. His first impulse had been to draw her close again. Clearly she had no idea of the dangers inherent in her present position. Quite obviously, she regarded him as an ancient but surprisingly kind protector. Which was what he was to her, of course. Still, he could not help thinking of all the women who had had cause to regard him very differently, and a wry smile twisted his lips.
    “Well?” she said impatiently, and he realized that she was waiting for him to reply to her proposal.
    “No more wild dancing. I’m sure you know that it’s not done for ladies to show their legs.”
    “Limbs,” Megan corrected, smiling mischievously. Justin smiled back, but continued his lecture in the same chiding tone.
    “No more joining up with gypsies, and no more running away from school—or anything else improper, which I may have overlooked for the moment. Agreed?”
    She gave him a dimpled smile. “Agreed,” she said, laughing a little. “I just did those things—well, most of them—because I wanted you to notice me. It’s not very nice, always being palmed off on someone’s secretary. Although I must say that Charles has always been very kind to me.”
    “He’s fond of you, I think.”
    “Yes.” She was smiling. Justin leaned back in the chair, his expression indecipherable as he watched