Green Eyes Read Online Free PDF Page A

No gentleman, this, she reminded herself, then blushed to the roots of her hair as she remembered how she had responded to this man she had never in her life set eyes on before, this rogue, this nonrespecter of women, this thief!
    “I have a gun,” she said hoarsely. Withdrawing the weapon from behind her back, she leveled it at him. “If you come one step nearer, I’ll shoot.”
    His eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed. For one moment they fixed on the pistol, then lifted to her face. He looked unnervingly cool—but he made no move to call her bluff, and even lifted a placating hand. Anna steadied her trembling fingers with sheer force of will and made herself meet those dark eyes with a calm that, she hoped, belied her wildly beating heart.
    “Let’s not be hasty, now,” he said, his gaze sliding to the pistol again, briefly. “I’ve done you no harm at all, nor do I mean you any.”
    Anna snorted, and the pistol wobbled in a way that would have alarmed her had she been the one on the business end of it. But he seemed unrattled.
    “You will leave— now .” Anna tried hard to sound authoritative, but she feared her voice was not altogether convincing. In any case, he made no move to obey. Instead, he shook his head regretfully.
    “I can’t do that, I’m afraid. At least, not without you.” He smiled at her then, a roguish smile that might, under other circumstances, have charmed her.
    “You’ve no reason to fear me. I’ll not hurt you— nor force you into giving anything you don’t wish to give—but you must see that I cannot leave you behind.” His voice was soothing, his tone eminently reasonable. Anna blinked at him. If she had not known better, she would have thought from his tone that she was the one being outrageous, while he tried to gently cajole her into more acceptable behavior. He had quickly recovered his composure, if indeed he had ever lost it, and stood easily erect, watching her—and the pistol—keen-eyed. Without the cloak, he was still formidable-looking, a tall man with wide shoulders and an athlete’s powerful build. His coat was black like his cloak and not overly fashionable. His breeches were black too, not as snug as was the current style but still close-fitting enough to reveal the powerful muscles of his thighs. His boots were not Hoby’s, but well-scuffed and worn, black like the rest of his attire. His linen was white, but faintly crumpled, and his cravat was carelessly tied.
    Not a gentleman, she decided again, but frighteningly attractive for all that.
    “Just go away! Please!” For all her good intentions, her voice wobbled more alarmingly than the pistol.
    He smiled again and shook his head. “I can’t do that either, I’m afraid. I’ve no doubt that as soon as I’m gone you’ll run screeching for reinforcements. I don’t fancy a bullet in the back—or a noose around my neck. But I’ll set you free as soon as I’m safe away, and give you money for your passage back here. You’ll come to no harm, I promise you.”
    “I won’t go with you! Have you no eyes in your head? I have a gun!” Anna practically hissed the last words.
    His mouth tightened fractionally, and his brows twitched closer together. “I haven’t time to stand about arguing with you. There’s no help for it; you must come with me. Your only choice is whether you walk out of here with a modicum of dignity or whether I stuff my handkerchief in your mouth, bind your wrists behind your back, and carry you out on my shoulder.”
    “I’ll shoot you if you take a single step toward me. I will, I mean it.” Panic edged her voice. He could not really mean to ignore a pistol pointed squarely at his head—could he?
    “That pistol looks older than I am—and unless I much mistake the matter it seems to be missing its hammer.” He shrugged. “Under the circumstances, I believe I’ll just have to chance it. Fire away.”
    Even as the sense of that sank in, and her eyes dropped in