Heartless Read Online Free PDF Page B

as a child, the earl’s chilling fury slid toward her in frozen sheets that were far more terrifying.
    She bit down on her trembling lip and did as he said, quietly setting the latch into place with a shaking hand.
    â€œCome here … Ariel.”
    She didn’t want to. Dear God, she wanted to turn and run. Still, she wasn’t a coward, had never been a coward. She had survived her father’s beatings. Somehow she would get through this.
    Pride stiffened her spine. She walked toward him on legs that felt wooden, praying they would continue to hold her up.
    â€œA bargain was made,” he said. “I have fulfilled my part. Now it is your turn to do so. You will remove your clothes. I wish to see what I have purchased with my hard-earned money.”
    For several long seconds she simply stared at him in horrified disbelief. “I couldn’t … couldn’t possibly—”
    â€œIf I hadn’t arrived when I did, you would have removed them for Marlin. You will do so now for me.”
    A shudder of fear slid down her spine and she bit back a sob that tried to escape from her throat. Dear God, this couldn’t be happening! Of all the scenarios she had envisioned, none of them were as terrible as this. Her eyes were burning, threatening to fill with tears. She forced them away, determined not to cry in front of the coldhearted beast who was now the earl.
    Instead she lifted her chin. “You’re mistaken, my lord. I would not have let Phillip take … take liberties with my person.”
    A fine black brow arched up. “No?” His lips twisted into a bitter, mocking smile. “And that little scene I witnessed in the Red Room? Are you going to stand there and tell me I imagined the two of you entwined in a lovers’ embrace?”
    Ariel bit down on her lip. It was only a kiss and yet, from the start, something about it had felt wrong. “What … what you saw was a mistake. Neither of us intended for that to happen.”
    His brows pulled together in a dark angry line and his mouth flattened out. He strode toward her, his expression thunderous, and unconsciously she took a step away. “If you believe Phillip Marlin did not plan your seduction then you are a bigger fool than I am. Now remove your clothes—or I shall remove them for you.”
    Tears filled her eyes. She blinked furiously, trying to stop them, finally succeeding. Courage came from somewhere deep inside her, a place scourged into her by the cruelties her father had inflicted. He could beat her, but he could never break her.
    Neither would the earl.
    Turning, she presented her back to him, standing ramrod straight though her legs were shaking. “You will have to help me with the buttons.”
    The earl moved forward. She could hear his shiny black shoes making a muffled sound on the carpet. He ignored the buttons and instead she felt the heat of his fingers at the nape of her neck as he took hold of the gown and ripped it open to the waist.
    The sob in her throat tore free, but when she turned to face him, those flat gray eyes held not a single trace of pity.
    â€œNow, do as I said. Take off the dress.” He took a few steps backward, as if he wished to view her distress from a more casual distance.
    Her hands were trembling. She gripped the delicate apricot silk and slid the ruined dress off her shoulders. Such a beautiful gown, she thought fleetingly, each one so precious to her, a woman who had never owned such lovely things. She tried to think of something she might say, some way to make him understand what had happened between her and Phillip, but one look at his face told her the effort would be futile.
    She stood in front of him in only her slippers, white silk stockings, satin garters, and fine lawn chemise, the fabric so transparent it revealed the faint pink circles of her nipples, the pale hair between her legs. Her face turned scarlet as those cold