Her Every Pleasure Read Online Free PDF Page B

would his brother send him a girl? she wondered. The most puzzling part, however, was his refusal.
    Alexa said all men wanted sex constantly, and she would know. Sophia shrugged it off and supposed she should count herself lucky.
    Then his gaze flicked over her peasant disguise with a mildly pitying look that stung her royal pride. “You can keep the money,” he said gently, “whatever my brother has paid you. I’m sorry you’ve wasted your time.”
    Her swift indignation over his low view of her gave ground to more practical worries as he continued. “I know it must have been a very inconvenient journey for you, coming all the way out here. Come,” he said, gesturing toward the ladder. “I will pay your ticket for the stagecoach back to London. We’ll need to hurry to get you to the coaching inn on time—”
    “Wait!” she blurted out.
    “What is it?”
    She stared at him, tongue-tied. According to protocol, she had to stay put at
these
coordinates until her bodyguards found her!
    Good God, she could not let him kick her out now. Those vicious creatures who had attacked her carriage last night might still be out there somewhere on the hunt for her. Last night, at least she had had the cover of darkness to hide her, but now it was broad daylight, and if she came across her enemies out on the road, she doubted her peasant disguise would be enough to save her. She didn’t even have a horse now on which to escape them if they spotted her. She still had her knife, but this large fellow had just reminded her afresh that, as good as she was with a blade, sheer male strength could still overpower her.
    He had been watching the play of emotion on her face and now a curious frown had spread across his own. “Is something wrong?”
    “Are you so eager to get rid of me?” she countered, attempting a smile.
Please don’t kick me out.
    She didn’t dare go wandering down that country road alone. It would be extremely stupid to try it. She had to wait for her bodyguards to come and escort her on to the castle.
    She was certain it wouldn’t be long. Last night, her men had been routed by the ambush, but by now, they would have regrouped.
    Staving off fear, she insisted to herself that everyone surely had come through the ambush all right. If it turned out not to be so, she would deal with it when they were all reunited and she knew the facts. God knew, if there had been casualties, she had enough practice at grieving. She ought to be an expert at that by now.
    Alas, the keeper of kittens seemed all too eager to be rid of her. “I’m sorry, my dear. I’m flattered by your, er, enthusiasm, truly, but this is just one of my daft brother’s practical jokes,” he said in chagrin.
    “You really find me that unappealing?” she exclaimed.
    “No!” he vowed, sending her a searing glance. “It isn’t that at all.”
    Sophia furrowed her brow. There had to be some way that this stubborn chap could be persuaded to let her stay for just a few hours.
    Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell him the truth.
    Though he now seemed more trustworthy than he had at first, keeping her identity a secret was one of Leon’s strictest rules. Her guards were risking too much for her sake for Sophia to repay them by ignoring the procedures she had promised to adhere to.
    Oh, dear. What was she to say?
    He was looking at her curiously. “Are you that eager to…bloody hell, Derek told you about the Kama Sutra, didn’t he?”
    “The what? No—I mean—that is to say—” Her cheeks blazed crimson. Oh, for heaven’s sake!
    “Because I don’t do that sort of thing anymore. I mean, there’s more to life than mindless pleasure, isn’t there?”
    Sophia wanted the earth to part and swallow her like one of Greece’s countless little earthquakes. She cleared her throat and cast about for her dignity. “I assure you, sir, I respect your wishes and will do my best not to molest you. But you see, I only just got here, didn’t I? And it’s