Her Protector's Pleasure Read Online Free PDF Page A

freedoms that were hers by right—by virtue of the five years of hell that had been her marriage and the pain she continued to endure to this day.
    Anger straightened her spine. "Does my reputation precede me?" she said coolly.
    "Your reputation?" His brow furrowed.
    So he hasn't heard the rumors about me — well that's not surprising, is it? We hardly move in the same circles. Either way, 'tis not as if I give a damn what he thinks.
    "If you don't mind my asking," he said abruptly, "what were you doing alone in that area of Covent Garden and at this time of night?"
    Marianne's jaw slackened. It had been a good long while since anyone had taken her to task to her face. That this rawboned policeman in his shoddy clothes would presume to do so rankled her. After all that she'd survived, she was her own woman; she answered to no one. She responded with icy calm, a weapon she'd honed amongst the ton .
    "As a matter of fact, I do mind," she said. "My business is my own."
    "Not when it endangers your life and those of others who must rescue you from your folly."
    The nerve of the man . "I didn't ask for your help," she snapped.
    "No, you didn't," he agreed. "As I recall, it was more of a scream for assistance."
    For the first time in years, Marianne felt her composure crack a little. "I was not screaming. I was alerting my man Lugo to my whereabouts. At any rate, I had the situation well in hand before you came barging in." With a start, she heard the irritation simmering in her voice. She drew a breath. When she was once again collected, she arched a brow and pointed a glance at his arm. "Do you doubt that I would hesitate to do what was necessary?"
    "I doubt your common sense, my lady. And your ability to control your impulses. No pursuit of pleasure could be worth taking the risk you did tonight," he said grimly.
    That did it. The judgmental pedant thought to govern her, did he? A memory slipped through before she could stop it: kneeling between Draven's withered thighs, shame and fear making her gag. Try harder, you useless cunt, or you shall never see your little Primrose again ...
    Chest constricting, she pushed the image aside. Let out a breath. From the moment of Draven's demise, she'd sworn to be her own mistress. No one—least of all this sanctimonious nobody —would ever control her again.
    Fury cleared her mind, made it as sharp and crystalline as ice.A plan took shape in her head, and its simplicity nearly made her smile. Lecture me, will you Mr. Kent? Well, we shall see who learns the lesson this eve.
    "Obviously you haven't been pursuing the right pleasures," she drawled. "As a widow, I can assure you that certain delights are worth any risk."
    His dark brows drew together, color spilling over the ridge of his cheekbones. Good—she'd shocked the prig. Before she could enjoy the spark of satisfaction, however, he said in dogged tones, "This isn't about me. It's about you and your disregard for your own safety. Many a constable's work would be lessened if only people practiced common sense—"
    "And, you, Mr. Kent, are a fount of common wisdom, are you not?"
    Her sarcasm did not escape him. Despite his holier-than-thou attitude, Ambrose Kent was apparently no idiot. "I have seen suffering in my line of work," he said, "much of which could have been prevented with a little forethought."
    "Indeed," she said in a bored voice.
    "I do not wish to preach, my lady, only to be of service." The muscle along his jaw ticked again; Kent was not quite as unflappable as he wished to be. "If you think yourself above my advice, then don't take it."
    "Above, sir? Not at all. In point of fact, I am in need of your services at this very moment."
    His eyes—the shade of light filtered through amber—narrowed at her.
    "We have arrived at my home," she said. The upward sweep of his long lashes indicated that he'd been so engrossed in his righteous dispensing of advice that he hadn't noticed the carriage stop. "And after the night's