His Lady Spy (The Star Elite Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

keep his mind of the delectable warmth of the curvaceous woman in front of him. Despite the dangers they were now in, his wayward body reacted to her closeness and he mentally cursed at the unfairness of it all. She was beautiful; wilful, strong, and clearly in need of help. At any other time, he would have been more than willing to offer her any assistance she required to ease her burden, and the pressure in his loins, but not now. Not when her life, as well as his own was in such danger. 
    Struggling the breathe against the firmness of the calloused fingers against her face, Portia grasped the hand covering her mouth and pulled with all of her might, twisting her head to the side at the same time. Sucking in a huge breath, she didn’t think to object as the man grabbed her hand and held it. The feel of the rough, warm palm against her cold fingers was vaguely reassuring but did little to ease the hammering of her heart.
    Inside the stable was dark and gloomy. The stench of animals was so pungent that her eyes watered. Her breath sawed in and out; the only sound within the small brick room they were now in. She hated to t hink what they were standing in. Her skirts were most probably ruined, but it was the least of her concerns. She realised that she had yet to take a good look at the man behind her but knew that even if she did turn around, she would see very little in the darkness that seemed to enfold them in its malevolent grasp.
    This was the man who had been following her down the road. He was taller than average, with dark blond hair and the most classically handsome face Portia had ever seen. The fleeting impression of rough but clean, white work shirt and dark breeches did lit tle to detract from the intense masculinity of the man who seemed so determined to help her. She wondered where he had come from so swiftly because she was fairly certain that nobody had been on the road when she had climbed the fence out of the field. Was he the reason she had felt as though she was being watched while she was sitting beside the stream? Had he been watching her? Watching the murder? If so, who was he? Was he one of them?
    Her mind raced with s eemingly endless possibilities. Now that she was standing still, and her heart had begun to slow down a little, her thoughts began to fall into some semblance of order, allowing logic to take a small step in the right direction. 
    “Stand perfectly still,” Archie warned, listening to the quiet footsteps approaching from outside. Drawing his gun, he stepped around her and placed himself directly between Portia and the door, his hand squeezing hers in silent warning. “Whatever you do, don’t make a sound.” Archie whispered, directly into her ear.
    Portia’s eyes grew round and she swallowed harshly against the need to cry. Even the towering presence of the man standing between her and the stable door, together with the soft hint of sandalwood and soap that teased her nostrils, did little to offer her any comfort. She knew she should yank her hand out of his and put some distance between them, but couldn’t bring herself to break the contact. At first she wasn’t certain if the loud thumps she could hear was her heart hammering, or the thumping of something outside.
    Closing her eyes, she felt sick as she stood listening to the stable doors along the row being kicked open. One heavy thud followed by a loud bang; louder and louder they grew until Portia was n’t sure she could stand it anymore. Despite knowing that the door to the stable they were standing in would go the same way at any moment, she still struggled to stifle a gasp when a loud thud directly before them was accompanied by the slamming of the stable door against the wall. It was so loud within the small room that it made her ears ring. She bit her lip against the instinctive urge to cry out in fear. There was little she could do. There was nowhere to go, and no way out. They had to wait for whomever to appear in