In the Barrister's Bed Read Online Free PDF

reclaim this place. Now I’ll ask you again, do you have anywhere else to go? What of the home you shared with your husband? His family?”
    She felt icy fingers travel up her spine. The thought of returning to Plymouth and facing the suspicions and hatred of its townsfolk made her gut clench. “I’m not leaving.”
    They glared at each other across a sudden angry silence.
    “Then you will have to reside with me until we locate Reeves and retrieve your money,” he said. “Do you truly wish to live with a bachelor? Your reputation will be shredded beyond repair.”
    Little did he know, Roger had already successfully destroyed her reputation. Since she never planned to marry again, she cared naught for society’s cruel and unjust opinions.
    She met his gaze without flinching. “As I said, you may have inherited a dukedom, but you are no gentleman.”
    He stepped forward, appearing tall, broad, and compellingly male. His eyes traveled her face, and he leaned close—so very close—yet he did not touch her. She raised her chin, her eyes flashing with outrage. Then he reached out to finger a wayward auburn curl resting on her cheek, twisting it leisurely between his fingers.
    Her heart hammered in her chest. She could smell a hint of sandalwood in his cologne and feel his warm breath on her cheek. She wanted to slap his hand away, resist his unexpected touch, but a ripple of awareness passed through her limbs, upsetting her balance.
    Raising her eyes, she was struck by his sardonic gaze, full of challenge and amusement, as if he enjoyed her struggle to maintain her composure and knew his effect on her senses. Knew he exuded a potent sensuality.
    She pulled away, momentarily abashed.
    “Perhaps you’re right,” he said, “and I’m no gentleman. I’ve always had a weakness for the fair sex. I seem to find most attractive women irresistible, even widows with tongues that can clip tin. Who’s to say I won’t behave ungentlemanly and pay a nightly visit to your bedchamber should we live under the same roof?”
    Shock and embarrassment yielded quickly to fury. “Bastard!” she cursed, not caring how unladylike she sounded. “If you so much as come near my bedchamber, you’ll find me armed with the poker—and I won’t waste my efforts on your skull!”
    Grasping her skirts, she spun on her heel and slammed the door on her way out.

Chapter 4
    What was it about the woman that made James’s iron-clad control slip? Had he actually threatened to come to her bedchamber? In all his years of debauchery, he had never forced himself on a woman. It had never been necessary. Bella Sinclair had rightfully called him a bastard.
    And until recently, he’d believed the same of himself.
    James sighed as he stood in the center of the drawing room. Bella Sinclair was a beautiful woman with a glorious shade of auburn hair that matched her volatile temper. When she’d entered the drawing room, head held high, dressed in a gown that accentuated her generous curves, his blood had pounded in his veins. Memories of the night before returned, and he recalled her dark red tresses loose about her shoulders, whereas today her hair was bound in a tight knot. His fingers had itched to pull the pins from her hair and see the true color in the sunlight. Her gown had enhanced her magnificent green eyes, and he suspected she had carefully chosen her attire.
    James knew women, knew all their ploys and virtues, and Bella Sinclair had walked into the room with every intention of throwing him off balance.
    She had succeeded.
    Bloody hell.
    He had to put a stop to his carnal thoughts and consider her as an adversary barring him from what he coveted. She was a female, no different from any other, and James had yet to encounter a woman he couldn’t charm and seduce. How difficult could it be to convince her to leave Wyndmoor Manor?
    Yet he was not so foolish as to dismiss her entirely. James had always been professional, but aggressive in the courtroom