Jaded Moon (Ransomed Jewels Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

savor her victory, since something told her the marquess wouldn’t surrender the battle easily. He had too many weapons at his disposal. Money. Property. A title. Not to mention those indescribable gray eyes and that powerful physique—which had no doubt slain many a female heart.
    But she would not be conquered so easily.

Jaded Moon
by Laura Landon
Ransomed Jewels Series Book Two

CHAPTER 3
     
    The full moon rose in the cloudy night sky, sending down hundreds of long, silvery fingers that reflected in shimmering splendor as the waves rolled to shore. Ross pulled his heavy woolen cloak tighter and leaned back against a boulder near the edge of the jagged cliff where, for the past several hours, he’d kept watch.
    Tonight was the third night he’d come to the cliffs. The third night he’d stayed hidden near the coastline to watch for any movement below.
    From here, he could see miles in either direction and had a clear view of the water’s edge and any boats that might come ashore.
    His view to every inlet and cove that dotted the coastline where St. Stephen’s stretched to the north and Clythebrook stretched to the south was perfect. If opium was being smuggled into England as Sam suspected, it had to be from somewhere near here. It was the logical spot. The shoreline on this part of St. Stephen’s and Clythebrook was dotted with a multitude of caverns and ideal hiding places.
    Ross lifted his head to look around, then, after he was assured the coastline was still clear, he pulled his collar tighter around his neck and sank back down into the tall grass that concealed his hiding place. The hours spent in the chilly, early spring air cleared his head and gave him time to decide what action he had to take to discover the whereabouts of Carrie’s child—of his child. A child whose whereabouts Miss Foley knew considerably more clearly than she was telling.
    Well, he’d be damned if he’d let his son or daughter be foisted off onto some poor tenant farmer to be slave labor as he knew was all too common. He’d find his child if it was the last thing he did.
    Ross tried to relax the taut muscles that bunched across his shoulders every time he remembered his conversation at the orphanage. She wasn’t at all like he thought she’d be. He envisioned her somewhat older and more severe looking. Instead, he guessed she couldn’t be much more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and she was far from ugly. In fact, she was—
    Ross turned his attention back to the shoreline. He refused to remember the delicate frown that deepened at the bridge of her pert little nose, or the mass of golden blond hair that framed her heart-shaped face, or the unfathomable depth of her deep blue eyes and how they turned even bluer when she became angry.  He couldn’t think of any of that. He could only remember that she had his child and refused to give it over. She said the reason was because she objected to his reputation, but he didn’t believe her.
    Children and kittens. There always seemed to be a never-ending supply of both. One would think she’d be glad to rid herself of one more mouth to feed and another growing body to clothe. Instead, she placed herself in the middle as if his child needed protection from him .
    He sucked in a harsh breath. He’d be damned if he’d let his child go to bed each night tired and hungry and frightened. Damned if he’d let her keep his child away from him. Waves of angry desperation slashed through him and he slammed his fist against the ground in frustration.
    With a sigh that exemplified his helplessness, he brushed the thoughts of Josephine Foley to the back of his mind and lifted his head. His gaze froze on a spot in the distance. One skiff, at first a small dot on the water, then growing larger, skimmed toward shore several yards to the south. The craft seemed to move effortlessly as two burly men rowed through the rolling waves. The boat didn’t sit terribly low in the water, and by