Lilac Temptress Read Online Free PDF Page A

grinned with
amusement. “I am passionate about many things. Perhaps, I am
inclined to aid in flourishing the well-being of mankind,” he
countered.
    Sierra stopped momentarily to consider
his words and the truth behind them.
    “ My apologies if I am
boring you,” Drake said, though he knew she was intrigued. Her
haunting gaze and tilted head, reminded him of a person solving a
riddle.
    “ You’ve done anything but
bore me, Mr. McCalister. It is really all quite fascinating.
You—impress me,” she said, realizing that it was too late to take
back her honest words.
    “ Do I?” Drake laughed
heartedly. “How?”
    Sierra answered him with a soft smile
in order to avoid saying something she might regret. This man was
too easy to talk with. “I’ve always wanted to go to New Orleans,”
she offered, diverting his question, and continuing her
promenade.
    Drake smiled back politely, making
sure to keep up with her, deciding not to press her for an answer.
“So, why haven’t you gone?”
    “ Wil needs me around here,”
Sierra said without further elaboration.
    “ Wil?”
    “ Yes, the man you spoke
with earlier this evening. William Hunter, the man who refused your
offer,” Sierra reminded him, and before he had the chance to ask
her how she knew his reason for being in Jadesville, she added,
“Wil always rejects the offer. He doesn’t like outsiders and he
thinks that I might get crazy notions in my head about running off
because of all the stories travelers have told me about faraway
places.” She tilted her head sideways at him. “You know, Mr.
McCalister, you won’t win him over with your talk of money. He
cares nothing for riches.”
    “ Every man has his price, I
always say,” Drake sighed, thinking Girard may have been right. It
seemed William Hunter might be her benefactor.
    “ Wil is not every man,”
Sierra corrected him.
    “ I gather you know him
well. May I ask for your opinion—should I give up and leave town
tomorrow at first light, or stay and try to convince him to
sell?”
    “ Does it really matter to
you what I think? You seem to be a man of great determination. If I
discouraged you and told you not to pursue your dealings, would you
heed my advice? What could I possibly say that would sway you?” Her
eyes pored over him, awaiting his reply.
    Drake grinned, captivated.
He loved the sagacity and challenge in her voice that he rarely
heard from women. “What you think matters to me, most importantly. Do be
forthcoming.” Drake’s ensnaring eyes beckoned her response even
more than his words.
    Sierra shivered, observing their
shine.
    “ You’ve caught a chill.
Here, allow me,” Drake said, removing his frock coat and placing it
over her shoulders.
    She enjoyed the touch of his helpful
hands wrapping her up. She noticed his perfectly manicured nails,
and it dawned on her that only the exceedingly wealthy would have
hands as well cared for as his. “Thank you.” Sierra smiled
gratefully at him.
    “ You’re most
welcome.”
    “ If I were going to
convince Wil to change his mind and give up his way of life, I
would convince him that he has no choice. Change is always
necessary. Things are not the same as they once were in the world,”
Sierra offered. Impressed by how seriously he seemed to regard her
opinion, she continued. “Wil thinks I’m idealistic. He says my head
is full of nonsense, and that there’s nothing impressive outside of
Jadesville, but I don’t believe him. When people leave this town
they never come back,” she shrugged.
    “ Is Jadesville such an
awful place?” Drake asked, keenly aware of her
frustration.
    “ For me, yes. For others
who don’t like change, maybe not.”
    There was something about her upfront
demeanor that Drake found appealing. “Would you like me to tell you
something about New Orleans?”
    She laughed softly at him. “I would.
But I’d rather you not. I might get a crazy notion and want to
follow you there.”
    “ If you followed