My Lord Immortality Read Online Free PDF Page A

answer.”
    Sebastian stepped closer. Close enough to smell the heady scent of her warm skin.
    â€œAnd will giving it a name make it any less dangerous?” he asked in low tones. “Will your fear be abandoned and your heart lightened? Man or beast, it is a thing to be avoided.”
    Not surprisingly, she appeared far from satisfied by his vague response. “I think you know more than you are willing to admit.”
    â€œPerhaps.”
    She studied him in exasperation before at last heaving a sigh. It was obvious that she sensed his adamant refusal to reveal anything more.
    â€œWho are you?” she demanded.
    His lips twitched at her unmistakable annoyance. She was not a maiden often thwarted. It did not suit her to be anything but in command of every situation.
    â€œSuch a fascination with names,” he murmured.
    Her nose tilted upward at his teasing, but he did not miss the sudden glint of humor in the dark eyes.
    â€œIt is only proper manners to offer an introduction. We have now spoken on two separate occasions.”
    â€œAh well, naturally I must bow to the pressures of proper manners.” Before she could guess his intention, he had reached out to grasp her hand and lifted her bare fingers to his lips. Her skin was soft as satin beneath his touch, and Sebastian found his mouth lingering as he breathed deeply of her feminine fragrance. Strange that he had forgotten the sheer pleasure of touching a young woman, he thought inanely. Or perhaps it was simply this young woman who awoke his long-buried passions. His blood stirred even as he forced himself to loosen his grip and take a step back. There was danger in such sensations. “I am Mr. Sebastian St. Ives. And you are?”
    â€œMiss Hadwell,” she retorted absently, her gaze straying to her fingers before lifting her gaze with a faint blush.
    He refused to consider her flustered reaction to his touch. He was a scholar, he staunchly reminded himself. And for the moment, a reluctant guardian of this maiden.
    â€œA pleasure, Miss Hadwell.”
    â€œYou . . .” She paused to suck in a deep breath. “You are not from London?”
    â€œNo. Indeed, I have only recently arrived.” He paused to glance about the rubbish that was happily rotting beneath the morning sunlight. “I am still attempting to settle among the noise and fragrant aromas of the city.”
    She wrinkled her nose in ready empathy. “You have not had a very pleasant welcome. I can assure you that the days are not as a rule so wretchedly hot, nor the nights so filled with such violence.”
    â€œAnd the noise and aromas?”
    â€œThose, I fear, are our constant companions,” she confessed, those dimples once again making an appearance.
    â€œA pity.” Arrested by the sparkle in the glorious eyes, Sebastian slowly smiled. “Still, I suppose London does have its share of beauty. Beauty that is all the more rare and astonishing because it is unexpected.”
    She blinked, almost as surprised as Sebastian himself at the soft words.
    â€œYes . . . well, I suppose there is nothing to be found here. I should return to William.”
    Sebastian was swift to hold out his arm. He did not want this woman to be wandering through London on her own. Not with Drake and his minions only a few houses away.
    â€œAllow me to escort you.”
    She lifted her brows, as if caught off guard by his offer. “That is not necessary. I live but a short distance away.”
    â€œNot necessary, but perhaps wise.” He deliberately glanced toward the ground where the traces of blood still remained. Not even this maiden could so easily have forgotten a woman had been murdered in this spot only a few hours ago. “A young maiden upon her own in such an isolated area can be prey to all sorts of undesirable attention.”
    With a tiny shiver she readily placed her fingers upon his arm. It appeared that her stubbornness was at least