My Rebellious Heart Read Online Free PDF

gold, shot through with copper, rich and gleaming. Her beauty struck him like a blow to the gut. But the Lady Shana also projected a surety of herself that was rare in a woman. Her posture was coldly dignified, her demeanor one of haughty pride. Why, she acted as though she were the queen herself!
    Thorne found himself possessed of a sudden, ruthless desire to see her tumbled from her throne. "If I wanted you, mistress, I'd not hesitate to say so. But lovely as you are, at this moment I fear your charms escape me. I am too tired and hungry to partake of..." he smiled benignly, "such sport, as you cal it."
    Ah, but he was bold! Fury wrapped its stranglehold around her. The man was a beast, with no manners whatsoever. She opened her mouth to deliver a scorching retort, but as if on cue, there was a knock on the door. He bade a young maid enter. The girl carried a tray laden with food which she deposited on a smal table before the hearth. She curtsied, then left.
    The earl crossed to the table, then turned to her, as if she were no more than a troublesome afterthought. "Wil you join me, milady?"
    Shana took a deep, calming breath, secretly glad she'd curbed her wayward tongue. She dared not antagonize him, not yet. She let him seat her, then serve her, al the while faultlessly polite. And all the while Shana thought secretly that he need not
    bother. He disliked her. He disliked her intensely—she could feel it with all that she possessed.
    She accepted only wine and a smal portion of herring. The earl attacked his meal with relish; clearly her presence did not hinder his appetite. Shana chafed restlessly and wished he would hurry; she was anxious for this encounter to be over and done with.
    He sliced a tender morsel of roast lamb and offered it to her. The tempting aroma teased her nostrils, yet she hesitated. She wanted the tidbit, she realized, but was loath to take it from his hand. She chided herself impatiently, wondering what madness seized her. It was usual for a man to carve for a woman; she'd often eaten thusly from Barris's fingers, so why was she so reticent?
    She shook her head. There was a subtle tightening of that harshly cawed mouth. Had she given herself away?
    At length he pushed aside his trencher. "For a woman who professed the need to speak to me on a matter most urgent, you are remarkably silent, milady."
    His voice held al the warmth of a winter wind blowing from the mountaintops. It seemed, Shana concluded grimly, that he played at pretense no more.
    "I merely wished to let you eat in peace," she said cool y. "But if you are ready to tend to business, 1 shal gladly oblige."
    "By al means, please do so." His expression was distantly aloof.
    Shana took a deep breath. "You have come to Castle Langley in order to bring the Welsh to heel, have you not?"
    "I've made no secret of that, milady."
    Her heart began to beat with thick, uneven strokes. "I believe you've also come to roust out the rebel known as the Dragon."
     
    He went as stil as a statue, yet she sensed a rapier-sharp alertness which had not been there
    before.
    "And you. Lady Shana—" his lip curled, "you profess to know the Dragon's whereabouts, is that
    it?"
    His scorn stirred her anger. "I did not say that I know,, milord. I am, however, acquainted with a man who does know." She gathered every scrap of her courage and went on boldly, "A pity you would refuse my help, milord. Because no man's sword is al -powerful—I daresay, even yours."
    "So you are wise as wel as beautiful. Milady, I begin to wonder what treasure I've stumbled upon."
    His sarcasm cut deep. She bit back an impotent cry of fury and despair. She could never hope to lure him from the castle—never! She had thought herself so clever, but alas! she was not clever at al , for she had just gambled greatly and lost.
    She rose to her feet and blindly turned, her every intent to flee this chamber ... this devil's lair! But she hadn't progressed more than three steps than he was there