Napoleon's Woman Read Online Free PDF

contempt. "When the alarm sounds, you will order your men to search the woods and the surrounding areas. When I am not found, they will assume that I have slipped through them. No one would consider looking for me in their own camp."
    "And in the morning you will be found and then hanged" she said, hoping for him to see the error in his plan.
    "After the forest has been searched, I can escape quite easily."
    She admired his logic. None of the soldiers would explore an area that had already been searched. "Leaving me to sound the alarm."
    His smile became feral as he bent down over her body. His face was mere inches from hers, causing her breath to shorten considerably.
    "You shall not be able to sound any alarm," he whispered.
    She shivered beneath him. "Why not just murder me now?"
    He laughed softly as he sat back on his haunches. "I need you to speak with your men, both now and when they return from their search of the forest. And if we are discovered…" She could sense his satisfaction. "Napoleon’s mistress will make an excellent hostage."
    Celeste inhaled her shock, and in the next moment they heard shouts coming from the direction of the encampment. Before she knew what was happening, he was off the bed and dragging her with him. He twisted her arm painfully behind her and pulled her into his chest. Her forearm was trapped against the hard contours of his abdomen and the twisted muscles in her own back.
    Celeste felt his muscles bunch as he bent down and hissed in her ear. "Order them to search the woods and surrounding areas. Give them two hours, no more." He pressed the knife further into her neck, adding, "One sound and your pretty little throat will be slit, and you will be dead before you hit the floor. Do you understand?"
    She nodded and jerked her arm away from his punishing hold. "I need my dressing gown." She took one step toward the garment.
    "No. Light that candle," he ordered.
    "What do you mean? No!" Celeste felt her face pale. "I cannot allow my men to see me in such a state of undress."
    The Earl of Wessex lit the candle and held it up as he circled her, openly and appreciatively examining her body beneath the thin muslin chemise. His smile was lazy, and the hair at the nap of her neck prickled . Lord, he was handsome.
    "When you open that door to receive the news of my escape, I can assure you that your sergeant will not be looking at your face, mademoiselle, and therefore will see no signs of distress that would force me to kill you both."
    His gaze slid to her eyes, and she knew that he would indeed kill them. But then his brows furrowed with confusion. He reached up, touching the wound on her neck. Celeste winced at the sting of it, and watched in disbelief when he turned his hand over to examine his blood stained fingers as if he had not been there to inflict the injury.
    Celeste very nearly laughed at the absurdity of the situation, saying with utmost sarcasm, "Knives are for cutting, my lord."
    His eyes crashed into hers, but just as she began to read them a crisp knock sounded, causing her to start. Wessex slipped behind the battered door with his knife at the ready, nodding for her to open it.
    Celeste grasped the rustic wooden handle and sighed loudly in frustration when the soldier’s eyes immediately settled to her breasts.
    "Yes, what is it?"
    "The prisoner has escaped, Lady Rivenhall."
    "You imbeciles," she spat. "How did a man in shackles escape his guard?"
    "We do not know, mademoiselle," the man said with a twinge of embarrassment.
    Rolling her eyes dramatically, she ordered, "Search the woods and fields. You have two hours. Find him!"
    The threat of the consequences of failure sent the man running down the hall. She closed the door and lifted her chin. The earl arched a black brow and stalked toward her.
    "You’re quite the actress…Lady Rivenhall, was it? You’re English." She compressed her lips with determined silence, intimidated by his suppressed anger in his voice.
    "A