Never Kiss a Laird Read Online Free PDF

her mouth, and the chill seeped through
her cloak.
    She was grateful to see Simon’s well-sprung
carriage waiting, the last of several small barrels being tied onto the back.   Two handsome chestnut horses stamped their
feet, clouds of mist around their aristocratic noses.   In her hurry to get out of the cold, Sally
did not see a patch of ice in her path, and as she stepped forward, her foot
went out from under her, and she waved her arms trying to catch her balance.
    She would have fallen had Simon not
stepped nimbly forward and scooped her up into his arms.
    “There,” he said triumphantly,
cradling her easily in his arms.   “Is that
not much better?”
    “For heaven’s sake, Mr. Atherly,
put me down,” Sally fumed, struggling against his tight grasp.
    “No, I don’t think I will,” Simon
teased.   “I quite like this
situation.   Besides, it is in keeping
with my role as rescuer to carry you to the carriage.”
    “Put me down at once,” Sally said
between clenched teeth, her temper rising.   “Or you will regret it.”
      “Very well, but only if you call me by my
first name,” he bargained.
    Sally met his eyes, and was not in
the slightest bit swayed by his handsome face and mischievous blue eyes.   The smell of brandy was more apparent this
close to him, and Simon had a stubborn look in his eyes that did not bode
well.  
    “Simon,” she uttered coldly.  
    “There,” he laughed gently, his
breath tickling her ear.   “Was that so
hard?”
    Sally heard the sounds of a vehicle
coming down the lane to the posting yard, and some of the tension left her
body.
    “Do you hear that?” she exclaimed,
her eyes shooting shining in triumph.   “That will be Tom in the gig.   So
you can just set me down, Mr. Atherly.   Tom, as you might remember, is an extremely large and very loyal
servant.”
    “Then I’d better take advantage of
my time while I have it.   I have been wanting to do this for a very long time now.” Simon’s
voice deepened and he lowered his head and captured Sally’s lips with his own.  
    Sally clenched her lips together
against his probing tongue and tried unavailingly to turn her head. Her eyes
narrowed and her hand formed into a small but serviceable fist.   Not for nothing was Sally the possessor of
two older brothers.   With her thumb on
the outside of her fist, as Harry had taught her, she pulled back her arm, and
swung, connecting sharply with Simon’s shapely chin.  
    “ Ow !” the
surprised lord said, pulling his head away from Sally’s abruptly, eyeing her
with much less favor.   “Dammit, Sally,
why did you do that?   You made me bite my
tongue.”
    “Why do you think?” she asked, her
fist still poised.   “Now set me down
before I do it again.”
    “Gladly, miss,” Simon sulked.
    Sally shook her head in disbelief
at his conceit.   He actually seemed
surprised that she had hit him.   She let
her fist fall, but before he could set her feet on the ground a voice intruded.
    “Sarah Denham!”   A stout matron stood stock still in front of
her carriage, impeding the egress of her equally stout spouse, whose head
bobbed about behind her trying to get a better view.   Lady Greenly’s eyes were as wide as saucers,
and her many chins wobbled in shocked amazement.   She had been vociferously annoyed with her
spouse who had insisted on conveying her to the Saracen’s Head to meet up with
an old friend traveling through the county, but at this moment she was calling
blessings down upon his head.  
    Lady Greenly instantly committed to
memory the image of Sally Denham suspended in Simon Atherly’s manly arms.   It was obvious that they were emerging from
the Inn and heading for his carriage, and at a
very early morning hour. Had they been there overnight?   This was a more delicious scenario than Lady Greenly
had ever hoped to see in her wildest dreams.   She was already rehearsing the phrases she would use when she relayed
this image to every