Pleasurably Undone! Read Online Free PDF Page A

to lie with a cripple if they would be forced to share the bed after.
    He retreated to neutral hospitality, taking her cloak and leading her to a chair by the fire, then signaling his man to bring them a brandy. Once the servant had retired to the kitchen he said, “I did not know you at first. Not until you saidyour name. If I had known, I would not have allowed you to do what you did.”
    Liar. He’d known in his heart exactly who she was from the moment he had laid eyes on her. But he had not been able to resist having her.
    “Once I realized the truth, I could not stand by and leave you in that place, to God knows what fate. I owe it to a brother officer, to see to it that his family does not suffer. And that is why I brought you here.”
    “After the fact,” she said, bluntly. And for a moment, there was a light in her eye that made him wonder if she sensed the truth of what had happened the day her husband died, and had come to him to exact punishment for it.
    Or she might simply be expressing the obvious. His own guilt pricked sharp, like needles inside him. It had been so much easier to be angry and to blame her loose morals for what had happened tonight. But he had wanted her long before he had any right to, and he had taken her the first chance he’d got. Then he’d convinced himself that her desperation was a sign of unworthiness, and that his lust was somehow her fault. No wonder she was cold to him. He sighed. “What I did was unconscionable. But once things were begun, I did not know how to stop them, or how to explain myself.” He bit his tongue, and began again. “That is not true. Once we had begun, I did not wish to stop. I was selfish, and thoughtless of all but my own needs. Because of my injury, pleasure has been infrequent, and to find myself in the company of such a beautiful woman?”
    He shrugged as though it were possible to minimize his attraction to her. “But that is no excuse. Although it is too late to take back what I have done, I will not trouble you further with my attentions. I only wish to know that you are safe, andthat you are not forced to debase yourself further because of misfortune.”
    “Oh.” There was a crease in her forehead, as though she were puzzled. Or perhaps she was disappointed, although that hardly seemed likely. “Thank you for your kindness.” She sipped from the drink she had been offered.
    He thought for a moment that she meant to explain how she had come to the state she was in. But she said nothing and he had no right to inquire. Perhaps there was something even more horrible than what she currently experienced.
    Then she looked up at him from over the rim of her glass. “But I cannot accept the terms you offer. If you wish to give me your protection, then I must give you something in return. It makes no sense to pretend modesty, and refuse you companionship.” She touched the neckline of her gown.
    He was mesmerized by her hands. How graceful they were. Long fingered. Supple. His body remembered how it had felt to be touched by them, and grew hard in response. And he knew that his attempt at nobility was for naught. She had offered. And he would take from her again.
    It hurt him to know that what was about to happen would mean nothing to her, other than a bartering of services. She was not the woman he imagined her to be, and her husband’s shining description was little more than the fondness of long association.
    He set his drink aside and reached out to take her by the wrist, drawing her to her feet and toward the door to the bedroom. And as he did so, the glass shook in her hand, and spilled a few drops of brandy onto the silken flesh above her breasts. He took the glass from her and threw it onto the hearth, listening to the crystal shatter as he pulled her into his arms, burying his face against her throat, chasing the drop of liquordown to catch it on his tongue. When the bodice of her dress blocked him, he reached behind her and undid the