Relentless Lord Read Online Free PDF Page A

thought he had changed his mind about pursuing her. But she was not so foolish to dismiss those times she had caught him watching her—and it had been often enough—with a quiet little grin barely hiding on his lips.
    It did not bode well that his attention, however brief or covert, managed to warm her as intensely as the desert sun. In fact, it was quite aggravating since Hannah knew full well nothing would come of it. Nothing could.
    As though sensing he was the focus of her thoughts, Lord Whitely slid his gaze to the side and gave her a wide grin and a wink.
    She told herself it was the fact that she had begun thinking of seduction that had her insides dissolving in delicate tingles. But she knew it was him—and his flashing green eyes—that had her twisted up so neatly.
    Her oldest cousin, Jacqueline, had been so very right to bemoan her acquaintance with this man. Though Beatrice had often called her sister silly, Hannah could easily see how Lord Whitely had managed to ruin Jacqueline during her cousin’s first season two years ago. It should have been Hannah’s first season as well, had her uncle not decided she needed more training in the areas of decorum and deportment before he would allow her out in society as a representative of their family.
    If Hannah had had access to her own money, she would have purchased a ticket back to Africa many months ago, though by now, her parents had likely moved on to another location. They rarely stayed anywhere for very long. As it was, her uncle held her purse on short strings. He had been burdened with the task of seeing her settled into a proper English marriage and that was what he would do. Whether Hannah wanted the same or not.
    “Did you really climb a mountain carrying a pack on your back and leading a mule?” Lord Whitely asked, bringing her back to the present moment.
    Her uncle would prefer that no one know how she had lived before coming to England, but Hannah did not like lying. Besides, she saw nothing wrong with the life she’d lived with her parents.
    She gave a short nod. “It was just the foothills, but, yes, I did.”
    “Fascinating,” he replied.
    He didn’t seem particularly shocked by her admission. Anyone else who learned of her unusual upbringing tended to stare at her as though she had just admitted to being from another planet.
    “I almost think you mean that,” she said.
    “I do,” he answered as he lengthened his stride to step in front of her and turn around to continue their conversation face-to-face while he walked backwards. “I imagine you have done many things that would astound the average Englishman. I would love to hear more.”
    Hannah was conflicted. Was it a ploy?
    Likely so, but she didn’t really care just now. The sun was shining, reminding her vaguely of home. And for the moment anyway, she and the puckish scoundrel grinning at her were the only people about. She could almost pretend they were not smack dab in the middle of the dreary English countryside.
    “You do not find me odd?” she asked with an impish smirk of her own.
    “Certainly,” he answered. “That’s exactly what I find fascinating. The moment I saw you lift your skirts, I knew you were not the typical sort of lady.”
    Hannah narrowed her gaze and pursed her lips to keep from laughing. He certainly had a way of lightening the tone. “I imagine you thought me an easy mark.”
    The laughter faltered in his bright green eyes. Instead of answering, he swung around again to fall into step beside her. The shift in his demeanor was almost startling.
    “I am not everything they say about me, you know.”
    Hannah considered what she had heard. “Hmmm. You mean you are not a conscienceless flirt and indiscriminate seducer of innocents and sophisticates alike?”
    “Would you believe me if I said I had absolutely nothing to do with the women who claim to have been ruined by me?”
    “Not at all,” she replied without a second thought.
    “Do not get me