Run Wild Read Online Free PDF

gaze slowly, lingering over every ripe, soft curve hidden by the fragile silk. Curves that would fit so perfectly in a man’s hands. His hands.
    Honey-colored skin, flaxen hair... spun from gold, she was, burnished and sleek like a treasure plundered from a Spanish galleon.
    And the pirate in him had never been able to resist the lure of gold.
    He felt a stirring, tightening sensation low in his body, felt his breathing deepen even as he looked at her, imagining those legs wrapped around his hips.
    As if reading his thoughts, she quickly rearranged her skirts with a whispered oath.
    He lifted his gaze to hers. This close, he could see the color of her eyes, sparkling defiantly in the torchlight.
    Gold. She had golden eyes—a light, clear amber color with flecks of pure gold around the center.
    Forget the last meal, he thought with a slow, hungry curve to his mouth. One night with her would do quite nicely for a doomed man’s final wish.
    Another flash of gold caught his eye—something dangling from a short, pale ribbon attached to the center of her bodice. A strangely shaped medallion or locket. Oblong, like a small barrel. Gasping, she grabbed it in one fist and clasped it against her. As if she meant to protect it from him.
    Or as if it had some power to protect her.
    He wondered how the devil a pampered chit like her had landed herself in gaol. And where she had picked up the salty language and street tricks she had used earlier.
    One thing was certain: if he was any judge of women—and he was—this was easily one of the most beautiful he’d ever laid eyes on. “What did they arrest you for, lady? Caught stealing crumpets at a tea party?”
    “What affair is it of yours?” Her frosty tone matched the disdain in her eyes.
    He noticed, however, that her gaze flicked to his food with obvious longing.
    He settled more comfortably against the bars and finished the mutton leg, noisily cleaning every last morsel of meat off the bone, licking his fingers with a sound of enjoyment. “Just making a bit of friendly conversation.” He tossed the bone aside.
    He was definitely
not
making friendly conversation. If she was a petty criminal, she could sit here and rot until the assizes for all he cared.
    But if the charges against her were more serious—and the reward high enough—they might transport her to London tomorrow. With him. Which might mean going by coach or cart.
    She could, in short, cause him trouble.
    And more trouble was the last thing he needed at the moment.
    “Friendly conversation?” She arched one tawny brow. “I am not interested in being
friendly
.” The locket still clutched in one hand, she added under her breath, “Especially not with one of
your
kind.”
    Tucking the ribbon and its attached bit of metal safely back into her bodice, she looked around, evaluating her surroundings much as he had earlier. She stood up, dusted herself off, and investigated the lock on her cell door, rattling it, studying it for several long moments before she gave up and checked the wooden wall at the back.
    “No use,” he advised. “Locked up tight. Looks like you’re stuck here until the winter assizes... unless, of course, you’re charged with some serious offense.”
    She slanted him an irritated glance. “Picking pockets,” she mumbled.
    Not serious, Nicholas decided with relief.
    “Forgery,” she added after a moment.
    His relief faded a bit.
    She sighed wearily. “And burglary.”
    His mood was worsening by the minute.
    She slumped against the back wall of her cell, her voice so soft he had to strain to hear it. “And attempted murder.”
    He gazed up at her in astonishment and disbelief. “Let me guess, your ladyship—it’s all a terrible mistake and you’re completely innocent?”
    She laughed, a humorless rasp that sounded harsh enough to hurt her throat. “Innocent?” She closed her eyes and repeated it, as if it were a foreign word beyond her understanding. “Innocent.” She shook her