Scoundrel Read Online Free PDF Page B

cheroot. In the puff of smoke that followed, he pictured a woman with hair that reminded him of a magnificent autumn day and eyes the color of warmed sherry.
    Tiger Lily.
    He liked the sound of the name. Like the flower, she was earthy and sensual, lovely and sweet-smelling, and just as easily crushed. Her beauty had attracted his attention more than once over the past few years. He had a weakness for beautiful women, and none could surpass Lily Walters. She radiated innocence and lush sensuality, a combination almost impossible to resist. He’d made it a point to avoid her, all too aware that he had no place for a woman like Lily in his life.
    Until tonight.
    Tonight he had purposely sought her out for the most selfish of reasons, his actions justified by the sure knowledge that she would never guess his motivations. It wasn’t her intellect that drew men to her like bees to honey. In fact, many considered her slow-witted. He wondered where they’d come up with that notion. The wit he’d encountered tonight was razor sharp. She had guessed one of the reasons he sought her out within moments of their encounter, then commenced to make a mockery of his conceited plan. He’d humiliated her. He recalled again his brief glimpse into her eyes at the end of their dance. It would be a long time before he could forget that look of wounded betrayal. Later, on the terrace, he found out just how deeply he’d hurt her.
    There were other ways to break off his courtship with Margaret Granger, other women he could have danced with to make Margaret realize his interest in her would not last much longer. In a moment of weakness he’d chosen Lily Walters, unable to resist her beautiful smile any longer. Dancing with Lily had turned out to be more effective than he could have imagined. He hadn’t known about Margaret and Osgoode, or that Margaret would accuse Lily of being his mistress. He’d done what he could to ensure that Margaret would not repeat slanderous gossip, yet he couldn’t help but imagine the expression on Lily’s face when she overheard Margaret’s accusation.
    Guilt was a new emotion to his jaded senses. He didn’t like the feeling at all. It wasn’t like him to involve innocents in his plots. Indeed, he’d almost forgotten that innocents still existed in this world. He should have walked away from Lily Walters the moment they met, the very instant she’d looked up at him. She’d stared at him as though he were a mighty conqueror, or some long-lost lover returning from the war.
    It was a heady feeling to be the object of that beauty’s attention, to realize that she was attracted to him. In the past he’d watched her bestow charming smiles on countless men, yet he’d never seen her look at one with such open desire. How he’d wanted to kiss her then, to see if she would taste as sweet as she looked. He’d had to settle for a chaste kiss on the back of her hand.
    He stared down at the glowing tip of his cheroot and watched the smoke curl lazily upward. The remembered scents of roses and sandalwood drifted across his senses, and the memory of temptation. He recalled what Lily felt like when he took her into his arms for the waltz, how his hand unconsciously measured her small waist, then tested the curve of her hip as far as he dared. The heat of her had penetrated him everywhere. The offhanded compliment she gave him about not staring at her figure still made him smile. Lily Walters had a figure that no man could help but stare at. She filled a gown as few others could, and the lush swell of her breasts made his mouth go dry. He’d looked long and often at that tempting display. She just hadn’t caught him at it. He wondered again if she could possibly be as innocent as she seemed.
    “Sorry to keep you waiting,” Harry apologized, as he walked over from the club’s doorway. Remmington’s carriage pulled around the corner at the same time. “Jamison is set on my sister, Prue, and he never wastes an