Seduced At Sunset Read Online Free PDF

living in
America for the past twelve years. Doing what...? She had no idea. And he would
be returning there soon. He was also rather rough and unrefined. He was not a
member of her social circle, yet he was the nephew of an earl.
    If she were ever going to take a secret lover, was he not
an excellent choice? If things did not work out, he would soon be
gone—but most importantly, he excited her. He was like some sort of
battle-roughened Roman gladiator in city clothes. He could be the perfect
fulfillment of her fantasy.
    “Then I am at your service, my lady,” he replied with a
small bow.
    Charlotte squeezed her reticule in her hands, for she
wasn’t entirely sure how this was done. “Do you walk in the park at the
fashionable hour?” she asked. “Or do you attend the theater?”
    “I do neither of those things,” he replied, not making
this easy on her at all.
    “Why ever not?”
    He squinted toward the park as he answered. “Because I
intend to remain on the fringes of Society while I am in Town.”
    Even more perfect . But also odd,
so she posed another question. “May I ask why?”
    His eyes met hers again, and there was a hint of a smile
in them—a flicker of playful flirtation and encouragement. “I wouldn’t
venture to bore you with it, Lady Charlotte. It’s rather tedious,” he
explained.
    “I see.” He did not want to share the story of his life
with her, but he did not wish to reject her either, and she understood why, for
she could feel the attraction sparking between them in the scorching heat of
the afternoon. Her body began to perspire, and she felt a rather pleasant ache
in the pit of her belly and between her thighs—from just looking at him.
    She raised a coquettish eyebrow. “I doubt anything about
you could be tedious,” she said, and felt the heat between them escalate. “But
I will honor your wishes and ask no more questions. At least not today. Except
for this one . What do you
like to do, Mr. Torrington? When and how can we meet? On the fringes, as you
say.”
    This was all scandalously improper and not at all prudent.
Here was a stranger she had just met—a man who had, a short while ago,
punched another man with such brutal force, he was left seeing stars—and
she was suggesting they meet alone, outside the bounds of good Society? Was she mad? Yes, she supposed so.
    At the moment, she was mad with desire. That had to
explain where this urgency was coming from. Something about him had gotten
under her skin and into her blood. The need for this man was unlike anything
she had ever known and the draw of it crushed all reason and any inhibitions.
    “I row on the Thames every morning at dawn.”
    No wonder his hands were huge and callused and his arms
were so thickly muscled.
    “Is there room in your boat for two?” she asked.
    “Yes, if you are the adventurous sort.”
    She smiled. “I grew up in the country with four brothers,
Mr. Torrington. I assure you, I have no fear of adventure.”
    “Then I will bring my coach around and pick you up at
Pembroke House at six,” he said.
    “I will look forward to it.”
    He began to back away. “Take care of that pretty head,
Lady Charlotte”
    A wicked thrill moved through her at the compliment, and
she smiled to herself as she, too, reluctantly backed away to return to her
coach.

 

     
    Chapter Four

     
    Drake was not in the habit of inviting attractive women
along for his morning exercise. It was a time of day he preferred to keep for
himself, though he supposed most times of the day fell into that category, for
he was not a social person. He had retreated from the world many years ago and
chose to live a very private life.
    That did not mean he was a complete recluse, however, and
he was certainly not a celibate monk. He often took a lover for a sustained
period of time, a few months at least or even a year if the lady was
particularly amiable and did not expect too much from him—meaning
marriage, of course, or a certain