Sinful Liaisons Read Online Free PDF Page B

have thought this out.” His lips twisted into a wry grin.
    “And in return, I shall pay off your debts.”
    His mouth opened slightly before he snapped it shut. “You’re buying me?”
    “Yes.” There was no polite way to put it so she didn’t even try. “I’ve been of a mind to take a lover for a while but no man appealed. Until I met you. I believe you are up to the task.”
    Pierce ran his gaze over her from head to toe. She fought the need to fidget or play with the buttons on her gown. Why did he make her wait? It was simple enough. Yes or no. All she wanted was an answer.
    He closed the gap once more. Heat leapt between them. For too long, he stood with a mere slip of air separating them. When he brought a hand up to skim a finger down her cheek and along to trace the seam of her lips, she drew in a sharp breath of air. Tingles skittered down her spine.
    “You make quite the assumption there.” He pressed the tip of his finger into her open mouth and she tasted the tang of his skin. “What if I am not up to the task?”
    Heat gathered between her thighs. How could he not be? It had been so long since she’d felt the touch of a man, and he was sinfully handsome. She also suspected he was wickedly clever—something behind those glinting green eyes told her as much. In her limited experience, an intelligent man knew well how to please a woman.
    But he was right. What if they were ill-matched? Evelyn fought through the fog crowding her mind to latch onto the rational side of her brain. She would never rush into a business agreement without ensuring she was receiving a satisfactory product.
    “You have tonight,” she said, the words soft and papery. “Tonight to prove you are up to the task.”
    Pierce removed his finger from her lips and trailed his gaze over her. “What if, Evelyn, it is you who is not up to the task?”
    Indignation made her spine stiff. What was he saying? That she could not please him also? “I will be paying you,” she spluttered. “I hardly think it’s up to me to put in a performance.”
    A grin cracked his face. “That’s better.”
    He latched an arm around her waist and drew her into him. She fought him for a moment, her teeth gritted with annoyance. How dare he manhandle her like this? She was a duchess, damn him. But then his mouth came down on hers, hard, demanding, and oh so sinful...
    Evelyn melted. She gave up any thoughts of being in control when his tongue met hers. Pierce bent her back so that her body was open to him while kissing her deeply, greedily. Her skirts might have prevented her from feeling the brush of his legs, but she was well enough aware of his body hard against her tightly confined breasts. The cotton of her shift and the taffeta gown rubbed against her sensitive nipples.
    When he broke the kiss, he released her and left her wavering, taking a step back. She pressed her hands down her gown and took several deep breaths.
    “If we do this, I shall not be your servant, at your beck and call.”
    She folded her arms. “Well I hardly...” Evelyn drew in a long breath, still winded from his passionate kiss. “I hardly see the benefit in this for me then. What is the sense in me taking a lover if I cannot request of him whatever I wish?”
    His grin turned wicked. “You need not request anything, Your Grace. I promise you shall reap the benefits of this arrangement. But I wish for us to be on equal footing. I’ll not be ordered about.”
    Narrowing her gaze at him, she lifted her chin. How brazen he was. Here he had come to her, naked and destitute, yet he had the arrogance to make demands of her. He was taking a gamble. Really, she should demand back his clothes and toss him out on his conceited, naked behind. But she couldn’t help admire that boldness. He’d need it if he was going to keep up with her.
    Her son would be home in three months. That gave her just over ninety days to make use of him—in many, many ways.
    “You agree to do this