Snowed Read Online Free PDF Page B

the bed and crossed to the dresser. Leah’s eyes widened when she saw he was wearing only clingy white boxer briefs. Seemingly unconcerned about his state of dishabille, he lifted a comb from the dresser top and ran it through his hair, then reached into a drawer for a pair of jeans. As he slid his long legs into them, the muscles of his shoulders, back, and buttocks shifted and bunched. Leah found herself sitting primly with her arms around her raised knees, her eyes fixed on a large framed photograph opposite the bed.
    “Where did this thing with Carleton happen, by the way? Not here in my bedroom?” he asked.
    “No. In the library.”
    He pulled the faded denim up over his lean hips and looked at the kimono she wore. “Did he tear your dress?”
    “No. Mary took it.”
    “To wash out the booze. Of course. Mary, the paragon of efficiency. I can hear her now.” He summoned a comically thick burr. “‘Holy Mother of God, ye’ve gone and dashed foul American whiskey on the poor wee lass!’”
    “I was waiting in the library when Mike found me. Apparently he felt that being my escort entitled him to certain...uh...”
    “Conjugal rights?”
    “Something like that.”
    “Why am I not surprised?” James said. “What was he doing upstairs?”
    “Cocaine.”
    He swore.
    “With Tim and Wanda.”
    “Well, I don’t know any Tim and Wanda. Must be some lowlife buddies of Mike’s.” Casually James adjusted the crotch of his snug jeans prior to zipping up, and once more Leah found the framed photo worthy of her rapt concentration. Later she couldn’t remember what it was a picture of.
    He seemed to remember something, and grinned. “Did you do that to his nose?”
    She nodded. “I bit it.”
    One black eyebrow arched. “My, what a dainty creature we are. Has milady had her rabies shots?”
    “It’s called desperation, Mr. Bradburn.”
    “It’s James. You needn’t be so formal. After all, we’ve slept together.” Ignoring her poisonous glower, he continued, “All I know is, not long after you left the party, Carleton streaked through the ballroom hollering for his overcoat and looking like he’d gotten his snout caught in a bear trap. And unless I’m mistaken,” he added pointedly as he extracted a red flannel shirt from a drawer, “he was walking funny.”
    “You’re not mistaken.”
    She recognized his brotherhood-of-males wince. Not that she imagined he had a shred of pity for her attacker. “My guests found the spectacle of Carleton’s departure hugely entertaining,” he continued. “I don’t think he appreciated the humor. Actually, I didn’t give it much thought at the time. I try to have as little to do with that bastard as I can.” He watched her as he buttoned the shirt. “At least now I know how you ended up here, Leah. I must admit that having a woman flee to my bed in an effort to
preserve
her honor doesn’t do much for my masculine ego.”
    “James, why do you associate with a man like that?”
    He sighed. “That’s my agent’s doing. Kara’s a gem, but she has this unfortunate habit of glossing over foul personal traits if she thinks someone can be an asset in business. This is the final straw, though. I can live without Carleton and his gallery. So. Now we know about my lapse in judgment. What’s your excuse, Leah? I mean, I may have done business with the guy, but you dated him.” When she didn’t reply, he continued, unfazed. “You don’t seem like the kind of woman who’d have to settle for a creep like Mike Carleton. The way I figure it, he must’ve done some fast talking to pull that one off.”
    He looked at her expectantly, and she averted her eyes. Should she tell him the truth? That it wasn’t Mike who’d wheedled her, but the other way around? She’d come here for one purpose only
—
to satisfy her own burning need to confront James Bradburn, Sr. To force him to acknowledge the atrocity he’d committed and its tragic consequences. The fact that