Southern Seduction Read Online Free PDF

didn’t sound overly happy to have her as a houseguest -- correction, owner . But perhaps she was just imagining things due to the reception she’d gotten from Travis. And she was tired after her long trip, so her perceptions were not likely to be that good.
    When they reached the second-floor landing, Brooke glanced over the rail and discovered that Travis had been watching her from the front door. She’d dearly love to know what he was thinking.
    From their short encounter, she’d learned Travis was excellent at hiding what he was thinking, but she doubted very seriously that he was capable of compassion in any form. On second thought, she might not want to know what his thoughts were at this moment. They were not likely to be very kind. No matter how surly Travis was, Brooke was determined not to cower before him.
    She held his gaze, sensing the barely controlled anger coiled within him. Handling Travis was going to be a problem, and another of those things she’d have to get used to. Brooke shrugged. However, he was a man, so she wasn’t overly worried. After all, handling men had been her profession. From her observations, they were all alike.
    B ut, still she wondered just what was he thinking.
     
     
    Travis studied the fetching woman, now his unwanted and unneeded partner. He wondered if he was really having a nightmare and somebody would soon wake him up. Right away would be preferred.
    In his dreams was where bewitching women normally lived, not in his front parlor. And Brooke Hammond was definitely bewitching. Her complexion was flawless, and her eyes expressive and eloquent. He noticed she didn’t glance coyly away as most women did. Instead, she met his gaze, almost in a challenge.
    Interesting , he thought. So the woman has spirit . He almost liked that, and he had to admit, not only was she beautiful, but she was also taller than most of the women he knew. How long had it been since he’d heard the crisp, British accent that always reminded him of his father and the few times they had actually spent time together?
    He raised his head and met her defiant gaze with somber curiosity. Mrs. Hammond reminded him of a lioness with her mane of golden hair and those rare gold eyes. Something told him she’d fight like a lioness if provoked. Just from their first meeting, she’d left a burning imprint on him. He chuckled, not caring whether Mrs. Hammond saw it. He had every intention of provoking her and then driving her away.
    No matter how pretty the package, Brooke Hammond could ruin everything for which he had planned and worked so hard. His so-called father had some gall to think that he could choose a wife for him after never giving him a moment’s time, much less any counseling on anything in his life. Jackson had, more or less, thrown the running of the plantation at Travis, and told him to make it profitable.
    Travis turned and yanked the front door open and strode purposefully outside. He didn’t know how, but he had to get the Hammond woman away from Moss Grove before his mother and Hesione, the “perfect wife” his mother had found for him, returned. He had courted Hesione, whose Creole father was a prominent attorney, because she would make a perfect hostess for Moss Grove. She would firmly establish his status in the community and, hopefully, mend the fence between his grandfather and mother.
    He would be accepted here, Travis vowed. Not that he gave a damn, but his mother did. For her, he could put up with Hesione’s pampered and spoiled ways. Besides, there was always the option of engaging a mistress to keep him happily satisfied. Hesione really didn’t care much about the goings on of a plantation, but she was perfectly trained in the ways of society. That suited him just fine as long as she stayed out of his way.
    Travis strode down the porch steps, took a deep breath of cool air, and tried to calm himself as he gazed out over the front lawns and the ripening cane fields beyond.
    The