Stolen Petals Read Online Free PDF Page B

like shadows.
    Viola opened her mouth, but after glancing Edward's way, she shut it. Had his goal in partnering with her been to get her into bed? Why else the unnatural quietness from him? If so, he could dream on. Annoyance danced across her skin in pinpricks. He'd said he preferred the real her, but the second she revealed the slightest bit he backed off—like all men did. The lady, the ideal demure creature who didn't have dark thoughts or an ounce of sass, that's what men wanted, at least for anything lasting. But a man wouldn't hesitate for a minute to take a harlot to bed. She lifted her chin high. Unfortunately for him, she was neither.
    They stopped in front of the station doors. The interior lay empty since no one loitered around at this time of night.
    "Thank you for walking me over." Viola looked him square in the eye. The silence hung pregnant between them as neither made a move to leave. She should leave. She should storm straight inside to the sub-bus, but something stayed her feet. Maybe the way the light of the moon glided across the street between them or the scent of gardenia and copper in the breeze. Maybe the way his hazel eyes fixed on her or how his passion hadn't dimmed, but instead had grown, tempered by his seriousness. Viola's heart beat in her ears and her chest swelled with every breath.
    Before she could turn away, Edward moved closer. His hand cupped the base of her neck and while she knew where he headed, she found herself drawn to him, unwilling to pull herself away.
    Their lips met in a sweet crush of cinnamon and bergamot. Fire blossomed in her chest in a way she hadn't felt in years. His rough fingers along her skin and his chaste kiss on her lips threw her senses into overload. Her mind reeled, captured in the moment, and wrapped in his scent of pine and leather. Thrills ran through her, sending messages to her body that her mind had earlier rebuffed. She leaned into the kiss, resting against him as she slipped her tongue inside his mouth.
    Quick as it began, he pulled away.
    "Good night, madam." He offered her a stiff bow. Viola staggered back a pace, trying to process what happened. Her fingertips pressed her swollen lips as he walked off. The moon cast a grey shadow across those defined shoulders and the breeze ruffled his hair. Her heart bounced in her chest. She'd caught a glimpse, a flash of the heat in his eyes before he turned around and strolled off. Despite the gentlemanly kiss, a ferocity burned behind his gaze promising something primal. She shuddered.
    The screech of the sub-bus sounded in the distance. Viola tucked her curls back into place, straightened her tunic, and departed for home.

Chapter Five
    She hadn't seen nor heard from Edward since that night. They had planned to meet at her place the day of the soiree so she could inspect what he wore and to finish their plan of attack. Should've been simple to shut him from her mind, after all, the man was a cocky menace. He propositioned women willy nilly, stole jobs from other bounty hunters, and then kissed her with enough intensity to bowl her over. Worst of all? Ever since their kiss, he was all she could think about. The man, the mystery, emerged in her thoughts at all points of the day. Like she needed the distraction with a job this big.
    Viola stationed herself in front of the mirror and began applying her makeup. It was just a kiss. Not as if she hadn't had hundreds before like it. She paused with her powder puff in hand. Hence the real problem—Viola couldn't remember the last time a kiss had heated her to the core, or melted through her icy exterior. Of all the men she'd been with, why did those feelings resurrect for him?
    She swiped her eyeliner on with a vengeance. This was the man who'd slept with half the ladies in her town. The one she caught buried deep in her charge, Jenny Heartswaith. Who walked with a swagger and charmed his way through anything. What did that say about her if she felt the thrill of