The Duke's Willful Wife Read Online Free PDF

moment, pushing the portfolio against her legs , almost causing her to lose her grip.  “Goodness,” she laughed and held onto her case while trying to keep her hair out of her eyes.  “I have to get this inside,” she said and stepped back.  She didn’t need to reach for the door because he already had it opened, waiting for her. 
    She walked in ahead of him, smiling her shy thanks before ducking her head again and heading into the warmth. 
    “Robert, here are the paintings,” she said and started to hand him the case but Robert ignore d her, heading for the man she’d ran into outside the studio . 
    “Senior Fuitello!  It’s so good of you to visit our little shop,” he gushed, extending his hand to the man she’d walked inside with. 
    “The pleasure is all mine,” he said, shaking Robert’s hand, but looking towards Sasha instead of facing Robert.
    Instantly, Robert shifted his focus , understanding exactly what the non-verbal language was screaming out between his wealthiest client and his most promising artist .  “I see you’ve met our latest ‘ find ’ here at the gallery.  May I introduce you to Ms. Sasha Willard?   Her paintings have been flying off the walls lately.”
    He barely acknowledged Robert as he turned to fully face Sasha, not hiding his interest.  “I’d like to see your work,” he said with that deep, sexy voice that instantly created an intimacy between the two of them , excluding Robert and making the rest of the world disappear .
    “Oh….” She blushed and glanced down at her case.  “I don’t know if these are good enough,” she stammered.  “I was just bringing them in for Robert’s review and opinion .  He’s sort of been looking at my work and giving me advice lately.”
    The man didn’t bother to respond, but simply raised one eyebrow as if to say, “ L et me be the judge.”   Which, of course, she did.  As she unzipped the case, Sasha wondered if everyone followed this man’s unspoken orders like that or if he had some sort of weird power over her. 
    As the man flipped through her work, Sasha found herself biting her lip nervously.  Robert’s critique was important because he was one of the main players in the European art world.  Instinctively, Sasha knew that this man’s opinion would matter more to her suddenly muddled mind , and for completely different reasons.  He flipped through more than her latest paintings but he also glanced at her sketches and some charcoal drawings she’d been working on recently. 
    His face revealed nothing and Sasha ’s heart sank with the rejection.   When Robert reviewed her work, she could take his critique and learn from it.  A negative response from this man was crushing and painful.  With anger, she pulled the case away and started to zip them up.  “Robert, we’ll discuss these later.” 
    She couldn’t look the man in the eyes, too hurt by his rejection of her work, which was personal and therefore a rejection of her.  He couldn’t know how his opinion had instinctively mattered to her and so it was silly of her to be this sensitive, but she couldn’t help it. 
    He laid a hand on hers, creating instant heat that obliterated the cold, stopping her from closing her portfolio.  “I’ll take them,” he said and turned to Robert.  “Have them framed appropriately and sent over to my office.” 
    Turning back to Sasha , he looked down at her with a slight smile.  “Have dinner with me tonight.”
    She had to take a step back, horrified by his outlandish statement.  Both of them were outrageous but she focused on the first statement, since it was easier to deal with.  She knew how much Robert charged for her pieces and this man hadn’t asked the price at all.  He might think she was a new artist and was pretty cheap, but Robert was nothing if not mercenary.
    “You can’t buy all three of them,” she gasped and shook her head.  “You don’t even know the price.”
    “I