The Perfect Temptation Read Online Free PDF Page B

driver
    closed the door on both the
carriage and the encounter. "I
    never would have imagined the
possibility."
     
    He looked down at her, his hand
still cradling her elbow.
     
    "How is it that you know
him?”
     
    "I don't personally. Their
servants have been selling off
    heirloom silver pieces for the
last six months to pay the
    household bills."
     
    "How do you know that?"
     
    "I happen to be a
silver broker," she supplied, thinking
    that he asked more questions than
most three-year-olds.
     
    'That was half an answer,"
he observed with a slight
    shrug. ''But I can deduce the
rest. It doesn't take any mental
    prowess to know why the
Walker-Hinesesare in such unfortunate
    circumstances. Geoffrey is a
miserable gambler. And
    he's always had a fondness for
mistresses whose tastes he
    can't afford."
     
    Did John Aiden Terrell keep
mistresses or did he prefer
    brief liaisons With married
women? Judging by the kiss Rose
    Walker-Hines had planted on-Alex
mentally shook herself,
    appalled at the nature of her
musing. Terrell's personal life
    and proclivities were absolutely
none of her concern.
     
    ''One can't
help but wonder why she married him," she
    ventured. hoping to mask the true direction of her thoughts.
     
    "She decided that it was better being Geoffrey's wife than
    being a-"
     
    He bit off the rest, but she knew
the words nonetheless.
     
    She'd heard them countless times
before. "Spinster," Alex
    finished for him, pointedly
drawing her arm from the
    warmth and security of his grasp. "On that point, we will
    never agree, Mr. Terrell. Better
no marriage than spending
    eternity in a state of
misery."
     
    His eyes instantly went dark and
the lines at the comers
    of his mouth deepened as he
struggled to take a breath. His
    voice strained,
he retorted ever so quietly. ever so somberly,
     
    "There are worse fates to endure than that of an unhappy
    marriage, Miss Radford."
With a motion of his hand, he indicated
    the shop door and asked.
"Shall we go in?"
     
    Alex nodded and gathered her
skirts. She didn 't know
    him, didn't much care for him,
but cruelty, whether uninten tional
    or not, was unacceptable.
Troubled by his obvious
    pain. she ventured to ease it, saying,   “Im sorry if I prodded
    a heartache , Mr.
Terrell. I didn't mean to."
     
    His smile was weak but genuinely
appreciative as he took
    her elbow back in hand and pulled
open the door. "Does Emmaline
    know that Mohan's an heir to a
throne?" he whis pered
    as he guided her into the shop
ahead of him.
     
    "She's the only one who
does," she supplied, pausing to
    stamp the snow off her feet.
"I had no choice but to tell her.
     
    Otherwise she wouldn't have known
how desperately I
    needed the services of a socially
acceptable private investigator."
     
    "So you
have gone through all the others."
     
    "I didn't
say that."
     
    From behind her he laughed
softly. The sound rolled over
    her, bathing her in a gentle,
comforting warmth. Her body
    relaxed as her mind - dully
warned that Aiden Terrell's ability
    to understand
her was a danger unlike any she'd ever encountered.
     
    A warm shudder slowly cascaded.
down the
    length of her, and she savored
the depth of it, wanting to identify
    the feeling it stirred. It most
definitely wasn’t apprehension.
     
    Neither was it anything even
slightly akin to
    repugnance. It was almost a
hunger of sorts, a rather pleasant
    kind of ...
     
    Anticipation, she realized, her
heart jolting and her
    breath catching. Dear God in
Heaven, what was wrong with
    her? Distance. She needed to keep
as far away from the man
    as she possibly could. If only
she'd spoken up when Barrett
    Stanbridge had given her the
chance. If only there was
    someone else she could hire.
     
    Alex drew her elbow from his
grasp yet again and resolutely
    set off toward the back of the
store, saying crisply,
     
      "Follow me, if you
please," hoping that by some great miracle
    he'd turn around and walk out of
her life.
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter