The Seduction Read Online Free PDF Page B

hell!" she muttered after he had gone. "My first real kiss and he had to act like such a prig and spoil it all!"
    Trevor couldn't help it. He burst out laughing.
    Margaret whirled around with a gasp. She stared in shock as a man she had never seen before emerged from the shadows, a man of formidable height and wide shoulders, with rumpled clothes, rakish black hair, and an unshaven face. But the clothes were of excellent cut, and his voice, when he spoke, was deep, cultured, and very much amused.
    "You can't blame me for laughing." He came so close to her that she had to lift her chin to look into his face. She caught a glimpse of angular features and deep-set eyes, then everything suddenly began to blur. She shook her head from side to side and hastily took a step back, then another, trying to clear her champagne-drugged senses.
    "If you step back any further, you'll be in the fountain," he pointed out.
    Her heel hit the tiled surround of the fountain, and she was forced to halt her retreat. "Who are you?" she demanded.
    "I don't know when I've seen anything so amusing in my life," he said without answering her question. "He is a prig, and I'm glad you refused to marry him."
    She realized that he must have seen and heard everything, and her shock turned to outrage. "How dare you lurk back there in the shadows, eavesdropping!"
    "I was here first," he replied. "If you wanted privacy, you should have made certain there was no one else here."
    That did not pacify her, but she had the feeling it wasn't intended to. "You should have made your presence known immediately."
    "And interrupt one of the greatest moments of a girl's life? I couldn't possibly."
    "It was a private conversation!" she shot back furiously.
    He smiled at her, a slow, teasing smile, and began to walk toward her. "Somehow, I got the impression it was kissing, not conversation, that you had in mind."
    She was humiliated that this stranger had witnessed the embarrassing scene. But she refused to let it show. She tried to gather her dazed wits and muster some dignity. She lifted her chin and gave him her haughtiest stare. "I don't know what you mean."
    "No?" He gently brushed her lips with the tip of his finger. The light touch paralyzed her, and she felt her heart pounding hard in her breast. Who was he?
    "If you really want to experiment with kissing," he murmured, slowly stroking her lower lip, "you ought to choose a man who knows how to do it properly."
    His words galvanized her into action. She grasped his wrist and violently pushed his hand away. "Like you, I suppose?"
    "Is that an offer? Of course, I'd be happy to step in for poor old Roger." He leaned closer and added in a confidential whisper, "I promise not to ruin everything by dropping down on one knee and proposing."
    His teasing smile widened, and she was certain that he was laughing at her. She opened her mouth to reply, but she could think of nothing sharp enough or scathing enough to shatter his arrogant self-assurance. Hot with embarrassment, dazed by too much champagne, and speechless with frustration and fury, she did the only thing she could think of. She ran away.
    Still smiling, Trevor watched her hasty departure until something glittering in the moonlight caught his eye. He picked up the object and whistled. It was a woman's hair comb of gold filigree set with a multitude of diamonds. Toying with the jeweled comb that must be worth over a hundred pounds, he thought of the girl's enticing figure, trembling mouth, and innocently provocative attempts at seduction. It was an unusual and tempting mixture, and he felt a sudden rush of desire. A pity he hadn't been the one to take her for a moonlight walk. Perhaps she might have found her experiment a bit more gratifying. He certainly would have enjoyed it.

    The following morning, Trevor was up early. He had noticed the stables during his walk with Edward the evening before, and it had been a long time since he'd gone riding. He bathed and dressed,