The Taming of the Wolf Read Online Free PDF Page A

replied breezily. “There’s nothin’ ta approve of or no’. We’ll no’ be seeing his lordship again anyway.” They were headed to two different cities, after all. They’d lose Brimsworth in the morning, and that would be that.
    ***
     
    “Sir,” the tavern-keeper called from across the coaching yard.
    Dash ignored the man as he was in no mood to enjoy the keep’s company. His mind was still reeling from his conversation with Miss Macleod. The few moments he’d spent in her presence had stirred his blood in a way he’d never experienced before. Well, save the previous evening. And the moment she’d walked away from him had been excruciatingly painful.
    Was this a normal reaction to seeing his mate? It was torturous being so close to her since she radiated warmth straight to his soul, but he couldn’t touch her. He couldn’t taste her. He had no claim at all to her, except for the mark he’d left on her neck.
    The whole ordeal was a cruel torment. The major’s dire prediction echoed in his head. She wasn’t bound by the same rules he was. Dash didn’t think he could survive a lifetime of lusting after her if she rejected him and chose another. As it was, he needed every bit of self-control he possessed not to storm the stairs, find Caitrin’s room, and claim her in a much more intimate way.
    “Sir!” the tavern-keeper called again.
    Dash wanted to break the man in two. He stepped out of the shadows. “Yes?”
    A look of relief settled on the portly man’s face. “Ah, there you are. I thought you might have left.”
    “What do you want?” Dash asked, not even bothering to keep his tone conversational.
    The tavern-keeper swallowed nervously and hastened to explain. “Your room key, sir. It’s the only one left, and another fellow was wanting it. But since I promised it to you first… Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?”
    Dash scratched his chin. “Actually, there is something you can do for me. And it involves that young woman I asked about when I arrived, my cousin .”

Four
     
    Caitrin sighed deeply as she pulled the pins from her hair and let it tumble about her shoulders.
    “Tired, Miss?” Jeannie asked as she folded Cait’s traveling dress and helped her mistress into her nightrail.
    Cait leaned back heavily. “Ye have no idea.” Being in places with a lot of people was utterly exhausting. No matter how much she tried to block out the names, faces, and futures, she was unable to do so. Except for the moments she spent with the dashing and dangerous Lord Brimsworth. Those moments were quiet. They were calm. The only emotions that roiled were within her. She received nothing from the people around her. It was almost heaven.
    The desire for quiet nearly made her want to seek out his lordship again, just so she could see if he was truly a man who could bring her peace. Even now, she saw Jeannie in her mind’s eye as she snuck from the room after Caitrin slept to go and meet with her suitor, Cait’s coachman, Lamont.
    “Why doona ye go ahead and go, Jeannie?” Cait finally asked, trying to keep the irritation from her voice.
    “Go where, Miss?” the maid replied, feigning confusion.
    “Ye ken perfectly well where ,” Cait chided. “Ye canna lie ta me. And ye ken that ye canna.”
    “Truly, Miss,” the maid started, but Cait held up a hand to silence her.
    “Please, doona tell me an untruth. Lamont is waitin’ for ye.” She tried to gentle her smile at the woman. “Go,” she said, shooing Jeannie toward the door with her hands. The only head she wanted to be in was her own. “Out.”
    “Ye’re sure ye’ve no need of me?”
    “Positive.” Cait sighed.
    The woman nearly skipped out the door. Within a few moments, the maid would be wrapped in the arms of the coachman, and she wouldn’t be back until the morning. Oh, if life were truly that simple.
    When Cait was alone, she still caught snippets of the future, but when they weren’t coming at her in concert,