Wicked Seduction Read Online Free PDF Page A

quick as they kept her from the floor, then he easily lifted her up, guiding her to stand safely protected between him and the wall.
    Meanwhile, the countess was alternately snapping orders and dabbing ineffectively at the earl’s cut lip.
    “Don’t move him,” Maddy warned. “His ribs are likely broken and . . .” Her voice trailed away. No one was listening to her as the footmen worked together to lift and carry the man to his bedchamber. Just as she feared, the earl cried out, turned white as a sheet as he grabbed the nearest footman’s ear, then sunk unconscious, much to everyone’s relief.
    “It’s all right,” said Mr. Frazier at her gasp. “With luck, his ribs are cracked, not broken. Alex isn’t that strong, and Michael’s got a good deal of padding. But it’ll hurt like the very devil when he wakes.”
    Maddy thought his words were for her alone, but apparently the countess had very sharp ears or perhaps simply a very big temper. He’d barely finished speaking when she abruptly rounded on him, her finger pointing straight at his heart.
    “This is all your fault! How dare you come here and bring that . . . that animal into my home!”
    “He’s a boy, Lily. That is what happens to boys who are taken by Barbary pirates.”
    “I don’t care what happened to him! Get out of my house. Get out now!”
    Mr. Frazier’s reaction was quiet. A simple flinch, barely noticeable by anyone at all. Except Maddy was right behind him, pressed against the wall. She felt the impact of the countess’s words in the way his breathing completely stopped and his body tightened almost unbearably. And then it was gone as he sketched a shallow bow.
    “As you wish, Lily.”
    Maddy doubted the countess heard. The woman had already stomped off after her husband while all around them, the ladies erupted into noise and movement. Like a gaggle of disturbed geese, she thought distractedly, her gaze going to Rose. But she couldn’t see her cousin as Mr. Frazier’s rather large shoulders blocked her view. And then when she was about to step around him, the butler abruptly appeared before them.
    “Best go now, Master Kit,” the butler intoned. “The watch has been called. I couldn’t stop it. Have you a place to stay?”
    Kit shook his head, his gaze dropping to the unconscious boy at his feet. “We just arrived. The ship is barely habitable, but—”
    “Come with us,” Maddy inserted suddenly.
    Butler and pirate both turned to her, their brows raised in surprise. She couldn’t blame them. It wasn’t at all the thing for an unmarried woman to be inviting pirates to her home. Especially as it wasn’t really her home but her uncle Frank’s. She was just the poor relation they housed. But there was no help for it now. The invitation had been issued, and Mr. Frazier was looking at her with a gratitude that seemed to warm the air between them.
    “I’d be most grateful,” he said. “The boy needs to remember what it’s like to be in a home, not locked down on a ship. A real bed on dry land will ease his nightmares, but I haven’t any English coins as yet for an inn. I was hoping that Michael . . .” His voice trailed away on a sigh.
    Put like that, she couldn’t possibly change her mind. “It’s settled then,” she said briskly, as she turned to the butler. “Would you summon our carriage please? And make sure to bring his bag.”
    Then she took a deep breath, knowing there was one last thing for her to do, much as she regretted it. It was petty of her, of course, but she had enjoyed being the only woman holding Mr. Frazier’s attention. But sadly, her cousin would be traveling in the carriage with them, so she had to make the introduction. Her stunningly gorgeous and titled cousin. The one who had men falling at her feet like raindrops.
    But she had to. So she touched his arm, forced a smile, then gestured to the side where Rose was bouncing on her toes beside them, clearly beyond anxious for this moment.