A Dangerous Love by Brenda Joyce Read Free Book Online Page A

“A lot of budjo, eh?”
    Emilian hesitated. He had made Woodland profitable through English work, not Gypsy budjo. He did not want to tell his uncle he had labored honestly and industriously, instead of using cunning for his gain. “A lot of budjo, ” he lied.
    Stevan nodded, but his smile faltered.
    Emilian tensed. Knives seemed to have pierced his guts. He asked slowly, “Why have you come to find me?”
    Stevan hesitated, but as he did so, a young Romni ran out from the wagons, her bright red skirts swirling. She paused, barefoot, not far from them. “Emilian,” she whispered, flushing.
    It took him a moment to see Raiza’s beauty in her young, striking features. He gasped, realizing he was staring at his little half sister, except she wasn’t twelve years old anymore—she was twenty.
    She smiled beatifically and rushed into his arms.
    He felt himself smile widely, the kind of smile he hadn’t felt in years, one that began in his heart. He held her, hard, just for a moment, relishing the rare embrace—it was entirely different from holding a lover he did not care for. When he released her, he was still smiling. “Jaelle! You are a beautiful woman now. I am in shock!”
    â€œDid you think I’d grow up ugly?” She laughed, tossing her dark mane of hair. He now realized it was tinged with deep red tones and her eyes were golden amber.
    â€œNever!” he exclaimed. “Are you married?” He was almost afraid of her response.
    She shook her head. “There is no one here that I want.”
    He wasn’t sure if that answer pleased him or not.
    Stevan said gruffly, “There have been good men who have asked for her. She has refused them all.”
    â€œI will know when I wish to marry, and I haven’t wished to yet.” She touched his face. “Look at you—a gadjo now! With so much wealth—Djordi said so. But can pounds replace the wide road and the shining stars?”
    His smile faded. Although he had tried to run away many times when he had first been brought to Woodland, he had finally chosen to stay. And he hadn’t thought twice about taking over the estate upon Edmund’s death. What could he say? Just then, surrounded by true family, he was uncertain his choices had been the right ones. “I am half blood,” he said, hoping to sound light. “Woodland is a good place, but I miss the open road and the night sky.” And in that moment it was achingly true. He missed Jaelle, Raiza and his uncle. He hadn’t realized it until then.
    Jaelle tugged on his hand. “Then come with us, just for a while.”
    He hesitated. There was so much temptation.
    Stevan seemed doubtful. “Jaelle, you have heard it before—half blood, half heart. I don’t think our way will please your brother for long.” Stevan looked at him. “He has been raised a gadjo. Our life is better—but he cannot know that.”
    His uncle’s words filled him with tension. The lure of the open road was suddenly immense. But he had duties, responsibilities. He saw himself hunched over his desk, attending to papers until well into the next morning, or standing in a great hall, apart from the ladies and gentlemen present, there only to discuss a business affair. He recalled the previous evening, when he had been in bed with a neighbor’s wife, giving them both rapture. How easily he could sum up his life—it consisted of Woodland’s affairs and his sexual encounters and nothing more.
    â€œMaybe your life is the better way,” Emilian said slowly. That did not mean he could leave, however.
    Jaelle seemed ready to hop up and down. But she teased, “Your accent is so strange! You don’t sound Romany, Emilian!”
    He flushed. He hadn’t spoken the tongue in eight years.
    Stevan took his arm. “Do you wish to speak with your sister now?”
    Emilian glanced at Jaelle, who was