An Accidental Seduction by Lois Greiman Read Free Book Online

that, he thought. Slipping his fingers beneath her wrist, he tried to ignore the feelings that shivered through his abdomen and lower.
    “And what was truly wrong with him?” she asked.
    “What’s that?” He lifted his gaze to hers, reminding himself she was no one to be trifled with. Then again, wasn’t that why he had come here? To trifle?
    “You thought his leg was broken…” she prompted.
    “Ahh, yes,” he said, and gently massaged her index finger. The skin looked unbroken and hale. Hell, the skin looked gorgeous. “In truth, it was his thumb that had been damaged,” he said, and trailing his fingers over the little hillocks of her knuckles, drew her hand up to his lips and kissed her digits.
    She sucked air though her teeth and tried to jerk away, but he held on gently.
    Perhaps he was moving too quickly, but he’d comehere with a mission in mind, and had no intention of staying longer than necessary. ’Twas revenge that kept him here and nothing else. “Did that hurt, me lady?”
    “No. It felt—” she began, then raised her peaked chin, pursed her luscious lips, and tugged her hand firmly from his grip. “As I said at the outset, ’twas my shoulder. Not my hand.”
    “Ahh…” He grinned a little. His mother had been known to say he had a smile like a sainted bandit. Other women had found less innocuous comparisons. Most suggested he could not be completely trusted. And he supposed that was true. It had been Alastar who was the soft touch. His brother who had been naive and loving and kind. Helper of men, or so his unusual name implied. And it had suited him. It seemed the perfect name for a wise barrister in training. But no more. “Right you are, lassie. ’Twas your shoulder,” he said, and gently eased his way up her elbow, flexing it lightly. “Does that hurt?”
    “No.”
    He slipped his hand toward her upper arm. “That?”
    “No.”
    He skimmed his fingers to her upper joint. Her lips had parted slightly. They were as pink as the inside of a conch. Soft, shiny, and pearlescent. “That?”
    “N—” she began, then jerked her arm away. “Ouch.”
    He raised his brows at her sudden reaction. “That hurt?”
    She was scowling at him. “I said ouch, did I not?”
    “So ye did,” he agreed, and almost laughed, because she looked far more peeved than pained. “It’s your shoulder, then.”
    “That’s what I said at the outset. Now, if you’ll catch my mount, we can be on our way,” she groused, and shifted as if to rise.
    But he caught her hand. “Sure, you cannot mean to ride that wild beastie again.”
    “Of course—” she began, then touched her shoulder as if just remembering the pain there. “—not,” she finished, and turning her gaze to the cock-hipped chestnut, seemed to stifle a shudder. “But even if I do mount that thing , you’ll still have to fetch the gelding.”
    He glanced into the distance. Her hand felt warm in his. “The blighter looks to be long gone.”
    “He soars like a wild hart.”
    There was an odd look in her eye again. The kind he couldn’t quite decipher. Surely it couldn’t be admiration. The damned horse could have killed her.
    “Like Pegasus,” she whispered.
    He frowned at her. “What’s that?”
    “When he—” she began, then stopped abruptly and raised her brows in imperial dislike. “You should have warned me of his propensity toward flightiness.”
    For a moment he almost argued, but she was not the only actor on this stage. “You are right, of course, melady. I should indeed have been more cautious. One cannot be too careful with a beauty such as yours,” he said, and raising her hand slowly to his lips, kissed the little dip in the center of her palm. “But I did not realize you were such a brave little soldier.”
    His ploy worked like magic, for he could sense her softening. Could feel her weakening. The problem was, his own loins were beginning to stir. But that was foolish. He was hardly some raw lad