An Artful Seduction by Tina Gabrielle Read Free Book Online Page B

and the way he felt free to molest her person. She put up with his repulsive touch only because she had no choice. Without his business, there would be no supplies for Amelia and Chloe, no frames to sell her prints. So she smiled, allowed his fetid breath to brush her nape, and his wandering hands to touch her.
    Amelia handed her a teacup, and Eliza cradled it in her hands. “I’m afraid Mr. Cain will be difficult to deal with on my next visit,” Eliza said.
    “More than usual?”
    Amelia and Chloe had never met Mr. Cain. Eliza had purposely never taken them along. Only Amelia knew of Cain’s moods and what Eliza had to endure to do business with the horrid man.
    “Lord Huntingdon threatened Mr. Cain in order to get him to speak.”
    Amelia’s face lit up. “Oh, how I wish I was there to see it.”
    Eliza thought of Huntingdon’s intense eyes, his fierce expression when he’d grabbed Mr. Cain by his shirtfront and thrust him against the wall. He hadn’t looked like a civilized lord; he’d looked like a savage ready to tear Cain apart limb by limb.
    Eliza shivered. The notion that anyone would fight to defend her honor was somehow…exciting and exhilarating.
    It has been so long.
    Eliza swallowed. “I only hope I’ll be able to smooth Cain’s feathers the next time I must conduct business with him.”
    “You’re right,” Amelia said. “I hadn’t thought of the future. I wish you’d never have to buy from Mr. Cain again.”
    “That’s just wishful thinking. Sooner or later, I must return.”
    “What about Lord Huntingdon?” Amelia asked. “Should we expect the earl again soon?”
    An image of the handsome earl flashed through Eliza’s mind. Her attraction was as perilous as it was unwanted, and it was difficult to think straight in his presence. “No, thank heavens. Mr. Reed is out of town until next week. I have a reprieve from Lord Huntingdon until then.”

Chapter Five
    Grayson couldn’t stop thinking about Eliza Somerton. He should be pleased with today’s outcome. The inquiry into Jonathan Miller’s whereabouts and the stolen Rembrandt was progressing. He had the name of Miller’s art dealer. He’d soon know if the painting had already been sold and to whom. Thomas Begley, and in turn the duke, would be satisfied.
    But pleased was the last word that could describe Grayson’s mood at the moment.
    He kept reliving the look of well-masked revulsion on Eliza’s face as Cain had touched her. And the anger in her lovely green eyes when Grayson had interfered had been just as jarring. She’d actually been furious that he’d put Cain in his place.
    Maddening woman.
    Clearly she was in a bad position and that was what had spurred him to act. With a few hastily scribbled notes, he’d reached out to reputable merchants and arranged for Mrs. Somerton to buy her supplies from other sellers. Never again would she have to deal with the likes of the perverted Mr. Cain.
    Grayson had no reason to visit the Peacock Print Shop until Dorian Reed returned to London. But the truth was he wanted to see Eliza again. She was so different from any other woman of his acquaintance—the widows who boldly propositioned him for affairs, the silly young debutants and their ambitious mamas who vied for his attention at society functions, and the seductive courtesans who sought to be his mistress.
    He was an earl, a man of wealth and standing who was used to being pursued by women.
    But Eliza Somerton wanted nothing to do with him. Or so she wanted him to believe. There was a spark there, a challenge in her exotically slanted green eyes, the pulse at her throat.
    Yet, she was an accomplished actress. He recalled her performance at the Tutton auction, where she’d appeared a haughty art connoisseur who blended in with the clientele. Then she’d shown up at his front door, lied to his butler, and attempted to barter for the Jan Wildens painting. And most disturbing of all, she’d sought to appear a widow of loose