Confessions at Midnight by Jacquie D'Alessandro Read Free Book Online

practice. An image flashed through her mind, of him and a woman who, dear God, looked exactly like her, engaged in a tryst, their bare limbs entwined-
    She briefly squeezed her eyes shut to banish the unsettling picture then said, "I've heard of these notes, yes."
    "Have you ever received one?"
    "No. Have you ever sent one?"
    "No, although I find the idea intriguing. Tell me, if you were to receive such a missive, would you go?"
    She opened her mouth to emphatically state
of course not
, but to her surprise and chagrin found the words would not come. Instead she found herself saying, "I… I'm not certain."
    And with a dismaying, unsettling clarity, she realized that she truly
wasn't
certain. Yet how could that be? It was as if she'd donned her goddess costume and become a different person. A person who would consider a secret rendezvous with an unknown admirer. What on earth was happening to her? And why would it be happening with this man? This charming, practiced, nobleman who was like so many of his peers-interested only in his own pleasures.
    Botheration, clearly the
Memoirs
were to blame for filling her mind with these ridiculous thoughts and disturbing images. As soon as she returned home she'd toss the book into the fireplace and be rid of it.
    Raising her chin, she asked, "Would
you
go?"
    Instead of immediately answering yes as she would have expected, he considered for several seconds before replying, "I suppose it would depend on who sent me the note."
    "But the entire point is that you don't know."
    He shook his head. "I think you'd have at least an inkling of the sender's identity. A clue as to who desired you that much." He reached out and lightly clasped her hands. The heat of his palms seeped through her gloves, and she found herself wishing that no barrier separated their skin. "A desire that strong surely could not go unnoticed."
    A reply… she needed to think of something,
anything
, to say, but instead all she could focus on was the word he'd just spoken, which kept reverberating through her mind.
    Desire.
    Before she could recover her usual aplomb, he said softly, "To answer your question, if
you
sent me such a note, I would go."
    Silence engulfed them. Seconds passed, pulses of time that felt to her thick with tension and an almost painful awareness of him. Of everything about him. His commanding height. The breadth of his shoulders. The compelling intensity of his gaze. His scent, which seemed to intoxicate her. His touch against her hands.
    His gaze flicked to her throat then returned to hers. Heat and mischief gleamed in his eyes. "I see you are not wearing any expensive baubles. That presents a bit of dilemma for a highwayman such as myself."
    She swallowed and managed to dredge up her voice, no easy task with his fingers still wrapped warmly around hers. "You would steal from me?"
    "I must live up to my costume, I'm afraid."
    "You said you weren't a thief."
    "Normally I'm not. But in this case I fear it cannot be helped." He glanced down at his black attire and heaved a dramatic sigh. "Here I am, all dressed up in my mask and cape, yet without a diamond in sight."
    Amused in spite of herself, Carolyn said, "I must confess, I'm not overly fond of diamonds."
    "I must confess that's something I've never heard any woman say." He flashed a wicked grin. "You realize we've just exchanged midnight confessions. And you know what they say about those."
    "I'm afraid I don't."
    He leaned a bit closer and her pulse jumped. "They say that they're dangerous-but in the very best of ways."
    Carolyn suddenly realized that this interlude was a perfect example of "dangerous in the very best of ways."
    "The women in the ballroom are adorned with more baubles than you could possibly carry away," she pointed out.
    "I've no interest in any woman other than you, my lady."
    His words whispered over her, heating her, exciting her. In a way that both distressed and secret!) thrilled her.
    "I have no jewels," she