Don't Tempt Me by Loretta Chase Read Free Book Online

the time. She could not understand why so sought-after and powerful a man, who was free to go where he pleased and do as he pleased, chose to pass his day in a haze.
    It was not her concern, she told herself. Yet she couldn’t help wondering whether the hazy state dulled his carnal urges or made his membrum virile soft.
    She doubted it.
    He paused at the door to the library.
    She glanced behind her. The small drawing room was not very far away. Still, the library was private, at least for the moment. If he wished to touch her she would let him, she decided. Purely for educational purposes. She knew a great deal about men and what they liked and what to do for and to them, but she had not learned what she liked. Karim’s touch had never stirred her, nor hers him.
    This man would be different. That much was obvious.
    â€œAfter you, madam,” he said.
    She walked into the library, her heart picking up speed.
    He followed her in, then walked straight to the central window. He flung open the curtains.
    A roar went up from the crowd.
    Zoe stood stock-still, staring at the back of his head, at the familiar pale blond hair. Yes, he’d always been the boldest of them all, though everyone used to say it was Gerard who was the reckless one. But bold and reckless were not the same thing.
    She was aware of footsteps in the corridor behind her, and her sisters’ voices becoming more audible. In another moment her brothers would hear the noise outside, and they’d emerge from their lair and…
    And it would make no difference at all. They would do the same as they’d always done. In childhood none of the others had ever been able to stand up to him. Now he’d been a duke for almost half his life, accustomed to do as he pleased, accustomed to being deferred to.
    The library had tall windows, like doors, giving out onto a narrow balcony. Marchmont threw open a pair of windows.
    Her sisters let out a collective gasp.
    â€œGood grief!” one cried.
    â€œHe’s mad!”
    â€œDrunk, is more like it.”
    â€œWhere is Papa?”
    â€œWhy does he do nothing?”
    Zoe glanced back. They huddled in the doorway, complaining and objecting, but they came no farther and made no attempt to stop Marchmont.
    No, that hadn’t changed, in any event. For all their noise, for all the complaining and criticizing, they kept their distance.
    He walked out onto the little balcony.
    He held up his hand.
    The crowd quieted.
    â€œYes, yes, I know,” he said. “Everyone wants to see Miss Lexham.”
    He did not shout. He scarcely raised his deep voice. But he made it stronger in some way, and it seemed to her that people on the other side of the square must hear him clearly.
    â€œVery well,” he said. He turned to her and made a small gesture, signaling her to join him. She looked down at the long fingers, slightly curled, bidding her come. She looked up at his handsome face. A shock of pale hair, the color of early morning sunlight, fell over one eyebrow. He wore a faint smile. She could not tell what sort of smile it was, and this made her uneasy.
    She reminded herself that she’d known nothingabout Karim or the world in which he lived, yet she’d soon learned to navigate its treacherous pathways. She’d learned how to amuse and please him. As a result, she’d won his affection and a great fortune in jewels.
    This would be easier, she told herself. All she needed to do was find a way into the world to which she properly belonged.
    She had come home quietly, Lord Winterton so determined to avert the uproar, which, in the end, could not be averted. They’d kept her hidden in her father’s house for two days, behind closed windows and curtains. She’d felt as though she’d never left the harem.
    She stepped through the window and onto the balcony.
    The crowd fell silent.
    So did her sisters.
    Hundreds of faces turned upward. Every pair of eyes focused on