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

her.
    She went cold, then hot. She felt dizzy. But it was a wonderful dizziness, the joy of release.
    Now at last she stood in the open.
    Here I am , she thought. Home at last , at last. Yes , look at me. Look your fill. I’m not invisible anymore.
    She felt his big, warm hand clasp hers. The warmth rushed into her heart and made it hurry. She was aware of her pulse jumping against her throat and against her wrist, so close to his. The heat spread into her belly and down, to melt her knees.
    I’m going to faint , she thought. But she couldn’t let herself swoon merely because a man had touchedher. Not now, at any rate. Not here. She made herself look up at him.
    He wore the faintest smile—of mockery or amusement she couldn’t tell. Behind his shuttered eyes she sensed rather than saw a shadow.
    She remembered the brief glimpse she’d had, of pain, when she’d mentioned his brother. It had vanished in an instant, but she’d seen it in his first, surprised reaction: the darkness there, bleak and empty and unforgettable.
    She gazed longer than she should have into his eyes, those sleepy green eyes that watched her so intently yet shut her out. And at last he let out a short laugh, and raised her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips against her knuckles.
    Had they been in the harem, she would have sunk onto the pillows and thrown her head back, inviting him.
    But they were not in the harem and he’d declined to make her his wife.
    And she was not a man, to let her lust rule her brain.
    This man was not a good candidate for a spouse.
    There had been a bond between them once. Not a friendship, really. In childhood, the few years between them had been a chasm, as the difference in their genders had been. Still, he’d been fond of her once, she thought, in his own fashion.
    But that was before.
    Now he was everything every woman could want, and he knew it.
    She desired him the way every other woman desired him.
    It didn’t really mean anything. It certainly wouldn’t mean anything to him.
    Still, at least she felt desire, finally, she told herself. If she could feel it with him, she’d feel it with someone else, someone who wanted her, who’d give his heart to her.
    For now, she was grateful to be free. She was grateful to stand on this balcony and look out upon the hundreds of people below.
    She squeezed his hand in thanks and let her mouth form a slow, genuine smile, of gratitude and happiness, though she couldn’t help glancing once up at him from under her lashes, to seek his reaction.
    She glimpsed the heat flickering in the guarded green gaze.
    Ah, he felt it, too: the powerful physical awareness crackling between them.
    He released her hand. “We’ve entertained the mob for long enough,” he said. “Go inside.”
    She turned away. The crowd began to stir and people were talking again, but more quietly. They’d become a murmuring sea rather than a roaring one.
    â€œYou’ve seen her,” he said, and his deep voice easily carried over the sea. “You shall see her again from time to time. Now go away.”
    After a moment, they began to turn away, and by degrees they drifted out of the square.

Three
    Marchmont had done nothing more than brush his lips over her knuckles.
    It was more than enough.
    He’d caught the scent of her skin and felt its softness, and the sensations lingered long after he let go and turned away.
    Perhaps, after all, he should have said yes. Visions of Zoe dancing in veils swarmed into his brain again.
    He pushed them away. He was not about to disrupt his life to marry a complete stranger, even for Lexham’s sake.
    He turned his attention to the square. It was emptying, as he’d known it would. The mob’s excitement abated once they saw that the Harem Girl looked like any other attractive English lady. This was only the first and easiest part of the task he’d undertaken.
    Part Two was the