How to Abduct a Highland Lord by Karen Hawkins Read Free Book Online Page A

“I do not see what that has to do with anything. Many men have mistresses. I wished to marryyou , Fiona. That was what should have mattered.”
     
     An odd flicker of hurt burned through her. “Our values are quite different. I would not have countenanced my husband having a mistress.”
     
     He shrugged. “Perhaps I would have given her up had you asked. We’ll never know, will we?”
     
     “Do you have one now?” The question was out before she could recall it.
     
     His lips tightened. “That is none of your concern.”
     
     Fiona realized that her hands were clenched into fists, and she forced her fingers to relax. Itwas her concern. She could not accept a marriage that was othewise. And therein lay the only flaw in her plan: she’d married the one man she could not cajole, control, or persuade.
     
     She regarded him from beneath her lashes. Every line of his body spelled defiance. From the way he planted his feet on the floor of the carriage, to the way his arms were crossed over his chest, to the proud tilt of his head, he was informing her without words that she had not won this battle. That she may, in fact, lose.
     
     Fiona did not like losing. “Everything you do is my concern. We are married.”
     
     “Not for long. The second I reach London, I will see what can be done with this mess.”
     
     Fiona shot him a look from beneath her lashes. “The marriage cannot be set aside. I have already told you that.”
     
     Jack quirked a brow at her. “You aren’t always right.”
     
     “I know that,” she said with some asperity, “but even you must admit that I am right more often than not.”
     
     He smiled suddenly, a spontaneous, lopsided grin that stole Fiona’s breath. “You haven’t changed a bit.”
     
     If there was one danger in her current plan, it was that she might succumb to Jack’s attractions. Then there would be nothing but heartbreak, and she’d already had enough of that.
     
     “You are biting your lip again.” His eyes glinted. “I am going to tell you why that gesture is so erotic, but I warn you, it’s quite reprehensible.”
     
     “Anything that involves you tends in that direction.”
     
     His lips twitched, but he replied easily enough, “When you bite your lip, it makes me think of all the other things you could do with your mouth.”
     
     “Oh.” Like eat and kiss and—“Oh.” Her cheeks burned, yet she was also a bit intrigued. Jack had always had that effect on her. He could embarrass and tantalize all in the same breath.
     
     But perhaps this was useful information. The time might come when she’d need to seduce him—especially if he proved recalcitrant about performing his “husbandly duties” once they reached London. Which he might be, if he had a mistress. Fiona pressed her lips together to keep from scowling. She had never been very good at sharing her things, and she was certain she’d be quite possessive about a husband.
     
     “You have lost some of your pins.” Jack picked up two from the folds of her gown and held them out to her. “Your hair is so long. Longer than the last time I saw you.”
     
     “It’s almost to my waist.” She made a face. “I have thought of getting it cut.”
     
     “I love a woman with long hair.”
     
     “You love all women, long hair or no.” She sniffed, tackling an unruly curl near her temple.
     
     He sent her a roguish wink. “At this moment, I especially love women with long brown hair and green eyes.”
     
     “Oh, just stop it.”
     
     “Stop what?” he asked, all innocence.
     
     “Stop flirting. With you, every sentence is an offer.”
     
     He leaned back against the squabs, his thigh sliding over to press against hers. “And with you, every sentence is a challenge.”
     
     She didn’t know how to answer that. If she replied, it would confirm his comment. If she didn’t say a word, she left a wealth of sharp retorts unsaid.
     
     He flipped up