Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips Read Free Book Online

up for spec, everybody! Let's go!"
    The man, who earlier had been enticing the crowd to view the menagerie, made the announcement as he slipped into a ringmaster's bright red jacket. At the same time Alex appeared, mounted on a sleek black horse, and Daisy realized he wasn't just the circus manager but a performer as well.
    Dressed in a theatrical adaptation of a Cossack's costume, he wore a silky white shirt with billowy sleeves and flowing black trousers tucked into a pair of high black leather boots that molded to his calves. A jewel-encrusted scarlet sash encircled his waist, and the fringed ends trailed down over the horse's side.
    It wasn't difficult to imagine him riding across the Russian steppes on his way to rape and pillage. She spotted a coiled whip hanging from his saddle, and with a sense of relief, she realized she had let her imagination run wild.
    The whip lying on the bed had been nothing more than a circus prop.
    As she watched him lean down from the horse to talk with the ringmaster, she remembered she had taken sacred vows that bound her to this man, and she knew she could no longer keep ducking her conscience. With unblinking honesty, she saw that agreeing to this marriage had been the most cowardly thing she had ever done. She had been too lacking in character, too unsure of her ability to care for herself, to turn her back on her father's blackmail and make her own way, even if it had meant going to jail.
    Would this be the pattern for the rest of her life? Ducking responsibility and taking the easy way out? She felt ashamed remembering that she'd spoken those sacred wedding vows with no intention of keeping them, and she knew she had to make amends.
    Her conscience had been whispering the solution for hours, but she'd refused to listen. Now she accepted the fact that she wasn't going to be able to live with herself unless she made an attempt to keep those vows. Just because it would be difficult didn't make it any less necessary. She had the distinct fear that if she ran away from this, there would be no hope for her.
    Even as she knew what she had to do, her mind balked. How could she honor vows she'd made to a stranger?
    You didn't make them to a stranger, her conscience reminded her. You made them to God.
    At that moment Alex spotted her. Her decision was too new for her to be comfortable talking to him now, but she had no escape. She took a nervous puff on her cigarette and kept a wary eye on his fierce-looking horse as he approached. The horse was wearing exceptionally beautiful tack and trappings, including a richly embroidered crimson silk saddle cloth and a bridle set with filigreed gold medallions and elaborately mounted red stones that looked like real rubies.
    He glared down at her. "Where have you been?"
    "Exploring."
    "There are a lot of rough people around the circus. Until you get used to things, stay where I can keep
    an eye on you."
    Since she had just promised she was going to do her best to respect her vows, she swallowed her resentment toward his dictatorial manner and made herself respond pleasantly. "All right."
    Her palms had begun to sweat from proximity to the horse, and she pressed herself closer against the trailer. "Is he yours?"
    "Yes. Perry Lipscomb takes care of him for me. He has an equestrian act, and he hauls Misha in the trailer with his own horses."
    "I see."
    "Go on in and watch the show."
    He flicked the reins, and she stepped back quickly, then gave a hiss of dismay as what was left of her cigarette burst into flames.
    "Will you stop that!" she screeched, batting at her clothes and stomping out the burning embers that had fallen to the ground.
    He looked back at her, and one corner of his mouth lifted. "Those things are going to kill you if you don't watch out." With a low chuckle, he returned to take his place in line with the other performers.
    She didn't know which she found more discouraging, the fact that he'd destroyed one of her cigarettes with his