Lady of Seduction by Laurel McKee Read Free Book Online

its cohorts.
    The lamp stayed lit, and the passage was blessedly silent again. Her heart slowly ceased its frantic pounding.
    “Don’t be ridiculous,” Caroline said. “It was just a crow or something commonplace like that.”
    Or maybe it was a—bat? She peeked cautiously behind her to make sure it—whatever it was—was quite gone before she slowly rose
     to her feet. Surely the presence of birds must mean that she was close to an entranceway. And maybe even closer to some of
     Grant’s secrets.
    Caroline shook away the lingering chill of sudden fright and plunged ahead. She had come much too far to turn back now.
    She turned a bend in the corridor and felt a brush of colder air on her skin. The salty tang of the sea was heavier now. Then
     the passage widened out into a small cave.
    More crates were stacked along the walls. She rattled a few of them, but they all seemed empty. What had they once held? Brandy
     and silks smuggled from France, destined for the homes of the Dublin Ascendancy? Or something worse?
    She kicked at a crate in frustration. She wasn’t sure what she had expected to find here, but surely something more than piles
     of old rubbish! There had to be other caves along the island’s shore, other places where things could be hidden. She would
     just have to find them before the storm abated and Grant’s mysterious guests arrived—and he tossed her off Muirin Inish.
    For now though, she had quite enough of caves and secrets. She had to see if there was an easier way back to the castle than
     retracing her steps.
    Caroline hurried toward the faint, grayish-yellow light that she could see just ahead. The cave finally ended in a narrow
     entranceway, barely tall enough for her to duck through. She could glimpse the steady sheets of rain beyond and the charcoal-colored
     sky. She extinguished the lamp and left it on the dirt floor before she pressed past the doorway—and almost tumbled down into
     the sea.
    Caroline let out a scream and threw herself back tight against the rock. There was only a very slim pathway outside the cave,
     wide enough for one person to traverse. It wound its steep way down the side of the cliff to the rocky beach below.
    She cautiously peered down past the sheer granite ledge. It seemed to be a sheltered cove, but even there the waters crashed
     and boiled in a fury. No boats could possibly put in there today. Her hair and clothes were soaked in an instant by the blowing
     rain, and she ducked backinto the mouth of the cave. Was she feeling bold enough to make her way down that path, wherever it might lead? Or should
     she go back the way she came?
    Caroline shook her head. She couldn’t face the bird-plagued passageway again just yet. She would take the daylight, even though
     it meant another dousing. She took a deep breath and swung out onto the path.
    Strong hands seized her by the arms, holding her in an iron grip before she could take a step. Terrified, Caroline screamed
     and kicked out, twisting hard against her captor’s hold.
    “Caroline!” he shouted hoarsely over the rush of the waves. “Damn it all, you cursed woman, hold still.”
    Grant.
It was Grant who held her prisoner, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Caroline peered up at him through the wet tangle
     of her hair. Her throat was so tight with panic that she could hardly breathe.
    He was soaked, too, his white linen shirt clinging to the muscled contours of his chest, his black wool coat sodden. His hair
     was tied back, and rain ran in diamond-like rivulets over the angles of his face. His jaw was tight with fury.
    Caroline went very still, but he did not let her go. His clasp tightened on her arms, and he pressed her back farther into
     the cave. He held her against the stone wall, his body so close to hers that she could feel the heat of him on her skin, the
     raw strength of him. Whatever he did on this island, it was obviously not just sedentary study.
    She stared up into his golden-brown