Lady of Seduction by Laurel McKee Read Free Book Online Page A

eyes, which blazed with anger. She knew she should try to break away, to run. But she
     was caught by those eyes, mesmerized like helpless prey under the gaze of a gorgeous but poisonous snake. She couldn’t turn
     away.
    He seemed to feel that strange pull as well. His body was drawn taut with tension, his breath harsh.
    The storm outside was nothing to the one in her own heart. She stared at his mouth, the sensual curve of those lips, and remembered
     how they had felt on hers when he kissed her so long ago. The way he tasted and the blurry, hot confusion that came over her—so
     different from anything she had ever known. So intoxicating.
    But she had been an innocent, virginal girl then. She was a woman now, a widow. Surely if he kissed her now, it would not
     be so very overwhelming. She knew herself better, knew how disappointing the physical side of marriage really was.
    Yet her skin burned where he touched her, and she ached to feel those lips on hers again. She swayed toward him against her
     will, and his hands turned gentle on her arms. They slid down to take her hands in his, his fingers twisting with hers as
     he held her against the wall.
    His lips parted as his head tilted toward hers. Caroline shivered and arched against him.
    But he did not kiss her.
“Mollaght,”
he said harshly as he pushed her back even tighter to the wall. He spun away from her, rubbing his hands hard over his face.
    Caroline bit her lip to hold back a sob. She pressed herself tight to the cold stone to keep from falling.
    What a fool she was, she thought bitterly. To be lured in once again by Grant Dunmore’s handsome face was beyond foolish.
     Had she truly learned nothing in all these years? She had seen what he was capable of.
    Yet still she wanted his kiss, wanted to feel that press of his body against hers.
    “What the hell are you doing here, Caroline?” he said.His back was still turned to her, his shoulders stiff. “How did you even find this place?”
    “I was working in the library, and I found the doorway behind the shelf.”
    “So of course, you had to walk through it,” he said. “You didn’t even know what was in there or where it would lead.”
    Well, no, she hadn’t. And that was not like her in the least. Caroline curled her fists against the stone wall in chagrin.
     “There must be a spell on this island that makes people act like bedlamites.”
    Grant whirled back toward her, so fast that she didn’t even see him move until he had her pushed against the wall again. His
     palms were flat to the rock, his arms holding her prisoner. She was tall for a woman, but he was much taller, and she couldn’t
     breathe or think as she tilted her head back to stare at him. There was not even an inch between them. She could feel every
     bit of his body against hers.
    “There
is
a spell on this house, an evil one,” he said. Somehow the words in his calm, cultured voice seemed all the more frightening.
     All the earlier roughness was gone, and he just seemed cold. “It’s not safe for you here, Caroline. That’s why you should
     stay in your room and not go wandering around. Who knows what wickedness you might find.”
    “That’s true enough,” she said. Caroline stiffened her spine with a courage she didn’t completely feel. Not when he looked
     down at her so steadily with those chilly, blank dark eyes. “I found
you.
”
    “And you’re lucky you did.” His hands slid over her shoulders, and she trembled at the heat of his touch through her wet dress.
     “You could have been hurt, and no one would know where to find you.”
    The truth of those words made her feel even more foolish. “So I should stay hidden in my room?”
    “Yes, until I can get you off the island.” His gaze moved over her shoulders, to the way the wet fabric clung to her bosom.
     Those chilly eyes heated to a chocolate-dark intensity.
    She thought of the old tower, of Maeve’s wild tale of the dead housemaid. “And I definitely