Lady Scandal by Shannon Donnelly Read Free Book Online Page B

so I can
bind this now."
    It took focused effort to obey her, but he
managed to push himself up by bracing his left hand against the
seat. Cool fingers brushed his skin as she wound the strip of gown
around him, and that scent of hers teased him again as she leaned
closer. That light touch stirred his anger—and his desire.
    He started talking nonsense
to distract himself from that touch. "But, ma chére , I might have been shot for
something dashing and romantic—spying for England,
even."
    Miss Edgcot stopped tearing fabric and
asked, awe and curiosity mixing in her voice, "Were you?"
    He had to smile at that—so young, so
gullible. As he had once been. Alexandria's cool answer, however,
carried the weight of one far more jaded. "Mr. Marsett was ever too
idealistic for anything so politic as spy work."
    Her words dug into
him. Idealistic —she said it as if it were a malady to hide in shame. Well,
she had cured him of that ailment. But it irritated him that she
thought she knew him so very well. Ah, she knew nothing. Not of him
at least.
    "What makes you think I have not changed?"
he asked, his tone casual.
    For a moment she held still. Her cloak had
fallen open and he could see the white skin of her throat, and the
quick rise and fall of her breasts. Lovely breasts, soft and pale
and delicious.
    That insidious tug of attraction pulled him
to her. After all these years, after the bitter parting, after all
she had done to him, he still wanted her. Did she feel it, too? Did
it coil inside her, this urge to touch, this need to taste, this
craving to possess? Or had that aching desire long ago died in
her?
    Voice as calm as ever, she asked, "Do any of
us ever really change all that much?"
    His mouth crooked. He had changed—she had
done that to him. His eyes narrowed. If he had been alone with her,
he might have taken her throat in his hands—or he might have done
other things to her. His mouth lifted at one corner. That assumed,
of course, that he actually could do anything given his present
condition.
    Still, he wanted now to see if he could tear
open her heart as she had once done to him. And this time, might
she be the one seduced only to be cast aside? A sweet thought that
one. He let it linger.
    Hands fumbling, she finished knotting the
ends of the makeshift bandage. "That will do."
    "Yes, yes it will," he agreed. Her chin
lifted and he felt her stare on him, searching in the darkness to
see him.
    The carriage hit a rut in the road, jostling
him, throwing him back against the leather squabs. It threw
Alexandria against him, and he caught her, partly so she would not
land against the gash in his side and partly because he ached to
have his hands on her.
    His fingers tightened around her arms, and
he held her. Long enough to feel her softness give under his grip.
Long enough to hear the ragged breath that trembled in her. Long
enough for the heat from her face to warm his.
    He smiled as the pulse fluttered in her
wrists. So she still could not be honest with him. While her voice
might lie with its scorn, her body could not. She gave to him—gave
as he had dreamed of for far too many nights. But it was not
enough.
    This time he was no idealistic youth caught
with his heart in his first love. This time he knew how to seduce a
woman—even a woman such as her. This time he could use his skills
against her.
    Pulling away from him, she fled to the other
side of the coach. He let her go. He had time yet. And more than a
hundred miles to the coast of France.
    Shutting his eyes, he relaxed. "The world
always changes, and not always for the better, my Lady
Scandal."
    He had spoken in French. Hands folded tight
in her lap, Alexandria listened to Paxten's soft mutter. She
understood only a little of it—he had used that much-hated name for
her.
    However, it was his tone that chilled her.
So empty. So hard. So very unlike the man she had once known. She
turned away to stare out the coach window at nothing but darkness.
The