Moonlight Masquerade by Kasey Michaels Read Free Book Online

avid
curiosity.
    Christine bit at her thumbnail, a habit she
thought she had long since outgrown, trying to find some sense in
the earl’s actions. He was handsome, yet hid himself. He tried to
project total disdain for her and her aunt, yet had been kind to
them in so many ways. He purposely frightened her, insulted her,
yet he seemed to deliberately call her attention to his
existence.
    The Earl of Hawkhurst was an enigma, and
Christine longed to solve the puzzle that made up the man.
    “You should be resting, Christine, not
abusing your brains trying to conjure up ways to get to me.”
    Christine inhaled sharply, sitting up
straight in the bed to address the shadow she saw standing in the
corner. “You’ve done it again!” she accused, too angry to feel any
real fear. “Can’t you ever knock?”
    The shadow merely shrugged its shoulders.
“It’s my house.”
    “It’s my house, it’s my house,” Christine
parroted, making a face. “That may very well be, my lord, but for
the moment, this is my bedchamber. I did not give you
permission to enter.”
    “Shall I leave?”
    “Yes. No ! Oh, I don’t know what you
should do!” she exploded, shaking her head. “Aunt Nellis would
expire with shock if she knew you were here. But I do very much
want to speak with you.”
    “Permit me to venture a guess as to what you
want to discuss. Being a well-brought-up young lady, you wish to
thank me for my hospitality, for graciously granting your aunt’s
demand for shelter.”
    Christine’s eyelids narrowed as she strained
to pierce the darkness to get a better look at her visitor. “That
goes without saying, my lord, even if I must take exception to your
use of the word gracious . Aunt Nellis has told me how she
had to beg your assistance—although I do thank you for taking us
in.”
    The earl moved slightly, stepping out from
behind the chair to lower himself onto the seat, crossing his long
legs at the knee. “You give your thanks almost grudgingly, as a
child thanks its tutor for having just caned it,” he said, his
voice so deep, so silky, she could feel the insult slipping over
her like a finely spun garment.
    Christine leaned forward, now able to just
barely make out the shape of the earl’s legs as well as the hand
that had boldly caressed her throat that morning. More than that
she could not see, for his upper body was still shrouded in deep
shadow.
    “You’re playing some private game with me,
aren’t you?” she asked incisively. “This deliberate baiting serves
as some sort of twisted amusement for you. You must be in the midst
of experiencing a most dull winter season here at Hawk’s
Roost.”
    There was no hint of amusement in the earl’s
answer. “I did not ask you here, Christine. You seem to have
forgotten that. However, if we are playing a game, it is my game. And we’ll play it by my rules.”
    “How can I do that?” she asked, spreading
her hands in defeat. “I don’t recognize the game. Is it some form
of hide and seek? Then surely I should be allowed to know the
location of the secret passageways you use in order to spy on
me.”
    “You don’t need secret passageways,
Christine,” he countered smoothly. “After all, you made very good
use of that window over there last night.”
    Christine sucked in her breath. “You knew I
was watching you?”
    “I knew,” he said, and there was a wealth of
sadness in his voice. “But you didn’t really see me.”
    “But you’re wrong!” she exclaimed,
forgetting to be either tactful or ladylike. “I did see you.
Your hood blew back in the wind and I saw you. You—you’re
beautiful! Why do you hide?”
    The hand moved, lifting from the arm of the
chair to disappear into the darkness. “I’ll go now.”
    “Why?” Christine was in an agony of
embarrassment over her candid tongue, but still she persisted.
“What did I say that was so terrible? I only spoke the truth.”
    The earl rose, averting his head, and
stepped back into the