Pure Temptation by Connie Mason Read Free Book Online

am acquainted with nearly all the likely prospects this season. I’ll see that you’re introduced,” Victoria said.
    “It will be several weeks before Moira’s arm is healed enough to appear in public,” Jack said. “But this is neither the time nor place for small talk. Come along, Victoria, Moira needs her sleep.”
    Jack all but pulled Victoria from the room, angry at himself for making such a disastrous blunder. He should have known better than to drink too much. Liquor had already gotten him into trouble the night before, and he should have learned his lesson. As he dragged Victoria out the door, he vowed to avoid all hard liquor in the future. Had Lady Amelia heard his vow, she would have smiled.
    “Where are you taking me?” Victoria asked as Jack shoved her toward an unoccupied chamber.
    “There’s more than one bed in this pile of stone,” Jack told her.
    Victoria dug in her heels. “I’m no longer in the mood.” Her lips turned downward in displeasure. “Your little ward took me by surprise. What kind of accident was she involved in? Her face is still swollen and bruised.”
    “Carriage accident,” Jack explained succinctly. “Are you going to beg off? ’Tis not like you, Victoria.”
    “I’m displeased with you, Jack. I’m not even sure I believe you. Ward, indeed! You’re a first-class rake, Jackson Graystoke. Lord knows why I stand for your nonsense. Take me home.”
    Jack shrugged with easy grace. “Very well, my dear. I’ll instruct my coachman to take you home. I’ll see you at the Whitcombs tomorrow night. I hope you’ll be over your pique by then.”
    “Perhaps,” Victoria replied sulkily, “and perhaps not.”
    With mixed emotions, Jack watched the carriage carryingVictoria drive off. Truth to tell, his own ardor had cooled considerably after bursting in on Moira. That wasn’t to say he didn’t still need Victoria and her money. Nevertheless, the moment the carriage disappeared from sight, Victoria was relegated to the far reaches of Jack’s mind as Moira occupied her place.
    Without conscious thought, Jack’s steps slowed as he passed Moira’s room—his room, really. He should apologize, he supposed, though he owed Moira no explanation. Moira had burst into his life uninvited, and he strongly suspected Lady Amelia was behind the entire fiasco. If not for the family ghost, he would have been snug in his bed last night and someone else would have run Moira down. He had no idea what Lady Amelia had in mind for him, but he felt certain it wasn’t nearly killing an Irish whore.
    Some perverse imp inside Jack made him knock softly on Moira’s door and call out her name. If she didn’t answer, he would go on to his own bed, he decided, and put off explaining until another time.
    Sleep was out of the question for Moira. She shuddered to think how close she came to witnessing Jack Graystoke making love to his mistress. The man was an incorrigible womanizer. Did he have no scruples?
    “Moira, it’s Jack. Are you awake?”
    Moira hesitated for the space of a heartbeat before answering. “Aye, I’m awake.”
    “May I come in for a moment? I owe you an explanation.”
    “Come in, Sir Jack, though you owe me nothing. I’m merely a guest in your home. You may do as you please.”
    Jack stepped inside the room and crossed to the bed. He stood over her, looking much like a naughty child, Moira thought, with one side of his mouth turned up into a lopsided smile. If excessive vice had ruined him, it did not show in his face.
    “I’m sorry this happened, Moira. As usual, I had too much to drink and forgot I’d given you my chamber.”
    “I’m an intruder in your home, Sir Jack. I absolve you of all responsibility where I’m concerned. I’ll leave in a day or two, so you may have your privacy once again.”
    Jack heaved a weary sigh and sank down on the edge of the bed, being careful of Moira’s injured arm. “You’re not going anywhere. ’Tis my fault you were injured