The Perfect Temptation by Leslie Lafoy Read Free Book Online Page A

maybe except for
    the hint of cinnamon and cloves
he was catching every now
    and again. There were dried
peppers hanging on a string
    over in the comer. He'd seen
those in kitchens throughout
    the Leeward Islands. His mother
had some in hers on St.
    Kitts. Under the peppers, on a
table, was a basket of rice.
     
    Other than those few things, it
was all quite foreign.
     
    It was also warm. Uncomfortably
so. With the fire roaring
    in the hearth and the one in the
stove, the condensate was
    streaming down the windowpanes.
Aiden resisted the urge to
    loosen his stock and collar but
couldn't help looking longingly
    at the door and wishing he were
on the other side of it.
     
    At the edge of his vision he saw
Preeya pat Alex Radford's
    arm and laugh. Alex rolled her
eyes and shook her head.
     
    Preeya said something, grinned,
and then waved a huge
    slotted spoon in a gesture that
didn't need any translation. Get
    out of my kitchen was
universally understood. Especially by
    males. He grinned, wondering how
many times his mother's
    cook had ordered him out of her
way. Thousands , probably.
     
    She barely gave him time to bow
in farewell to Preeya before
    his hope was realized and be was
back outside in the
    wonderfully cold, crisp air. And
hurrying to catch up with
    her. Yet again. Something inside
him rebelled at the notion
    of complying, of dutifully
following along and letting her always
    set the course and the pace.
     
    The movement was quick and at the
very edge of her
    vision. Alex whirled about, her
heart racing, her hands instinctively
    positioned to fend off an attack.
One part of her
    instantly relaxed at the sight of
Aiden Terrell hanging,
    slightly swaying,from a lower
limb - of the apple tree.
     
    Another part of her wasn't
relaxed at all. Stretched out as
    be was , his
hands wrapped over the top of the branch, his
    feet well off the snowy ground,
his clothing was pulled taut
    over his body and revealed in
great detail every one of his
    rippled, corded, and bulging
muscles. Dear God in heaven.
    the man was marvelously sculpted.
From his broad shoulders
    to his abdomen to his-
     
    Heat flooded her cheeks and she
quickly lifted her gaze to
    his face. His grin was huge,
sparkling brilliantly in his gorgeous
    green eyes. The effect, as
always, was devastating. Her
    heart skittered and her pulse
raced hotly through her veins.
     
    "Mr. Terrell?" she
began, unable to keep from watching
    his display, desperate to get him
to stop .
     
    "My father isn't here,"
he replied. arching his lower body
    to increase the speed and power
of his swing. And the tautness
    of his clothes.
     
    "Aiden," she quickly
allowed. watching him pump higher
    and faster. "I'm chilled to
the bone. May we please go inside?"
     
    Chilled, my great-aunt
Fanny, Aiden thought, grinning and
    shifting his hold on the branch.
It wasn't cold coloring her
    cheeks. He knew a purely feminine
response to unexpected
    infatuation when he saw one. He
arched higher, pleased by the
    sound of her strangled gasp. No,
the duchess wasn't cold at
    all. And she obviously wasn't
made of stone, either. That was
    just a facade. One that, judging
by her blush, had the potential
    to crumble rather quickly and
nicely.
     
    His conscience prickled ever so
slightly, but the rebellious
    spirit again surged forward,
ruthlessly tamping it down,
    firmly telling him there was
nothing wrong with a general appreciation
    of a woman's willingness to be
seduced. Willing
    women were wonderful things.
     
    Deciding that he'd best leave
those kinds of thoughts no
    further developed than they were,
he selected a suitable
    landing place some distance out
and arced backward to gain
    the momentum necessary to reach
it. She actually squealed
    and covered her eyes as he
released his hold on the branch
    and launched himself forward.
     
    He landed perfectly, laughing and
looking back over his
    shoulder to see if she'd
surrendered to curiosity. She had and
    a deeper flush swept over her
cheeks as she