Wild Hearts by Virginia Henley Read Free Book Online

forgetting her tantalizing state of undress, added, "I thought you would come to see me but not this way. My husband will kill you— perhaps I should let him."
    Her words amused him. He laughed until the cords in his neck stood out, brown and strong.
    Fear sprang into her eyes. "Hush, keep your voice low!" she begged. "Mrs. Hall, please don't inform on him, he will only stay a moment." She raised liquid eyes to his in supplication. "My lord, your last visit brought me nothing but misery. Please, I beg of you, don't spoil things for me now."
    He was dazzled by her youthful loveliness. Never in his life had he wanted a prize more than this one. "Spoil things?" He raised an eyebrow, dark as a raven's wing. "You want this marriage?"
    Her eyes glowed. "Of course, 'tis a dream come true. You know how many years I waited to be rescued from that place. I will be grateful to Mr. Abrahams for the rest of my life. He is my savior. Look"— she threw open the wardrobe door—"all these beautiful dresses were made for me. I've been living here for a week, to prepare for the wedding. It has been like heaven. The food! You wouldn't believe the food. I can eat as much as I want— he doesn't mind. I even have my own maid, Mrs. Hall. Mr. Abrahams delivered me from my purgatory. I feel I'm in paradise. He is the most generous man in the world, just like a fa—"
    "Stop it," he ordered. "Dammit, he is not your father, wake up!"
    Her eyes widened in fear. "Please don't shout, he will come in here."
    "With my man's knife at his throat, he is hardly likely to do that. Mrs. Hall, pack her some clothes— one bag only," he cautioned.
    "What are you doing?" she gasped in disbelief.
    "Kidnapping you." He grinned, and his eyes sparkled.
    "You cannot. You wouldn't! Oh, God, not when everything is so perfect." She wrung her hands in distress. He was ignoring her plight. She could see that her words would never sway him from his determined course. Her distress turned to anger at the sheer arrogance of the man. "I shan't go with you! Take yourself out the way you came in," she ordered.
    "Will you dress, or will I take you in your underdrawers?" he said, smiling.
    She went faint with shock as she realized that she stood arguing with him in a state of undress. Her hands trembled as she tried unsuccessfully to cover her half-exposed breasts from his avid gaze. "You are serious! You monster! Have you seen the beautiful bed I have to sleep in, with silken sheets?" she demanded.
    He looked at her coldly. "Tabby, that is not the bed you will be sleeping in tonight. All things have to be paid for."
    "But don't you see, the price is so small. He is giving me everything, and I am just giving him myself. It is the only thing I have to offer. It is the only reason I was chosen. I am willing to pay the price in return for all this," she explained.
    He was astounded that anyone could be so innocent. He had expected gratitude, relief that he had come to rescue her; instead, she was begging him to let her stay!. He took her firmly by the arms. "Lass, you are too ignorant to even conceive of what it will be like." He had no intentions of being more graphic. She was like a fragile flower that could be crushed so easily. He realized he must protect her from herself as well as from others.
    She fell to her knees before him. "Please, please, I beg of you not to take me. I could bear not having the pretty dresses and the big house and the servants, but the food! Do you know I've been hungry all my life?"
    She had evoked such tender feelings deep within him, he felt both surprise and dismay at himself. It was a long time since he had been soft with a woman. He covered his vulnerability toward her with gruffness. "Enough, wench," he warned, pulling her to her feet.
    Her eyes blazed purple. "Rogue- Cockburn, damn, you to hell! I should have known it was an omen for trouble when you fumed up at the wedding. I have only laid eyes on you three times, but those three encounters have