A Dangerous Temptation Read online

  I knew she would return.

  Rose.

  Silly name, for an innocent, naïve and trusting woman.

  I knew she would return, and I knew it would be her downfall.

  I would have her as I wanted her…on her back, her skirts around her waist, showing her a pleasure no man in this pathetic, small town could duplicate. Should I have felt guilty? Perhaps. But I had stopped feeling guilty a long, long time ago. Shame held no power over me. Now, I took pleasure where I could, when I wanted.

  I paused just at the edge of the woods. To say I had been startled by my immediate attraction to her would not have done justice. Yes, I’d wanted women before, but not like this. The surge of lust that flowed through me was undeniable, uncontrollable.

  She stood in the clearing waiting. The afternoon sun shone down around her, highlighting her dark locks and making them shimmer. A rush of heat flared through me. I wanted to bury my face in her silky hair. To kiss the delicate column of her neck while my hands trailed up her smooth thighs toward the very heat of her body.

  There was something incredibly attractive about her innocent strength, her country sweetness. A buried passion just waiting to be released. Whatever it was…I’d wanted her the moment I saw her. Perhaps the moment I’d sensed her behind me while I’d bathed.

  I had known she’d been female. How could I not? I’d heard her soft gasp of surprise when she’d come upon me. Sensed the way she hesitated in shock, and yes…interest. And in that moment I knew I had her. A passionate woman stifled by her country setting, just waiting for the right opportunity to be set free. I would be the man to release her true desires.

  For a brief moment I hesitated. What if she was a servant from a nearby estate? A preacher’s daughter? It wouldn’t do to make enemies with the locals. I’d always been a rather rational man, and the rational part of me was demanding I leave her alone until I found out who owned this woman. Yet, as I stood within those shadows I couldn’t seem to move. She fascinated me. I felt the wolf and she an innocent sheep.

  I’d once asked my rake of a brother Rafe if he’d ever felt guilty about seducing women. His response had been concise and shameless. “Does the robin feel guilty about taking the last worm before winter? Does the hunter feel guilty about killing a deer to feed his family? Besides, they know what they’re getting. They know my reputation.”

  But this woman didn’t know me. She had no idea of my reputation. I’d never much cared for innocents. I preferred a mistress or two to see to my needs. They knew what was expected of them, knew what I liked and wanted. Was Rose an innocent? The blushes, the curiosity…perhaps. Yet, what innocent was allowed to race around the countryside unchaperoned? She was a mystery, and like all men, I liked a mystery.

  Studying her as she searched the clearing, I understood why a man would risk everything merely to taste the lips of a woman, to enter her fully, completely. To brand her, if even for a short while, as his own. I wanted her. She stirred my blood in a way that it hadn’t been stirred in a long, long while.

  I felt her presence like a hand trailing down my back. My entire body came to life when she was near. Hell, I wanted to lay her upon the moss and take her. Make her mine. When I entered her would her eyes widen with surprise, or would her true nature be erotic, wild?

  She edged toward the bank and settled upon the moss. For a few moments she merely sat there as if waiting for me like a damn offering. And I watched her, warring with myself. I knew if I kept up this dalliance it would end with her underneath me, those skirts around her waist. I had accepted it the moment I met her.

  She kicked off her slippers. Then slowly, she reached up under her skirts. My entire body heated. I felt afire. The whole bloody world seemed to lose air and I found it suddenly hard to breathe. She pulled one stocking down, then the next. How badly I wanted to lift those blasted skirts, to pull those stockings down for her, to have her completely naked underneath me. Gingerly, she reached out her leg and stuck her toes into the creek.

  I could take it no longer and stepped from the woods. “Back for more, Rose?”

  My voice came out gruff.

  “No,” she said breathlessly. I couldn’t see her face and I so badly wanted to read her reaction to my presence. “I actually thought to wade in the water, to see what the fuss is about.”

  “By all means.”

  “Absolutely not.” She pulled her feet back and tucked them under her skirts. She wore a dress as plain as the one she wore yesterday. “Not while you’re here watching.”

  I strolled casually toward her, the steady pace of my feet belying my racing pulse. “You can spy on me, but I can’t you? Not exactly fair.”

  I paused next to her and could finally see her profile. Shite, she was as pretty as I’d remembered. Not as stunning as some women I’d fucked, but there was something about her… I admired her boldness, her candor, her natural curiosity.

  She was blushing. “You’re teasing me.”

  I laughed. I hadn’t laughed in a very long time. The sound felt strange and rusty coming from my lips. Whether her innocence was an act or not, she amused me. “Perhaps. Have you never been teased?”

  She frowned, as if thinking it over. Hell, even her frown intrigued me. She wore her hair in a simple braid down her back, curly wisps framing her heart-shaped face. Pretty, but not stunning. I studied her features, attempting to untangle the unfamiliar thoughts running through my mind. Why her?

  “I don’t have any brothers,” she said, “and my father has always been much too serious to tease.”

  She grabbed her stockings and stuffed them into the pockets of her skirts, then pulled on her slippers. They were black, common-looking and slightly frayed. Her blue dress was decorated with tiny white feminine flowers, but the material was worn and smudged with dirt, or maybe it was charcoal if her love of drawing was true. There was even a small tear near the hem. Surely she came from no titled family. The relief I felt was immediate. Hell, I’d barely slept last night and had awoken hard and irritable. I needed her. Needed the dalliance, needed to forget for a while.

  “I do have friends with brothers and know how they behave. But teasing from you is familiar in a way I’m not sure is exactly appropriate.”

  Appropriate? She’d seen me naked. I’d just been staring at the delicate arches of her bare feet. Appropriate had left long ago. Damnation, no one was this innocent. It had to be an act. And if it was an act I would play along. If she felt the need to pretend before she let me up her skirts, so be it. I was cynical, of course, and didn’t trust easily. But then with my upbringing how could I be anything less.

  “Come,” I said. “Will you show me the area?”

  She stiffened, surprised, staring up at me warily as if I was a wild animal she dare not trust. Good girl. Smart. “Walk with you?”

  “I’m hardly asking you to marry me.” There was that blush once more. “Just a short stroll.”

  She took her lower lip between her teeth and glanced around the area, as if making sure we were alone. Her two front teeth were the slightest bit crooked. For some reason I found the imperfection intriguing. Hell, this wasn’t me at all. I preferred mistresses who knew their place, and knew how to please. I didn’t have to work for them, they worked for me.

  “Most are at dinner,” I added casually. “And I did share my meal, you do owe me.”

  She smiled like a seductress, shy and tempting. “Very well.”

  Her quick acceptance surprised me, yet only reaffirmed my belief that this innocent game was a ruse. I held out my hand. She hesitated only a moment, then slid her fingers around mine. The friction of her soft palm against my tougher skin was erotic, to say the least. I pulled her to her feet.

  Perhaps I’d done it on purpose, but instinctively I pulled a little too hard and she stumbled into me. Her free palm flattened to my chest, her body sank into mine. Startled, her eyes went wide. She was exactly the type of woman I craved, all lush curves and warmth. Hell, she smelled good. F
resh air, roses and woman.

  I released her hand and gripped her shoulders. “Careful.”

  She tilted her head back and stared up at me. Eyes the color of the sky above, surrounded by the thickest, darkest lashes I’d ever seen. At first glance I’d thought she was pretty, but nothing special. The longer I was with her, the more beautiful she became.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  I stepped back, giving her space. Or maybe I needed space. I wasn’t used to games…to waiting. When I desired a woman, I knew it, she knew it. We did what we wanted, when we wanted, finding pleasure together. But with her, my Rose, I wasn’t sure. Perhaps that’s what intrigued me so. She might have the same lush body I adored on a woman, but she was not the open book other mistresses had been.

  I wondered once more why I wasted my time. Hell, I could head into town and find more than one woman willing to ease the ache in my cock. But I wanted her, and I knew only she would do.

  “This,” she said, “will be your field, if you purchase the Welch Estate.”

  She glanced at me curiously, attempting to read my situation. Silly chit. Let her wonder if I was attached or not, if I had money or a title. If she thought to trick me into marriage, she would soon know better. But if she wanted to dream so high above her station, let her, for it would get me what I wanted. And after, if she complained, I’d throw some money her way. Money had the amazing ability to not only get a person whatever he wanted, but to shut others up.

  “It’s been empty for some time, it will need work,” she said, watching me again to read my reaction. She was confused about my station, couldn’t decide on which level I belonged. “A large house that has not had a proprietor for some time.”

  I glanced around the field, not bothering to respond.

  She moved in front of me as the trail narrowed. I was more than happy to fall back and let her lead. The sway of her hips was seductive, the way her braid brushed across her lower back mesmerizing. Flirt. Temptress.

  I saw the root before she did. Tripping, she stumbled forward. I was quick to reach out, grab her around the waist and jerk her back against my chest. Her lush body fit perfectly to mine. My cock swelled, lengthening and hardening against her bottom, as my arm wrapped around her narrow waist, pressing intimately to the underside of her breasts. For a moment we merely stood there. Surely she felt my arousal, yet made no move to jump out of my arms.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Too soon, my instincts told me. I breathed deeply her scent, savoring her warmth. Reluctantly, I released my hold and stepped back. “Of course.”

  “This,” she said, nodding toward the right. “Is the watering pond.”

  South of the creek where I’d been bathing, it was a large pond where a few cows lingered along the edge. I didn’t give a shite about the pond, but I would pretend. “Used for livestock?”

  She glanced at me shyly. “Mostly.”

  “Do tell me, Rose.” I stepped beside her as the trail widened. My arm brushed hers, but she did not flinch away. She was comfortable being alone with a man, comfortable with touching. “Do you know a lot about cows and livestock?”

  She grinned as if she knew exactly what I was doing. “No.”

  “I see.”

  She slid me a glance. “Are you asking if my family comes from farmers?”

  “I might be.” Damn, she was a puzzle, and her little flirting act had pulled me in, just as she’d planned. “Yes.”

  “They are not.”

  I quirked a brow. “And I assume that is all you will say about the matter?”

  “Of course.”

  She ducked under a branch and suddenly disappeared into the trees.

  And our little game continued. With a sigh of frustration, I followed. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, but when they did, I realized that not far from where I stood the thick trees faded away and an orchard appeared. An orchard in full spring bloom.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” she whispered, suddenly standing next to me like a fairy that came and went with the breeze. Hell, I didn’t believe in magic, I didn’t believe in anything I couldn’t see, yet here I was wondering if she’d come from another world.

  Her skin was as pure as porcelain, those eyes as bright and shiny as stars. She was so mesmerizing, that for a moment I felt the very devil for even standing next to her. If she was innocent, I would destroy that innocence if given the chance.

  “Isn’t it?” she asked again.

  I tore my gaze from her and glanced impassively toward the orchard. I felt nothing at the picture, but then I’d felt so little for so very long. “Yes, I suppose.”

  Laughing, she twirled away from me, racing into the orchard. A warm breeze swept from the woods, rattling the branches. White petals rained down, falling around her. I merely stood there, watching as she twirled around underneath a tree. My own private, seductive show.

  She was stunning.

  A fairy.

  A country goddess.

  She would be mine.

  I was on her in three steps. Without thought, I latched onto her wrist and jerked her into my arms. She gasped, her hands flattening to my chest. I was no longer amused. “Do you tempt me on purpose, little one?”

  Her breath was warm and quick across my neck. “Of course not.”

  Annoyance fought with intrigue. A ruse. She was playing with me. No one could be that innocent. I started to tell her exactly what I thought of her little game, when I spotted the small line of blood along her delicate neck. “What have you done?”

  Frowning, she reached toward the wound. “I scratched it on a branch when you grabbed me so roughly, for which you really should apologize.”

  Roughly? She didn’t know what rough was. Ignoring her, I scooped the woman up into my arms. I’d apologize when she admitted she was playing the innocent.

  “Put me down!” she cried out. “I’m fine, truly!”

  I liked her in my arms, and found myself purposefully slowing just so I could hold her close a little longer. Her curves were warm, her scent intoxicating. I settled her on a fallen log. “Sit, and be quiet.”

  She glared up at me.

  I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket and pressed it to her neck. “Just a small scratch. Are you always so accident prone?”

  She lifted her brows. “And are you always so rude?”

  I thought about my answer for a minute. “Not rude, merely truthful.”

  “An opinion. It’s merely your opinion,” she insisted. “There is a difference you know.”

  I pulled the handkerchief away. The bleeding had already stopped. It was a mere scratch, as I had thought. Still, there was something blasphemous about seeing the red mark across her perfect skin. “Perhaps. Yes. But I have found that my opinions are often correct.”

  “Well,” she said haughtily. “I am not accident prone. I am quite elegant, actually, and the scratch was your fault.”

  It was hard to take her seriously when she had flower petals in her hair. I wasn’t sure whether to shake some sense into her, or laugh. Who was this woman? Instead of shaking her, I cupped the back of her head, gripping her hair tightly. “Who are you?”

  Her eyes widened with unease. She didn’t dare look away. I held her captive, and she knew it. “Jules.”

  I frowned, confused. “What?”

  “People call me Jules.”

  “Jules.” My hand slid from her hair and trailed down the delicate column of her neck. She shivered, her breath coming out in a gasp. The feelings that stirred within made the woman uneasy. Yet, I knew she wanted me as much as I wanted her. I could practically smell her desire. “And are you a proper miss, Jules?”

  She laughed, a soft, startled breath of air. “No. Most would say not.”

  At least she had the audacity to admit as much. A flirt then, as I’d expected. Part of me, a small part, was actually disappointed. But most of me was relieved. No more games. I wanted her. She wanted me. I pulled back, giving her space.
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br />   She smoothed down her skirts, her gaze on the task. I didn’t miss the way her hands trembled. “I should go.”

  “Why?”

  She flushed, seemingly flustered. “Because I don’t know you.”

  I didn’t want her to leave. Hell, I was bored here in this blasted sunny and cheerful village, and she offered a temptation, a way to forget, for a moment, my responsibilities. “Well then, shall we rectify that situation?”

  She watched me through narrowed eyes. “How?”

  “You tell me something about yourself and I tell you something about me.”

  She plucked a blue flower blooming near the log and twirled it between her fingers. “Something?”

  “Anything.”

  She hesitated. “Sounds harmless enough.”

  I almost laughed. The word harmless had never been associated with my name. Yes, I was stalling, attempting to keep her by my side, but I was also truly curious about this strange woman who had appeared from the woods like a mythical creature. “I’ll go first.”

  She nodded.

  “I don’t like sweets. Not at all.”

  She stiffened, as if I’d offended her. “Really? How could someone not like sweets?”

  I shrugged, finding her horrified reaction amusing. I forgot how much I enjoyed being around the feminine species. Lord, she smelled good. All soft flowers, and other things that teased.

  She frowned, as if she could no longer trust a person who didn’t like sweets. “All right. I do like sweets, very much.”

  “Oh no,” I said, scooting closer. “You can’t use mine.”

  She grinned, a flush covering her high cheekbones. I had regained her trust so easily. “Alright, I often read books my mother would never approve of.”

  I lifted a brow. “What sort of books?”

  “Romances, novels.”

  I sighed and pulled my gaze from her to look out upon the orchard. We couldn’t grow a blasted orchard on our marshy, gloomy moors. But the dark dreariness suited me. I was comfortable there. It was all I understood. Not this sunshine. “Not nearly as exciting as I thought.”