A Taste of Sin Read Free Page A

changes, citing the fact that an unconsummated marriage was no marriage at all.
    “You’re very quiet, my lady,” Sinjun said, recalling her to the present.
    “What would you have me say, my lord?”
    “Tell me about yourself.”
    “I’m married.”
    “Where is your husband?”
    “In Cornwall. Though he is not well enough to travel, he insisted that I come to town and enjoy myself. He … is much older than I,” she lied.
    “Ah,” Sinjun said with a wealth of understanding.
    Christy studied Sinjun from beneath long, feathery lashes. She saw a tall man, large but lean, loose-limbed and sleekly muscled. A superbly put together figure. He had always been handsome, even as a lad, but maturity had given him a certain edge other men lacked. Oh, aye, maturity agreed with him. His shoulders had broadened and his chest had deepened. His exquisitely tailored jacket fit him like a glove, and his tight breeches left little to the imagination.
    She searched his face and decided that no one had a right to be as devastatingly handsome as Lord Sin. He wore his shiny black hair long and unpowdered, tied back with a thong. Even though she hadn’t seen him in fifteen years, she’d know him anywhere by those dark, mesmerizing eyes. They weren’t black, nor were they brown. More like deep midnight blue. His full, sensuous lips and languorous smile gave mute testimony to his hedonistic nature.
    She couldn’t blame him, however, for not recognizing her. In fact, she had counted on it. The last time he’d seen her she had been a seven-year-old hoyden who played at wooden swords with her cousins, rolled in the mud, and had garish red hair that had miraculously darkened into the rich copper hue it was now.
    Sinjun’s wicked reputation and womanizing ways were legendary. Rumors of his romantic intrigues and excesses had reached her even at remote Glenmoor. Society called him a notorious rake, a connoisseur of beautiful women who savored his conquests to the fullest. She’d heard he liked women, enjoyed the chase and capture, but stayed with none of them long enough to form a lasting relationship.
    “You have beautiful green eyes,” Sinjun said when the dance brought them together again.
    Christy blinked up at him, forcing herself to concentrate on her reason for coming to London. She had a mission, and if she hoped to succeed she had to focus on making Sinjun believe her lies. Failure was unthinkable.
    “Thank you,” she said, smiling demurely.
    The dance ended. Moments later Christy was surrounded by eager young men vying for her attention. Sinjun bowed and left her to her admirers, but his gaze remained riveted on her as she danced the evening away with a variety of eager partners. It wasn’t conceit that told Sinjun she wasn’t unaffected by him, for her overt glances gave mute testimony that she was as interested in him as he was in her.
    Rudy found him leaning against a pillar, a slight ‘frown pulling at the corners of his mouth.
    “I saw you dancing with the mysterious Lady Randall,” Rudy said. “Is she to be your next conquest?”
    ‘Tonight, if I have anything to say about it,” Sinjun said, sending him a determined grin. “I don’t know when I’ve been so taken with a woman, Rudy.”
    Rudy rolled his bright blue eyes heavenward as he tapped a finger against his lips. “Let me think,” he said dryly. “Not since Lady Violet. Or perhaps Lady Scarlet. Or was it Lady Ellen? Nay. I think it was Lord Dunsley’s little parlor maid you dallied with a few weeks ago. If I recall correctly, you couldn’t wait to get her into your bed. That affair lasted no longer than any of your other affairs of the heart.”
    Sinjun’s frown deepened. “Look at her, Rudy. Do you think Lady Randall favors young Fairfield’s suit? Or that bounder Crumley? Now she’s dancing with Overton, the rotter.”
    “My God, you are smitten!” Rudy exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. “Poor Lady Randall. She doesn’t stand a chance