An Improper Governess: An Improper Liaisons Novella, Book 2 Read Free Page A

“If I were a betting man, I’d wager it has landed you in trouble on more than one occasion.”
    Her cheeks reddened yet again and he had the distinct impression that what he’d just said had struck a little too close to home. Interesting...
    “If I have offended you, Sir Nicholas, I apologize,” she said stepping away from him. “The last thing I want to do is displease you or Lady Barsby. Or put out the other staff for that matter. I am quite happy to retire to my usual room—”
    Nicholas opened the door. Even though the curtains were partly drawn, he could see the chamber was well-appointed. “Miss Adams, this is my house and I shall do whatever I please. Now, after you.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Or would you like me to carry you in?”
    “No, no, I can manage,” she said hastily. She walked past him—or perhaps stalked would be a better word—into the room quite steadily and he couldn’t resist admiring the shape of her long legs and nicely rounded derrière . Her wet muslin gown clung to her in the most delightfully sinful fashion. If Mrs. Graham and the other servants weren’t headed this way, he had a mind to linger a while longer...
    Good God, I am really thinking about tupping the governess?
    Nicholas drew a deep breath, ran his hand through his damp hair and took a decided step back toward the door. He’d never bothered the female staff in his life. And he’d never thought he’d be tempted to. But Miss Adams was tempting indeed.
    As he stood on the threshold warring with his base male impulses, the governess threw open the gold damask curtains at one of the windows and lightning illuminated the room and her finely drawn features. Even in a torn, wet dress with her brown hair tangled all about her neck and shoulders, Miss Adams was captivating. Pretty but not in a fragile way. There was an elegant sensuality about her. An innate confidence in her bearing he found utterly appealing. If only he could get the sexually beguiling image of her standing half-naked with her skirts caught up around her waist, out of his head. His cock twitched. Yes, he really should go.
    He cleared his throat. “If there’s nothing else I can do to help, Miss Adams?”
    “I will be fine, Sir Nicholas. I thank you again for your assistance.”
    He smiled at her dismissive tone. Oh, she was definitely a feisty miss. She turned her back and walked to the other window, and as he watched, he was struck by something else that he should have noticed sooner.
    “Miss Adams, it seems you’ve had more than a gown ruined today. It appears you have also lost a shoe, your bonnet and your basket.”
    She threw open the second set of curtains and when she turned around, gave a shrug. “It does not signify. I will manage.”
    Nicholas crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. “I beg to differ. I think it is significant. I know how much my sister-in-law pays you—she wrote to me when she hired you—and it is not very much.”
    Miss Adams’s delicately shaped eyebrows snapped together and even though the room was still dimly lit, Nicholas detected a flash of anger in her eyes. “Perhaps to you, sir, but for someone like me, it is enough,” she said with a proud lift of her chin. “It is certainly more than I have been paid in other positions. I cannot complain.”
    “Nevertheless, I insist you receive recompense. I want you to make a list of everything you lost this afternoon—including the contents of your basket. I was taking the road from Hedgecombe to Hartfield when I saw you cutting across the field, so I’d say you had been shopping in the village, no? I want to replace whatever you purchased as well.”
    Miss Adams shook her head. “That is completely unnecessary, Sir Nicholas. It is not your fault I was caught in the storm.”
    Nicholas lifted an eyebrow. “No, but I am responsible for insisting you come with me. Oberon is a fast horse and it was a rough ride. Besides,” he threw her the grin he routinely