His Mistress Read Free Page A

Tension tightened his jaw painfully as he crushed the urges threatening to rise to the surface. When he didn’t respond to her accusation, Jane’s humiliation swiftly changed to anger.
    “How much?” Bitterness filled her question, and he didn’t pretend to misunderstand her.
    “Five thousand a year,” he said quietly.
    “As little as that?” Her words were barely audible as her shoulders slumped slightly before she straightened upright. “You settled too quickly on a sum, Mr. Lynsted. My father would have easily paid up to twenty thousand to rid himself of me.”
    Brittle and sharp, her accusation made him stiffen with anger until he saw a flash of vulnerability cross her face. Once more he experienced the urge to comfort her. The sensation spread its way through him like a raging fire. What the hell was wrong with him? If this woman discovered his secret she’d be horrified and shocked. A pink flush of color darkened her cheeks, and he realized he’d been staring.
    “You judge me too harshly, my lady,” he murmured soothingly.
    “Do I?” Jane eyed him with restrained anger as she shook her head. “You agreed to marry me.”
    Uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, Tobias clasped his hands behind his back. The past, and his work in the East End, gave him insight into what it felt like to be powerless in a situation not of one’s own making. He wasn’t about to tell her that Culverstone had blackmailed him into marrying her. It would only heighten her sense of being sold, and the last thing he intended to do was reveal his private reasons for agreeing to the arrangement. He quickly dodged the oncoming bullet.
    “Am I to understand that you have no desire to marry me?”
    “I have no desire to marry at all,” she snapped, an undefinable emotion layered beneath her response.
    “I see. So we have a problem.”
    Jane turned her head away from him for a moment. Tobias studied her profile with curiosity. The curve of her cheek suddenly made his fingers itch to caress the line of her jaw to see if her skin was as soft as it looked. Despite the stubborn set of her posture, the vulnerability he’d seen moments ago was still visible. She turned to face him again, her expression filled with determination and a quiet strength that intrigued him. The emotions she displayed were at odds with the nondescript woman with whom he’d exchanged only a few polite greetings over the past three years he’d been Culverstone’s solicitor.
    “ I’m the one with the problem. I can either marry you or be cast out on the street without a farthing to my name.” Hands still clasped and knuckles white from the tightness of her grip, Jane met his gaze unflinchingly. “Since I have no desire to be destitute, it seems I must marry you. All that remains is for us to reach an understanding.”
    “And that would be?”
    “Our marriage will be in name only, and we will lead separate lives.”
    The emphatic statement didn’t surprise him, but his disappointment did. He stiffened as his head was suddenly filled with thoughts of exploring the curves beneath the hideous gray shroud she wore. Curves that said her breasts would be full and lush in his palms. He drew in a quick breath at the image then swallowed hard. Their gazes met, and she frowned. A sudden urge to give her pleasure rose up from deep inside Tobias until his stomach was tied in knots. His mouth went dry. He’d not experienced something this visceral in a very long time.
    “I shall also receive an allowance of one hundred and seventy-five pounds a month to do with as I please.” Her demand was more than one third of the annual living her father had settled on her, but with his own personal wealth, he had no need of the earl’s money. About to nod his head, his gaze swept over her drab dress. The desire to see what possible treasures lay beneath the garment made his mouth go dry.
    “I shall agree to your conditions provided you grant one or two of