How To Seduce A Pirate (The Hawkins Brothers Series) Read Free

heat, her
breath rampant with arousal. He’d hardened at her sinful innocence, her obvious
want. He’d thought her a comely wench come to pleasure him. But she had come
for her own pleasure . . . with her sketch book.
    Bullocks.
    “Did you even
think of Belle?” charged Edmund. “And what this would do to her reputation?”
    Quincy would
never hurt his sister, Mirabelle, the Duchess of Wembury. He would sooner cut his
own throat than cause her any pain.
    He stepped away
from the miserable artwork. His brothers glowered at him with obvious
condemnation, now convinced he really was the irresponsible, skirt chasing, opium
fiend in need of a keeper.
    “At least we
have the painting.” Edmund sighed. “It’s over.”
    “Have you seen
this morning’s post?” William gestured toward the reeking piles of perfumed
letters. “You weren’t the only one who recognized Quincy in the painting. Word of
his ‘sexual prowess’ has traveled fast.”
    Quincy fisted
his palms. He was going to kill Lord H .

CHAPTER
2
     
    The Honorable
Miss Holly Turner stepped into the ballroom wearing a burnished gown of gold
taffeta, her locks pinned and curled in an elegant crown around her head and
garnished with a ruby comb.
    It had been
seven years since she’d entered the glittering world of high society. A selfish
part of her hoped she had not been forgotten. During her first season, she’d
held the eye of every eligible bachelor, and she’d adored the flattering
attention. But the scandal that had ravaged her father had forced her into
seclusion, and her youthful heyday had passed.
    With the passing
of time, though, the gossip had also died. And now there was hope for her younger
sister, Emma, to make a respectable match.
    Holly looked
over at her seventeen-year-old sister, adorned in white and wide-eyed as a
dove. She felt the girl’s fingers digging into her arm and smiled.
    “Don’t fret, love.
You’ll be the toast of the town.”
    Emma simpered. “I’m
sure I’ll forget every etiquette lesson, every dance step. Oh, Holly! What if
no one asks me to dance?”
    “Hush, Emma.
Your dance card will be filled. Soon you’ll need another and another still.
Don’t let your nerves spoil your wonderful evening. Look. Here comes our
hostess.”
    The Countess of Brimsby
approached the ladies with a broad smile. She had invited the sisters to her
annual spring ball at Holly’s behest and in honor of their late mother, her once
cherished friend.
    “Holly, my dear.”
The matron cupped her shoulders and kissed her on each cheek, officially marking
her re-entrance into society. “You are as lovely as your mother.”
    “Thank you, Lady
Brimsby.”
    “And you, Emma,
how tall you’ve grown.”
    Emma offered a
very presentable curtsy.
    “Well done, my
dear. Why, you’ll have every young beau at your command, just as your sister
once had.”
    Holly winced. Lady
Brimsby had not said anything untruthful; Holly wasn’t the freshest bloom in
the garden anymore. Still, the unwitting remark stung worse than a bee.
    “Come, girls,
let me introduce you to all the eligible men.”
    It wasn’t long before
Holly’s prediction had come true. Emma attracted the notice of many well-to-do
gentlemen, and her dance card indeed overflowed with handsome suitors. She
spent most of the night twirling across the dance floor, much to Holly’s
relief.
    Holly herself
received a few charming glances but quelled the impulse to encourage the courtiers.
She was Emma’s chaperone. And while Holly would love to dance, she needed to
keep a close watch over her vulnerable sister.
    As the night wore
on, the air stifled. Holly couldn’t step outdoors to escape the crush, not even
for a moment, too afraid to leave her sister unattended. Instead, she headed
toward the refreshment table and collected a glass of iced water. Just holding
the chilled glass between her hands doused some of the stuffiness in the room.
    “Might I have
the next dance?”
    She