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

hold of her hand. If she
struggled, she’d receive even more intrusive attention from the onlookers. Heavens,
requital had come!
    He wrapped a
muscular arm around her waist, holding her close, much too close. His fingers
spread across her backside in a guarded embrace, and for a moment her memory
slipped into the faraway past.
    She found
herself a debutant again in the arms of the season’s most sought-after beau.
All the mooning, coy, flirtatious winks of the feminine sex failed to attract
his notice. He had eyes solely for her. She alone was worthy of his passionate attention. 
    In smooth steps,
he guided her in a graceful waltz.
    “Might I assume
I paid for that dress and those jewels with the fortune I forked up to retrieve
my naked arse?”
    Holly gasped at
his outright, crude language in the middle of the dance floor. Her
foolish reverie shattered as she desperately searched her immediate
surroundings. Had anyone overheard the exchange? But his voice had been low
enough to disappoint the eavesdroppers. Couples strained their ears toward
them, but none expressed shock at his outrageous inquiry.
    “Sir, I—”
    “Quincy,” he
interrupted. “Quincy Hawkins.”
    His name jarred
her to the bone. She had preferred to think of him as a dream. But he was real.
And he posed a very real threat to her newfound position in society. She needed
to know as much about him as possible, to appease him, to take the hellfire out
of his eyes.
    He was rich, she
reflected, wearing the most fashionable togs. And he had enough money to
purchase her—his?—painting. But he’d mentioned no title. A boon, there. She was
unfamiliar with his family name. And yet, she’d been absent from society for so
long. He might be the latest young buck on parade. He appeared a couple of
years her junior. She had likely missed his entrance into society. He had
probably arrived shortly after her departure.
    But she had been so sure he wasn’t a gentleman. Her subtle inquiries into his identity
had confirmed him a sailor. A sailor! Her source had clearly lied to her.
    “Mr. Hawkins, you
are a gentleman, and I—”
    “I’m not a true
gentleman, Miss Turner. I only pretend to be one for the sake of my sister.”
    “Your sister?”
    “The Duchess of
Wembury.”
    Holly groaned.
    “And you, Miss
Turner, have embarrassed my sister with your infernal artwork.”
    Worse and worse.
A rake might be flattered by the amorous attention he’d received from the
painting, but a rake protecting his sister? His duchess -of-a-sister?
    Holly was
doomed. She recognized his sister’s title. Her  husband, the Duke of Wembury,
had been known as the “Duke of Rogues” in Holly’s time. If nothing had changed
in all these years, Holly had just embroiled herself with one of the most
wicked family’s in England!
    Suddenly all the
obtrusive stares made dreadful sense. Holly was dancing with the man in the painting—the painting that had all but abased the Duchess of Wembury.
    Lightheaded,
Holly grasped Mr. Hawkins in a firmer hold. Oh, why had she auctioned the
painting of him? Why had she ever painted him in the first place?
    It had never
been her intent to do either, not after she’d realized her error in mixing up
the rooms at the gaming hell. But his image had haunted her. And after several
restless weeks, she’d expressed his likeness on canvas, hoping to release herself
from his inexplicable hold.
    But unleashing
her creativity had only made him more desirable. Mr. Hawkins possessed an
enigmatic allure. Soul. Mystery. And a story. Who am I? he had called
from the canvas. Come closer and find out . . .
      He had
captured her breath. And she’d reasoned he’d capture the breaths of others as
well—wealthy others. She’d been right on that count. The sum his likeness had
fetched had finally provided her with the means she’d needed to launch her
sister into society and provide her with a respectable dowry.
    Now, Holly might
lose everything on that