Let the Night Begin Read Free

wasn’t so afraid that he had lost control of his bladder, but he was trembling all the same. She made certain his legs would support him before she released him.
    â€œForgive me,” she murmured as she turned to walk away. She didn’t look back, but after a few moments—a few strides—she heard him mount his horse and gallop away as though the hounds of hell were after him.
    Once she was certain he was gone, Olivia leaped into the sky once more. Her guilt for terrorizing a poor boy overshadowed her own fear. She didn’t have much time. There were but a few hours left before dawn and there was still so much she had to do.
    She had to pack. She had to prepare. She would leave for London as soon as possible. The kidnapper’s time constraints would not give her time to get to the city and search for the boy who originally delivered the note to the agency. For all she knew, James was on his way to Scotland—if not already there—as she soared toward her home.
    No, there was no time to waste. No matter how much she despised having to ask for his help, she was going to London to strike a deal with the devil himself. Her husband. That gorgeous black-haired, blue-eyed bastard who had made her a vampire. The man she had no qualms about handing over as ransom.
    Reign.
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    â€œAre you in need of diversion, sir?”
    Reign blinked. What? Out of the corner of his eye he saw the woman standing beside him and he turned to face her. Where the devil had he been that he hadn’t sensed her approach? Even in a house full of people he should have smelled her, heard her when she got so close. He simply hadn’t sensed a threat—and a social maven such as his hostess was always a threat to a man seen as fair game on the Marriage Mart. Never mind that he had made his opinions on marriage clear. All these years of civilized behavior had dulled his edge.
    â€œDiversion?” he repeated, flattering his hostess with a flirtatious smile. “My dear Mrs. Willet, whatever do you have in mind?”
    Mrs. Willet smiled, her youthful face lighting up. She was a lovely woman in her forties with graying blond hair and pale blue eyes. Her full figure was draped in a gold evening gown encrusted with beads and crystals that sparkled under the chandeliers. Even still the gown could not match the brightness of her eyes, or the glowing goodness in her countenance. “Saucy. That’s what you are, Mr. Gavin.”
    â€œI prefer incorrigible, my dear.”
    She tilted her head. There were crystals in her hair as well. “One of the things I like about you, sir is your ability to make me feel younger than you,even though I know full well I must be at least ten years your senior.”
    More like fifteen if one went by physical age, as Reign had been almost thirty years when he became immortal. However, that had been more than six hundred years ago, so he was more Mrs. Willet’s senior than she could possibly imagine.
    He pulled his brow in a mock frown. “But that would make me a mere lad of seventeen, would it not?”
    She tapped him on the arm with her closed fan as she chuckled. “Incorrigible indeed. Will you dance this evening, good sir?”
    â€œTrying to toss me to the virgins are you?”
    She laughed—a bold and raucous sound that brought a smile to Reign’s lips. “It is not the Season, Mr. Gavin. You are in safe company tonight.”
    No, the Season was over, thank God. Company was thin, but a number of families kept permanent residence in London, especially those who were not of the peerage. Reign could have had a title, centuries ago, but people paid far too much attention to heirs and titles. That kind of scrutiny was something he didn’t desire any more than he desired the numerous virginal misses tossed in his direction every time he resided in London for those few months. He may not have a title, but he had a fortune that was just as envied.