My Ruthless Prince Read Free Page B

since that was obviously what had made his parents deem her unworthy of their splendid son. His pointed reminder of it now just went to show how furious he was at her for coming here. She quite believed His Lordship had just put her in her place.
    Ungrateful villain.
    "I had a feeling she might follow me. We've been doing this for years, haven't we, sweeting? Ever since she was old enough to know what to do with a man. But alas, she got addicted," he drawled, staring into her eyes. "Every time I try to set her aside, she just keeps showing up again."
    "Hmmph," said Emily, lifting her chin, half-amused, half-outraged at his braggadocio, and well aware there was a grain of truth in it.
    Indignation at his sly goading helped her find her spunk again. Very well, she could play along as brazenly as he if it meant the difference between life and death.
    "If I'm the only one addicted, then why do you keeping sending for me--milord?" she countered with an arch look.
    "Good question," he murmured, staring at her in lusty approval. "You are my dirty little secret, aren't you?"
    That's what your mother's afraid of. She grasped the lapel of his black coat and moved closer to him. "We both know you need someone lookin' after you."
    "And we both know what you need, as well," he replied with an extremely wicked smile. When he ran his hands down her waist to her hips, she could not hold back a gasp; her eyes glazed over slightly.
    She cursed herself for the haze of desire he cast over her, for her beloved spy was only putting on a show to deceive the others. Don't get so excited, she told herself. This was just a ruse.
    After all, it had long been established that the wild rogue Inferno Club member Lord Westwood would happily dally with any woman in England.
    Except for her.
    She huffed and looked away, blushing. Half of her wanted to throttle him for thwarting her perfectly sensible plan to get him out of here, while the other half wanted these onlookers to leave so the two of them could finish the game they had just started, right here on the soft forest floor.
    Her pulse raced as he held her against his muscled body. No wonder the men appeared to believe their charade.
    She could feel Drake's heart pounding in response to her, as well, and the thickening swell of his nether regions against her navel.
    "I was beginning to think he didn't like women," one of the soldiers muttered.
    "No, he just likes the wrong women," Emily tossed out with a cheeky sideward glance. "Mind your own business, anyway. I didn't come here for you."
    "Oho! She told you !"
    The men guffawed at her impertinence.
    "I wish," another opined under his breath.
    She dismissed them with a queenly toss of her head while Drake watched her with a serene smile. She returned her full attention to him, running her hand up his chest in playful chiding. "As for you, sir, if you didn't want me to come, you should've been more convincing in your good-bye. It was quite halfhearted, as I recall."
    Drake laughed softly and captured her chin, lifting her face to his. "Well, you're here now, you cheeky little minx, so you might as well come in. I'm sure I can find a few uses for you when I get off duty."
    "What do you mean to do with her, Capitaine ?" the weathered fellow clipped out in a businesslike tone.
    "Good God, Jacques, use your imagination," he retorted with a scoff. "And you call yourself a Frenchman."
    The others laughed.
    "That's not what I meant, as you well know," Jacques answered impatiently. "What is Falkirk going to say about this?"
    Drake shrugged, sliding his arm more snugly around Emily's waist as he inspected her curves at closer range. "Nothing, likely. Whatever modest amenities I require for my personal comfort are of no interest to the Council."
    "Well, you had better ask him. He's the one who pays us, not you."
    "True. But I'm the one who hired you sorry bastards. And I can get rid of you just as easily, don't forget it. Falkirk would not have made me the head of