Only Mine Read Free Page B

a wicked reputation with the ladies.”
    “Fully earned, from the look of it,” Victoria said dryly, her gray eyes taking in Gore’s fury, Jessica’s deshabille, and Wolfe’s nakedness. “Do cover yourself, Wolfe.”
    Wolfe ignored Victoria. His hand snaked out and fastened around Gore’s throat. From the hallway came the babble of excited voices. Lord Robert Stewart’s was foremost.
    “My dear lady, would you mind explaining what in the devil is— Wolfe ! Good Christ, man!”
    Robert slammed the bedroom door behind him, but the damage was already done; five lords of the realm had gotten a look into Wolfe’s bedroom. The scandal would be all over London by dawn.
    Grimly, Lord Robert turned back to the five peoplewho remained in the room. “Release Lord Gore.”
    “I don’t think so,” Wolfe said evenly. “The man attacked Jessi.”
    “You are a liar as well as a bastard,” Gore said.
    He would have said more, but Wolfe’s hand had contracted. Powerful fingers shut down Gore’s carotid arteries, rendering him unconscious with brutal efficiency. Reluctantly, Wolfe opened his hand and let Gore fall heavily to the floor.
    “Dear God, Wolfe. You have killed him!” Victoria said in a horrified voice.
    “In America I would have. Unfortunately, I’m not in America.”
    “You shall be soon,” Robert said. “Damn! You have a gift for scandal, son.”
    “It doesn’t come from my mother’s side,” Wolfe said coolly. “Scandal is a civilized notion.”
    He turned back to see if Jessica was over her fright. He saw her eyes widen as her glance went down his body. She turned scarlet and looked away so quickly she almost lost her balance.
    Calmly, Wolfe went to the dresser and pulled out a nightshirt. He hated the things, but he didn’t want to distress Jessica any further.
    Gore began snoring. Robert spared him an irritated glance before he turned his attention to Jessica. He meant to make his voice kind, but he was too angry at losing his son again to be anything but blunt.
    “Is Wolfe your paramour?”
    The question brought back Gore’s drunken onslaught. Jessica went pale, then flushed with a force that made her feel dizzy. She put her burning face in her hands and shuddered, fighting for control, wondering if she was caught in one of hernightmares where the wind screamed with a woman’s voice and dawn was an eternity away.
    “I can’t—Lord Robert—I—” Jessica said desperately, trying to make him understand that she couldn’t marry Gore. “Dear God. You have been so kind to me. I’m sorry.”
    Her voice broke and she trembled. Her distress astonished both Stewarts, for Jessica had never shown anything but composure, even when she was a newly orphaned child.
    “What Jessi is trying to say,” Wolfe said coolly as he buttoned the shirt, “is that we aren’t lovers.”
    “But you would have been, if Betsy had not come to me,” Victoria said. “You have wanted Jessica since her fifteenth summer.”
    Even as Wolfe opened his mouth to deny it, he knew it was true. The sudden realization that he had wanted Jessica for years made it impossible to speak.
    “Wolfe…” Victoria sighed wearily. “If you could not keep your cock in your breeches out of respect for your father, the least you could do is limit your attentions to married women and whores.”
    “Enough, wife,” Robert said. “Wolfe is my son. He knows his duty.”
    “Which is?” Wolfe asked quietly.
    “You seduced Lady Jessica. You shall marry her.”
    “There has been no seduction. Gore mauled her, she ran to my room in hysterics, and Gore followed. A minute later, Lady Victoria arrived.”
    “Jessica?” Robert asked sharply. “If you are a virgin still, the engagement can be saved. Lord Gore is quite keen on you.”
    Jessica held out her hands to Wolfe and whispered,“You promised…”
    There was a shocked silence followed by Wolfe’s curt command. “Leave me with Jessica for a moment. And take that drunken swine