Seduce Me Read Free

Perhaps it would have been much smarter had Esme grabbed one of those before storming in here unarmed.
    “Where’s the key?” the man asked.
    “Evidently you don’t need keys.” She pointed to the emptied drawers and shelves. “You simply force things open when you need
     to see within.”
    He closed in on her, his expression one of ravenous greed. He ripped the book from her grasp and whisked it across the room.
     It landed on its spine, the pages fanning out until they settled open. Esme winced. Panic fluttered in her chest as she considered
     the damage they’d already done to her desk and books. She didn’t like to contemplate the damage such fiends could perpetrate
     on her person.
    She narrowed her eyes at the man. “You should know that if you intend to ravish me, I will scream the house down,” she said,
     forcing her voice to be as calm as possible. “And believe me when I say that the people who will come running to assist me
     will do you much bodily harm.” An absurd notion.
    He reached out and fingered the ruffled hem of her sleeve. His lip curled. “Tempting. But we only want the key.” His voice
     was deep and raspy as he added, “And we’ve seen your staff.” A smirk, then a vicious chuckle escaped his ugly mouth.
    Bored with the exchange, her cat took that moment to flip his tail in the air and strut out of the room. Now she was utterly
     alone with these dangerous men.
    She crossed her arms over her chest, mostly to hide her shaking hands. She hoped it made her look formidable. Not an easy
     task for one so small in stature, but she did her best. “I simply don’t know which key you’re referring to.”
    The man on the other side of the room twitched. “Thatcher, we don’t have time,” he said, his voice heavy with a Cockney accent.
    “We take her, then,” Thatcher said.
    “You will do no such thing,” Esme said, taking a step backward.
    The man in front of her silently closed the door behind her, then shoved a cloth into her mouth. Furiously she tried to spit
     it out, then reached up for it, but before she could he grabbed her wrists and held them tight.
    Esme tried scratching him while he manhandled her, but her blasted nails were so short, she caused little damage. She really
     must stop chewing them. With her feet she kicked and flailed, trying anything to deter them from taking her.
    Nerves rippled through her stomach in sickening waves. She was in serious danger. With renewed effort, she kicked her legs
     about, desperately aiming to hit a target, but failing nonetheless.
    This simply was not happening.
    Her efforts to wrench herself from her captor’s viselike grip only succeeded in exhausting her. She fought to keep her breathing
     under control lest she end up hyperventilating and suffocate herself on the gag.
Think, Esme
. She could find a way out of this situation.
    Surely they had mistaken her for someone else. She didn’t own anything valuable. Certainly not any keys. They didn’t even
     have a cabinet to lock up the family silver. Of course, they no longer had any family silver. These foolish men were in the
     wrong house, kidnapping the wrong woman.
    Thatcher yanked the tie to her robe and the loose folds fell open, leaving her exposed to the chill. “Waters, tie her hands
     together.”
    Waters did as he was told while Thatcher climbed out the library window. The thin satin sash became a harsh cord as he tightened
     it around her wrists. With the stronger of the two captors distracted, she doubled her efforts at trying to break free from
     Waters’s clutches. But despite his slender body, his hands gripped her arms, sealing her in place.
    “Hand me her feet,” Thatcher said in a harsh whisper.
    Waters complied, and in an instant she was being passed through the window as if she were nothing more than a sack of potatoes.
    “Her bum is stuck on the window,” Waters said.
    “Well, lift her up.” Thatcher’s impatience was evident.
    Waters gave her a lift.