Sinful Possession Read Free Page A

of the richest men in England. Besides which,
he was now married so there went the title. While Ash Cynfell certainly lived
up to the tales and reckless handsomeness, she could not quite imagine him
seducing swathes of virgins. His scowl would surely keep them at bay.
    “You need not remain,” she
told him when she came close. “It is so very late.”
    He cast a glance toward the
men still moving reluctantly out of the door. “I did not see anyone else
leaving.” Ash eased himself away from the wall and unfurled his arms.
    Goodness, that one simple
movement left her mouth dry. There was something simply fascinating about
watching the flex of his arms against his shirt.
    “Oh.” She tugged the jacket
from around her shoulders and handed it back to him.
    Ash stared at it for a
moment and slung it over one arm.
    Then his gaze struck hers
again. His eyes were brown—a deep, molten chocolate brown. It was as though he
knew of her weakness for the confectionary and had deliberately decided that,
yes, today he would have chocolate brown eyes just to torture Miss Lila Radley.
Of course, that was a preposterous notion but it made her lips twitch.
    His gaze dropped to her lips,
and the furrow between his brows deepened. “I need a private word with you.”
    Her stomach danced at the
words. She peered around at her family—her many, many cousins and aunts and
uncles—all of whom cared for her but had a tendency to become easily
distracted. At present, most were preoccupied by the fare wellings of the
important men who had come really to decide if she was good enough for them.
    It was odd how excited she
had been beforehand, but now she was not so sure about being weighed up by all
these strange men. She would almost prefer they were staring at her with a deep,
somewhat confused scowl.
    Ridiculous. This was what
she’d been waiting for. This was her moment to shine.
    Lila motioned to the smaller
drawing room at the side. Though she debated leaving the door open, she opted
against it. No one would notice a brief disappearance amongst the chaos.
    And now she was shut in a
room with this handsome man. Her corset seemed to grow tighter as she moved
away from the door and waited for him to speak. He paced to the window, peered
out.
    Lila scowled at his back. “My
lord?”
    He appeared almost surprised
she had remained when he faced her. He eyed her again as if she were some
strange riddle he could not make out.
    “Have you spoken with the
police?”
    “Of course, I told them
everything I saw, though it was not enough I fear. I can hardly recall his
face.”
    “And what did they tell you
of the murder?”
    “Very little. I mean what
could they possibly know already? It was the act of a madman, surely?”
    “A madman who has escaped.”
He curled a fist.
    His tone sent a chill down
her spine. “They assured me they will capture him.”
    “Miss Radley, I think you
should consider leaving London. It’s not safe here.”
    Lila stared at him. She
hardly knew this man, and yet he thought it reasonable to tell her what to do. “I
will not.”
    The words came out harder
and more flustered than she’d intended. She drew in a breath and adopted a
delicate smile—one she’d practiced over and over in the mirror as she’d
imagined curtseying to all the handsome, fine men in London. She never thought
she’d be doing it to a man who was at present staring at her as though she had
just stripped off all her clothes and done a jig in the middle of the drawing
room. He appeared thoroughly perplexed by her refusal.
    “My lord, I have only just
arrived in London, and I know I may not look the sturdiest of characters but be
assured, I will not let such a matter ruin my time here. No doubt it shall take
some time to forget, but I think it will be far easier to forget it amongst
London society than out in the country.”
    “You will not find it so
easy to forget if you end up in danger,” he said grimly.
    “What could possibly happen
to