Too Wicked to Love Read Free Page B

and he grabbed her free arm, hauling her against him. “Now who is ‘spinning falsehoods’?”
    She swung the Cupid at his head, but he caught her wrist and squeezed. The figurine crashed to the floor.
    The door opened. Genny closed her eyes for a moment and imagined how it looked—her caught in a man’s arms, however unwillingly—and anticipated the social doom that was about to descend.
    “Miss Wallington-Willis,” a male voice said, “they are preparing to cut the cake.”
    She opened her eyes and found John Ready standing in the doorway like calmness personified. Tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed, and bearded, his very stillness should have acted as balm to her fractured composure, but those enigmatic eyes had always given her the impression they saw more than she would have liked. At that moment, his steady gaze fell on Bradley, who suddenly released her and stepped back, as if commanded by John’s look alone.
    She could not help but be impressed by this silent show of male power. John Ready was a mystery. He worked as a coachman but talked like a gentleman and held an odd place in Samuel’s household, more friend than employee. And had it been anyone else who had walked through that door, she would have been effusive in expressing her thanks. Yet all she could think as she moved away from her former suitor was why did it have to be him who stumbled upon them ?
    “Thank you, Mr. Ready,” she said, seeking comfort in protocol.
    He swung that unwavering, condemning gaze on her, chilling the warmth of any gratitude she harbored.
    “I will escort you back to the ballroom,” John said.
    Censure underscored the words, and she stiffened, stung by his quick judgment. “That would be lovely, thank you.” She arched her eyebrows at Bradley, who stepped aside so she could join John at the door.
    John swept his arm toward the hallway.
    She eased past him, so close that the tang of his cologne tingled her senses, her skirts brushing against his long legs. Dear Lord, she had never realized how very tall he was!
    Bradley apparently realized he had lost control of the situation. “Hold a moment! I said hold, Mister . . . er—”
    John stopped in the doorway and looked back at Bradley. “Do not leave this room for five minutes. There will be no scandal at this wedding.”
    Bradley opened his mouth to respond, but one hard look from John had him closing it again and nodding.
    John shut the door behind them as he and Genny left the sitting room.
    “Your timing was excellent,” Genny murmured, as John guided her back toward the reception.
    “I did this for your sister,” John said. “She does not deserve the scandal that would result if it got out her sister was consorting with a lover during her wedding breakfast.”
    She sucked in a sharp breath. “You are quite blunt, Mr. Ready.”
    “I just try to tell the truth.”
    “Then add this to your truth: I have no lover.”
    He slanted her an unreadable look. “Based on what I just witnessed, I find that hard to believe.”
    “Try,” she gritted through her teeth.
    “If that young man was not your lover, then why did I find you in his arms? Why did you not cry out for help?”
    Heat crept into her cheeks. “When you say it like that, it certainly sounds terrible. I was hiding from Bradley, not with him. He followed me.”
    “Perhaps it was prearranged.”
    She bit back a rude retort and tried for a reasonable tone. “I was almost engaged to Bradley, but our association ended last season. However, he apparently has not accepted our parting as well as I thought.”
    John stopped. “Is he making a nuisance of himself? “
    She halted as well, noting the warning tone of his voice, the tension of his stance. Here stood a man ready for battle. A tingle swept through her. Clearly, if he thought Bradley was bothering her, he would do something about it. Part of her wished she could allow him to defend her honor, but it would only make matters worse.
    She was wise enough