Read Online A Little Bit Scandalous by Robyn DeHart - Free Book Online Page B

up at him. “I’ve been told it will require extensive work on the inside.”
    Why hadn’t he known that that the house needed repairs? Clearly, he should have taken more interest in Caroline’s property and kept up the maintenance for her. Was there no way in which he hadn’t failed her as her guardian? “There is no need for you to do that. If your house needs work, I shall give you the necessary funds to do so. You need only ask.”
    She shook her head. “No, I do not want your money. I want to earn it myself. I have relied on others for too long. It is time I earn my own way in the world.”
    He’d also forgotten she was stubborn, ridiculously so. “You plan to find a paid post somewhere? As a governess, perhaps?” She was certainly smart enough, more than smart enough, but it seemed a waste for her to spend her days with spoiled, aristocratic children. He’d been a holy terror to plenty of his governesses. More than likely, he should try to locate them and send them money for all their troubles.
    “No, I have no desire to be a governess, but I do have plans.”
    “To do?”
    She narrowed her eyes at him. “I shall tell you, but if you laugh, I will never forgive you.” Once he nodded his agreement, she continued. “As I said, I want to care for myself. I should also like to provide a place for other orphans after they’ve gotten too old to live at the orphanage.”
    “A boarding house of sorts?”
    “More or less.” She set her chin and met his gaze head on. “I want to open my house up to other girls, who, like me, might choose a life outside of marriage.”
    His jaw tensed. Her words angered him even as he understood them. Had he ruined the thought of marriage for her? “Do you have enough?”
    “Not yet. At least, I don’t believe I do. I’ll know more once I know the extent of the repairs needed.”
    He leaned back and eyed her. “And how do you intend to earn the rest?”
    Her chin bumped up a notch. “The same way I’ve been earning it.
    “This isn’t the time for your jokes.”
    “I wasn’t jesting.” Her arms crossed over her chest. “Now that you know I’m playing at Rodale’s, you can keep an eye on me. Ensure my safety.”
    “You cannot be serious,” he muttered, knowing she was indeed very serious. When precisely had he lost total control over this conversation?
    “It shouldn’t take me much longer to earn the rest of the money,” she said. “I win every time I play.”
    “No,” he said sharply. Damn it, he would make her understand. “Absolutely not!”
    She came to her feet. “And why the hell not?”
    “It is no place for a lady.”
    “I’m not a lady when I’m there.” Her eyes flashed with anger and a pink flush settled in her cheeks. She looked wild and beautiful. How had he not recognized her immediately? How had he ever forgotten how lovely her eyes were? He should have recognized their brown depths the moment he walked into the backroom at Rodale’s.
    “People will realize you’re a woman. It’s merely a matter of time.”
    “They haven’t noticed yet.”
    “I did,” he said. “The curve of your throat, the curve of your bottom. And you blush when people talk of sex. A gaming hell is no place for a woman.”
    “There are plenty of women there,” she said.
    He came to his feet. “Whores. Is that what you want, Caroline?” He wanted to shake her, to scare her with the realities of what could happen to a woman at a gaming establishment.
    She swallowed visibly, shook her head. “Of course not.”
    “Do you have any notion of what some men would do if they realized you were a woman?” He grabbed her and pulled her to him. Her eyes widened, but she looked up at him unblinking. “Men will want to do scandalous things to you, wicked things.”
    Still she said nothing.
    He slammed his mouth down on hers. It was a kiss intended to frighten her so he did nothing to restrain his passion. It surprised him, the desire he felt. He knew he found her