Read Online Along Came a Rogue by Anna Harrington - Free Book Online
Authors: Anna Harrington
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life, never before had he experienced the lure of a woman who understood him so well.
She lowered her eyes to the glass. “I don’t think…”
“It’s your brandy, after all,” he tempted.
She hesitated, then acquiesced. “Just a small sip.”
With a deep breath, her decision made, she carefully took the glass from his hand and placed her lips to the rim where his had just been. He watched the soft undulation of her elegant throat as she swallowed, the small movement cascading through him.
He went hard. Sweet Lucifer. Thank God he’d been enough of a cad not to tuck in his shirt or he would have embarrassed them both. The shy teenage girl had grown into an alluring woman. And not just physically. Everything about Emily drew him, right down to her soft laughs and haughty little sniffs.
Good Lord, she was seducing him, and she didn’t even realize it.
She handed back the glass. “Was Thomas with you when it happened?”
“Yes,” he answered quietly, turning his focus back to the war, which dampened the throbbing at his crotch as effectively as if he’d rolled in snow. “He took me behind the lines and made certain the surgeons tended to the wound.”
He’d done far more than that, in fact. When Grey had lost consciousness from the pain caused by the surgeons digging into his thigh after the ball, Thomas stood fast, pistol in hand, and refused to let the bloody leeches amputate his leg.
He took a large swallow of brandy, wishing it could have been something much stronger, and murmured, “He saved my life.”
A comfortable silence fell between them, and he was glad for it. There was no need to go further into the gruesomeness he’d experienced during the war. It was in the past. Except for an ugly scar that would never disappear and a slight limp when he’d been riding too long, there was hardly any mark that he’d taken a bullet that changed the direction of his life, sweeping him from Spain back to England.
“I heard you became an agent after that,” she said quietly. “And a good one.”
His lips curled with pride at her small compliment. “I’d like to think so. In fact,” he admitted, feeling an irresistible urge to share his good news with her, “I’ve been offered a new position on the Continent, an important one. I’ll be overseeing operations in southern Spain.” He paused. “I should have left already, but I delayed because of Thomas.”
And because of you. Which was another reason he had to convince her to leave tomorrow. He’d already angered Lord Bathurst, Secretary of War and the Colonies, by delaying these past few weeks since the shooting. He doubted he could delay much longer and still receive his promotion.
Her hand covered his as it rested on the cushion between them, and gave his fingers a small squeeze that shot straight through him. He shifted uncomfortably. The aching returned to his cock in full force.
“You’re a good friend to him,” she said quietly.
When she didn’t pull her hand away, he dared to stroke his thumb along hers, and his gut tightened when he elicited a soft tremble from her in response.
“So,” she whispered a bit breathlessly, which pleased him immensely, “are you happy?”
He smiled at her question. No one had ever asked him that before, and it would have been an odd question coming from anyone but Emily. She’d always been perceptive, those blue eyes undoubtedly noticing far more than she let on.
“I’m very happy with my life.” Since he was currently sharing a brandy with a beautiful woman who didn’t realize that her dressing robe had gaped and given him a tantalizing view of the swell of her breast— “ Exactly as it is.”
As if reading his mind and the wicked thoughts swirling there, she drew her hand away. He resisted the urge to grab after it like some green boy chasing his first woman.
“Thomas never wrote much about his time in the army, at least not about anything important,” she told him, her fingers
She lowered her eyes to the glass. “I don’t think…”
“It’s your brandy, after all,” he tempted.
She hesitated, then acquiesced. “Just a small sip.”
With a deep breath, her decision made, she carefully took the glass from his hand and placed her lips to the rim where his had just been. He watched the soft undulation of her elegant throat as she swallowed, the small movement cascading through him.
He went hard. Sweet Lucifer. Thank God he’d been enough of a cad not to tuck in his shirt or he would have embarrassed them both. The shy teenage girl had grown into an alluring woman. And not just physically. Everything about Emily drew him, right down to her soft laughs and haughty little sniffs.
Good Lord, she was seducing him, and she didn’t even realize it.
She handed back the glass. “Was Thomas with you when it happened?”
“Yes,” he answered quietly, turning his focus back to the war, which dampened the throbbing at his crotch as effectively as if he’d rolled in snow. “He took me behind the lines and made certain the surgeons tended to the wound.”
He’d done far more than that, in fact. When Grey had lost consciousness from the pain caused by the surgeons digging into his thigh after the ball, Thomas stood fast, pistol in hand, and refused to let the bloody leeches amputate his leg.
He took a large swallow of brandy, wishing it could have been something much stronger, and murmured, “He saved my life.”
A comfortable silence fell between them, and he was glad for it. There was no need to go further into the gruesomeness he’d experienced during the war. It was in the past. Except for an ugly scar that would never disappear and a slight limp when he’d been riding too long, there was hardly any mark that he’d taken a bullet that changed the direction of his life, sweeping him from Spain back to England.
“I heard you became an agent after that,” she said quietly. “And a good one.”
His lips curled with pride at her small compliment. “I’d like to think so. In fact,” he admitted, feeling an irresistible urge to share his good news with her, “I’ve been offered a new position on the Continent, an important one. I’ll be overseeing operations in southern Spain.” He paused. “I should have left already, but I delayed because of Thomas.”
And because of you. Which was another reason he had to convince her to leave tomorrow. He’d already angered Lord Bathurst, Secretary of War and the Colonies, by delaying these past few weeks since the shooting. He doubted he could delay much longer and still receive his promotion.
Her hand covered his as it rested on the cushion between them, and gave his fingers a small squeeze that shot straight through him. He shifted uncomfortably. The aching returned to his cock in full force.
“You’re a good friend to him,” she said quietly.
When she didn’t pull her hand away, he dared to stroke his thumb along hers, and his gut tightened when he elicited a soft tremble from her in response.
“So,” she whispered a bit breathlessly, which pleased him immensely, “are you happy?”
He smiled at her question. No one had ever asked him that before, and it would have been an odd question coming from anyone but Emily. She’d always been perceptive, those blue eyes undoubtedly noticing far more than she let on.
“I’m very happy with my life.” Since he was currently sharing a brandy with a beautiful woman who didn’t realize that her dressing robe had gaped and given him a tantalizing view of the swell of her breast— “ Exactly as it is.”
As if reading his mind and the wicked thoughts swirling there, she drew her hand away. He resisted the urge to grab after it like some green boy chasing his first woman.
“Thomas never wrote much about his time in the army, at least not about anything important,” she told him, her fingers
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