Read Online Beautiful Distraction by Jess Michaels - Free Book Online

said the words without any kind of judgment or regret, and Olivia’s heart swelled. This was a man who would sacrifice, who had sacrificed, everything he wanted or had for someone he cared for.
    She shifted at the thought of how Mal would feel if he knew she had come here as an accessory to a betrayal of that someone.
    Violet pushed her plate away and folded her hands on the table before her. “I would like to follow him, talk to him,” she said, looking at Mal.
    He drew back and his expression was very hard to read as he said slowly, “I warn you, he will likely be inhospitable.”
    Violet swallowed. “Yes. But if his anger comes from pain, then he may need company, even if he refuses to acknowledge that fact to any of us. He may desire a friend, if you don’t mind my offering myself in that position instead of you.”
    “Is that what you want to be to him? A friend?” Mal asked, tone carefully neutral.
    Olivia turned her face. Violet would lie now, pretend. And Olivia was torn between understanding her friend’s motives and hating that Mal was caught in the middle of them.
    “If he would allow it,” Violet whispered.
    Mal was quiet for a long moment, pondering her request, it seemed. Then he nodded.
    “Actually, Miss Milford, I think what you offer may be what he needs more than anything I can provide. If you want to follow him, I would assume his office is where he will lick his wounds. It generally is.”
    Violet got to her feet slowly. “Good evening, you two. If I don’t see you again, I hope you enjoy your dessert.”
    As Violet turned, Olivia reached out and caught her hand. Now that Violet would truly go into the den of what seemed to be an ill-tempered bear, Olivia couldn’t help but fear the consequences, her own hesitations and guilt be damned.
    “Are you certain?” she asked softly.
    Violet hesitated, but then she gave a weak smile. “Of course. Good night.”
    Her friend slipped away, leaving Olivia alone with Malcolm. But the tension in the room between them was no longer physical and fun. It was rippled with their worries, shared and yet different.
    “I don’t want to offend,” Olivia said softly. “But he wouldn’t…he wouldn’t hurt her, would he?”
    Mal stared at her in surprise. “Liam? No, no, of course not. He is not an abuser of women, I promise you. I wouldn’t stand for that.”
    Relief flooded Olivia’s entire being and she relaxed against the chair. “I’m sorry, I must ask, you know. Women of our station…”
    She trailed off and Mal nodded. “I imagine you have seen and gone through a great deal.”
    “Not often,” Olivia said.
    He tilted his head. “But sometimes.”
    She swallowed. Somehow, in her defense of Violet, she had opened a door to her past she hadn’t wanted to unlock. Now she felt a little foolish as this handsome man stared at her expectantly, giving her some kind of permission to confess her past.
    “Once,” she admitted. “Very early in my time as a courtesan.”
    His jaw tightened. “Who?”
    She shook her head. “I won’t give you a name.”
    His eyebrows lifted. “Why?”
    “Because right now you look as though you might ride to London and murder him,” she said with a small smile. “And while I appreciate your wanting to be my hero, I don’t want you transported for the trouble.”
    “It would be worth it,” he said through clenched teeth.
    She shook her head. “He truly would not be.”
    She didn’t add that she wasn’t worth it either, at least not out loud. It was the truth, but he would feel compelled to argue the fact and that would lead to no good conversation the rest of the night.
    He was quiet for a while, then he leaned forward, folding his hands on the table, his attention focused on her entirely. “You said this bastard hurt you early in your career. What made you become a courtesan?”
    Olivia tensed. Her past was something she protected judiciously. Even Violet didn’t know her whole story.
    “It is a boring