Read Online Jenna Petersen - [Lady Spies] by Love, From London - Free Book Online Page A

to her.
    “Shall we join the others, then?” he asked.
    Meredith did not take his arm as expected. Instead she backed toward the sidebar.
    “Would you mind terribly if I had a little port first?” She glanced at Augustine with a smile. “It isn’t quite ladylike, but since my husband’s death, I’ve developed a liking for it. He left a good deal behind, and I took to having a glass after supper. Now it’s a habit I cannot seem to break myself of.”
    Tristan gritted his teeth. Why was she being so damned friendly and charming? It didn’t matter that those qualities were part of her personality, he didn’t like her making herself so appealing to a man who could destroy her if he wished.
    Devlin laughed. “I shall never reveal your unusual habit, I swear it on my life.”
    Meredith didn’t wait for Tristan to agree or disagree with her request as she turned to the half-empty bottle of port and poured herself a small bit. She sipped it with an appraising look at the two men.
    “You said you and Mr. Devlin were associates, did you not, my lord?”
    Tristan’s chest clenched. He wanted, no, he needed to remove Meredith from Devlin’s presence. It was clear the other man was gaining interest inher, but he couldn’t jeopardize the relationship he’d built with Devlin.
    “My lord?” she repeated.
    He jerked out a nod. “Y-Yes.”
    “What business do you share?”
    He snapped his gaze to hers, and she seemed surprised by the suddenness of the act. She raised a hand to her breast. “I’m always looking for new opportunities to invest my inheritance.”
    Tristan glanced at Devlin, only to find him staring back with twinkling eyes and a quirked brow. Obviously the bastard found this situation amusing. Hatred burned in Tristan’s chest, and the constant anger that boiled just below his purposefully cool exterior burned even hotter, stoked, yet again, by Meredith.
    “His lordship and I share a few endeavors, my lady. Trade. Shipping.” Devlin smiled thinly. “Art.”
    She nodded. “It all sounds very intriguing. Perhaps when we return to London you can call on my man of affairs and discuss some of these ventures with us.”
    Tristan took a step forward. “We should return to the others,” he said, louder than he had intended. Both Meredith and Devlin stared at him in surprise. He tempered his tone. “I’m sure we’re missed. Devlin, why don’t you go ahead? Lady Northam can finish her port and I’ll escort her back.”
    Devlin smiled broadly, ever amused, and gaveMeredith a low bow. “I look forward to speaking to you again, my lady.”
    “As do I,” she said with a nod.
    Tristan followed behind as Devlin left the room. He shut the door behind the other man, barely resisting the urge to slam it.
    When he turned back, Meredith was staring at him with wide eyes. She set her port on the closest table and said, “My lord, the door. We should not—”
    He ignored her protest to propriety and crossed the room in a few long paces. She seemed surprised by his sudden advance and took a step back, but the sideboard was directly behind her and he pinned her in. Her lips parted, but deep within her eyes, hidden behind the surprise, a flicker of desire lit there. Tristan nearly forgot himself as he watched that flicker flame higher.
    “My lord,” she whispered.
    He shook his head. “Meredith, Augustine Devlin is not a man you want to involve yourself with.”
    Her brow wrinkled. “But you said he was an associate of yours. Surely if you trust him in business—”
    “No!” He shook his head violently. “Believe me, you do not want him interested in you. You don’t want him involved in your money or your life.”
    “I don’t understand. If you believe him to be untrustworthy, why do you work with him?”
    He hesitated. He had a sudden, powerful urge to explain everything to her. To tell her secrets he’d kept from everyone important to him for nearly two years.
    He shook that desire off. It would only