Read Online Seduced by His Touch by Tracy Anne Warren - Free Book Online

hand or draw her away for a private stroll or a stolen kiss.
    Not that I want him to, she assured herself. She was content with his friendship. Quite content. She needed and expected nothing more. Still, the platonic nature of his attentions proved that Aunt Jane was mistaken about his interest in her. Clearly, he saw her as a sister, which meant she had no reason to guard her emotions against him.
    The third week in September dawned warm and sunny, the sky a clear, pristine blue after two nights of heavy rain. Deciding the weather was just right for an excursion to Sydney Gardens to do some drawing, Grace collected her paper and pencils and prepared to set off with her maid in tow. Aunt Jane told Grace to have a good time, informing her that she planned to spend the day with several friends—scouring the shops for bargains—before adjourning to Mollands for tea and sweets.
    After a pleasant walk to the gardens, Grace located a bench near some likely blossoms and took a seat. Reading the wistful expression on her maid’s face, she let the girl go off to visit a footman who worked at the nearby hotel, making her promise not to be away too long.
    Content, Grace settled into her drawing, losing herself as she began sketching a colorful patch of late-blooming hollyhocks. She was only vaguely aware of the crunch of footfalls approaching on the shell path.
    “You look a picture, perched there on that bench,” remarked a deep, familiar voice. “Every bit as lovely as one of the flowers.”
    Glancing up, she met Jack Byron’s rich blue gaze. “My lord,” she said, sending him a warm smile. Her pencil fell still while she studied him, his handsome features never failing to steal a bit of her breath. Impeccable as ever, he wore a tobacco brown coat and fawn pantaloons, the gold watch fob on his waistcoat winking in the sunlight.
    “Where did you come from?” she asked, her fingers curling reflexively against her pencil.
    “Along the main path,” he said in a wry drawl. “You really ought to pay more attention to your surroundings, you know.”
    “I am drawing.”
    “Yes, so I see.” Crossing, he sank down onto the stone seat next to her. “I met your aunt on the high street. She told me you were here.”
    “Was that before or after she finished raiding all the stores?”
    “ After, I would say, based on the armload of packages her footman was carrying. Although I might be wrong, considering the militant gleam in her eye. As I recall, there was some mention of ribbon at a ten percent discount just as I was departing.”
    Grace grinned, then returned to her drawing.
    Silence descended, comfortable and undemanding, as Lord Jack lounged on the bench at her side.
    “What are you drawing? Those stalky, puffy-headed flowers over there?” he asked.
    Pausing, she tossed him a curious glance. With his knowledge of botany, he had to know a hollyhock when he saw one, since it was a common enough variety. He’s teasing me , she realized. “Yes, the hollyhocks, of course. You’re very amusing, you know. Stalky, puffy-headed flowers indeed.” She chuckled.
    For a brief moment, an odd, almost alarmed expression passed over his face. Then, just as abruptly, it vanished. “No point in always being precisely accurate, is there? Sometimes a description says it best.”
    Smiling, she shook her head at his antics.
    “May I see?” he queried.
    She hesitated for an instant, then turned the drawing his way.
    He contemplated her work, long enough that the faintest flutter of nerves jiggled over her skin. “It’s only a preliminary study,” she defended. “I’ll do a far more refined sketch later, then another in color.”
    “It’s wonderful,” he stated, his tone clearly sincere. “When you said you do some drawing, I assumed you dabbled like most young women. But this is a far cry from dabbling. You have true talent.”
    Pleasure spread through her, radiant as the sun shining overhead. When did his opinion come to mean so