Read Online Sinful Cravings by Samantha Holt - Free Book Online

grumbled.
    What she would do was finish off her meal as quickly as possible and retreat to her room. She could read for the rest of the day and take a late lunch in the hopes of avoiding him. Perhaps if she asked a steward they would bring her a light supper. Then she only needed to survive one more day before sneaking off the train and trying to avoid him in Scotland. She might have been grateful for his offer of help before but she didn’t need or want it now, and the more time she spent with Lord Jasper Cynfell, the more she became convinced it was not wise to rely on him for anything. This man was a scoundrel, as he so well proved the previous night. Why should she trust such a man?
    “Did you sleep well?” he asked as a waiter poured his tea.
    “Very well, thank you,” she responded stiffly. He really did know. He understood she’d been kept awake by remembering the feel of his lips against hers. How did he do that? Those cognac-coloured eyes seemed to see right through her. “And yourself, my lord?”
    She didn’t want to ask, didn’t even want a conversation with him. Hettie wanted to finish her meal and escape the presence of a man who made her feel as though she were on a runaway train instead of a leisurely sleeper. However, she was a vicar’s daughter and polite conversation was ingrained in her.
    Even if she hadn’t quite managed to be at all polite to him so far...
    Well, she’d try now. Put them on a formal basis and maybe even talk him out of trying to assist her at all. Yes, that sounded a fine plan indeed.
    “Like a baby. And it’s Jasper.”
    So much for formal. “I never understood that phrase. Babies sleep poorly, do they not?”
    “I wouldn’t really know.”
    “No, I don’t suppose you have any intention of finding out either.”
    He paused halfway through buttering his toast. “What do you mean?”
    “Well, it’s just you are not really...the fatherly sort. And why should you be? With so many brothers, it’s not like you need to sire an heir.”
    “That much is true. As for being the fatherly sort, I know many men who should likely never have been a father—mine for example—but a child changes a man. I’ve seen just that in two of my brothers.”
    “I did not mean to—”
    He waved her apology away. “I’ll be the first to admit I don’t appear to have a nurturing bone in my body.”
    There was something hidden in that statement. A secret or a confession...she wasn’t sure. As though maybe he really did have a nurturing side to him or he did long for children. But how was that possible? A man like Jasper only cared for one thing and one thing alone—himself.
    The image of his name in a book fluttered into her mind. Of course, there were hidden depths to him, but she shouldn’t let herself be fooled.
    “So, Hettie, how exactly are you planning to find your sister once you reach Edinburgh?”
    She dropped a sugar into her tea and stared at it while she stirred. “I...” She lifted her gaze to his. “I’m not sure.”
    The admission cost but she didn’t see that usual smug smile. Instead, he gazed deeply at her—too deeply. It made her stomach twist into a thousand knots.
    “But I don’t need your help,” she spilled out quickly. “You might as well catch a train home once we arrive.”
    “What a waste of a journey.”
    “Well, I’m very sorry to have wasted your time, but I did not ask you to come—”
    “An investigator or two would be helpful. Also I have several friends in Edinburgh...” he murmured, almost to himself.
    “I really do not—”
    “Of course, they’re not really the sort of keep track of a runaway young ladies...”
    “My lord,” she tried.
    “Though Emma is a pretty thing. She might have attracted some attention.”
    “You think she is pretty?” It was a foolish question. Emma was pretty. It had never really bothered Hettie before, except when she used her prettiness to charm others. However, something deep and sharp jabbed at