Read Online Tall, Dark and Disreputable by Deb Marlowe - Free Book Online Page B

the lake yesterday and the vision of Portia—full of sunshine and mischief—emerging from it.
    Hard to believe, but she’d looked more enticing in the full light of day than in the flattering shadows of the inn, and that was not a claim one woman in a hundred could make. A child of Apollo, that one, with the sun captured in streaks through her tawny hair and goldenflecks glimmering from her dark eyes. The sight of her had been a blow low in his gut, stimulating both a stir of desire and another flare of heated anger. His reactions to her were bizarre. He couldn’t explain them to himself, let alone to her.
    So he decided to learn from her example instead. Look at what she’d done with that bridge. She’d pitched in and helped repair it with her own two hands, even knowing that it might shortly belong to some damned farmer with a gambling habit. Surely she’d been full of worry, doubt, and, yes, anger. But she’d set it all aside to attend to what needed to be done.
    Just exactly as he was going to have to do.
    He rounded a corner and came into sight of the stables—and stopped short.
    Of course he would. Right after he finished wringing her neck.
    The reason for his mount’s delay became suddenly apparent—she sat perched on top of a restless bay mare, resplendent in a rich brown habit with golden frogging in a military style. The animal tossed its head, shifting in her eagerness to be away, but Portia controlled her easily, never losing her smile or pausing in her conversation with the inn’s groom who stood dazzled, grinning doltishly up at her, holding in one hand the lead of Mateo’s patient, and apparently forgotten, gelding.
    Irritation blossomed yet again. Hadn’t he told her he would go alone and report back to her? It should be enough of a concession that he had cast himself in the roleof lackey. Hell, he’d agreed to her proposal and ignored her overbearing arrogance. He’d let her relegate him to a subordinate, though she had to know that it grated every nerve in his body to do it. And she couldn’t summon enough patience to wait a couple of hours at home?
    He unlocked his knees and started forwards again. ‘What in the name of Triton’s forked tail are you doing here?’
    He’d used his captain’s voice, authoritative and designed to scare the slack out of hardened sailors. It spooked her mare instead. The bay reared and tried to bolt. Though she’d been caught by surprise, Portia reacted smoothly, bending lithe and low over her mount’s neck. Graceful and at every moment in control, she allowed the animal to dance, gradually gathering her in and soothing her to a trembling halt.
    As the mare calmed, Portia straightened. Mateo expected her to snap back, or at least resort to the highhanded manner she’d adopted yesterday, but she only watched him with a clear gaze. ‘I’m going with you,’ she answered simply.
    Mateo drew a deep breath. Her calm helped him to keep his. ‘Why?’
    Her steady gaze did not waver or retreat. ‘Because I need to.’
    An echo of her words rang in his head. I am tired of being let down by the men who are supposed to have my best interests at heart . They were a pair, weren’t they? He—fighting the old, stifling sense of suffocation—and she—battling a well-deserved feeling of helplessness.
    He sighed. ‘You understand that I will do the talking,’ he said.
    The mask of anxiety about her eyes faded away. Mateo watched it disappear and was struck by a sudden thought. In their every encounter he’d wondered what had happened to the old Portia. Now he knew that those lines of worry were the first glimpse he’d got of her. He didn’t like it. He much preferred the bold, confident Portia over the shy, reserved version.
    Frowning, he mounted quickly. ‘Let’s be off, then.’
    They set out, Portia keeping her mare pulled in to his gelding’s shorter stride. Neither spoke and Mateo was just as glad. He did not want to feel any sort of preference for