Read Online Taming A Duke's Reckless Heart: Victorian Historical Romance by Tammy Andresen - Free Book Online

trouble this time.” Ethan laughed and shook his head.
    “What the hell are you talking about?” Barrett’s voice rumbled close to a growl.
    “How long have you known her?” Ethan’s eyebrows rose.
    “Four.”
    “Years?” Ethan cocked his eyebrows.
    “Days.” Barrett’s fists clenched at his side.
    “You mean to tell me you are this possessive after four days? It’s worse than I thought. Never, in all the years I have known you have you ever been like this.” Ethan was enjoying this. Barrett could see the glee on his face.
    Barrett simply glowered at his friend. “You’re exaggerating.”
    “I’m not. You growled at me. You didn’t even growl at me when I tried to take your mistress in Spain.” Ethan’s smile returned. He had an annoying habit of pretending to look innocent when he was guilty as sin.
    “You did take my mistress in Spain,” Barrett reminded him.
    “Oh that’s right. You didn’t seem the least put out.” Ethan raised his eyebrows as if this meant something. Barrett refused to acknowledge his point.
    “You offered to marry Piper,” Barrett hurtled the accusation back. The two women had nothing to do with one another. One he hadn’t cared about in the least while the other…
    “Which is far better than what you offered her.” Damn . Ethan had heard that. And his friend had a point. “She is stunning. Did you see the way she held her head high with her hair half hanging down her back? How many women can carry that off? I can see why you would want her but you don’t make a woman like her your mistress. And if you get caught kissing her like that again, you will find yourself married.”
    Barrett shrugged. He didn’t want to talk about it anymore. He knew what was happening was dangerous. Somehow, he didn’t seem able to stop himself when he was with her.
    “You called her love.” Ethan tossed himself into a chair, smirking.
    “What?” Barrett stood very still. He could feel fear trickling down his back.
    “You called her love, twice actually. I have never heard you call a woman love and there have been a lot of women.” His friend reached over to the side table where the brandy sat. As if he didn’t have a care in the world, he unstopped the bottle and poured himself a glass.
    “How long were you watching us?” Barrett took a few steps closer. His mind was reeling. Had he really called her love? Her face rose into his mind. The merriment in her eyes, her quick wit, her beautiful smile. Those stunning blue eyes. He rubbed his jaw and then his eyes. He’d bloody asked her to be his mistress in not so many words. What was wrong with him? He should be helping her—not making it more complicated, but it was like he lost control where she was concerned.
    Ethan gave him a smug glance. “Long enough to know you are trying to light a fire.”
    “Go to the devil.” Barrett couldn’t listen to this anymore. He didn’t want to examine his feeling, especially not with Ethan. He stomped back to his office.
    Ethan’s laughter followed him.
    Slamming the door, he threw himself into the chair at his desk. Men in his position didn’t fall in love. They married for lands, title, or perhaps money. Everything he had done up to this point had been to preserve his family’s legacy. And the match his father had made for him fit neatly into this plan. While the Percy’s lacked funds, he would marry Penelope, and in return, he would receive an ample amount of lands that bordered his own property. He loved his business, but he had done it for his family’s legacy.
    He put his head in his hands. Piper was wreaking havoc on his life.
    ***
    The carriage ride for Piper was equally unpleasant. She cursed herself for responding to his kisses. The first time she could blame it on shock but this time…
    He’d said he wanted her to be his mistress. The audacity of it. She had never even kissed a man until four days ago. Any other man would beg her to be his wife. Even Ethan had asked her,