Read Online The Devil Who Tamed Her by Johanna Lindsey - Free Book Online

The finger tapping even stopped. She was staring at him, though, which made him quite uncomfortable. She’d flirted outrageously with him at Summers Glade, after all, before she’d got reengaged to Duncan. It had prompted him to warn her at the time that the men in his family did the pursuing and they didn’t tolerate being pursued by marriage-minded females. But she’d obviously felt some attraction to him or she wouldn’t have put herself forward. That had occurred prior to the setdown he’d given her though, when she’d made him so furious with her insinuation that he was bedding Sabrina.
    He’d spoken quite sharply to her and she’d disliked him ever since. Not that he liked her either, but their mutual dislike was going to make this campaign much more difficult, for both of them. But he wasn’t about to try to make her look upon him more favorably again just to make this task easier. Hell no. He was having enough trouble ignoring her beauty without her batting her pretty blue eyes at him.
    “If you’ve finished your breakfast,” she finally remarked, “I’d like an answer to my original question.”
    He was only half-finished eating, but she’d asked so many questions that he hadn’t exactly answered that he replied anyway, “Which was?”
    “Why are you doing this to me?”
    “Ah, that again. For a number of reasons.”
    “Just give me one.”
    “You are universally disliked, except by a seemingly endless stream of men who haven’t discovered yet that you’re a shrew.”
    “I’m not a shrew. But that has nothing to do with you, so give me another reason.”
    “Very well, I find it quite odd that anyone as beautiful as you are could be so obviously unhappy. I’ve taken it upon myself to correct that, my good deed for the year, you could say. And I must disagree with your response to my first reason. I lean toward the underdog, always have, and help them when I can. In your case, I can.”
    “It’s well-known that you champion the underdog,” she allowed. “Even I heard it mentioned. But I am not an underdog! And for you to insinuate that I am—”
    “Of course you are, m’dear,” he interrupted calmly. “Name me one person who likes you, aside from your parents and that stream of idiots we’ve already mentioned.”
    “My maid,” she retorted looking rather triumphant to have come up with that answer.
    He rolled his eyes. “Maids don’t count.”
    “Go to hell,” she said, and surprised him by leaving the table.
    “Where are you going?”
    “I’m going to walk home,” she informed him without looking back.
    He started to laugh. That halted her before she reached the door.
    “I’m serious.” she swung around to tell him, in case he doubted it. “I’ll find someone who can help me get back to London.”
    “I’m sure you will, but probably not before dark. And then what will you do? Aside from freeze or get hopelessly lost and freeze.”
    She stood there bristling. He took pity on her and said, “Come back and sit down and I’ll explain why that isn’t such a good idea. Here, have another piece of toast,” he added as she passed him on her way back to the other side of the table.
    She ignored the offering. She lifted the chair she had vacated, slammed it down on the floor just to show how angry she was, if he hadn’t guessed, then after all that, sat down in it demurely.
    “I’m listening,” she growled.
    His urge to laugh again was almost irrepressible. He managed to contain it, but not without taking a bite of the toast still in his hand. That, of course, made her wait for the answer, and they’d already established she wasn’t good at waiting. But her theatrics really were amusing, because they were real, not contrived. He had a feeling this was how she was used to getting her way. He was going to have to add “spoiled” to her long list of flaws.
    “Well?” she bit out, her glare much more icy.
    He put his eyes back on his plate before he said, “Did I