Read Online When It's Perfect by Adele Ashworth - Free Book Online

Gentlemen of all natures and passions made her nervous, and this one did especially, however unclear she was of the reason. He had the most marvelous build, and carried himself so… flawlessly. Marcus Longfellow, Earl of Renn, demanded attention. Even now, as she tried her best to avoid him, and conversation, she felt her palms moisten and her stomach muscles tighten with apprehension, from repressed anxiety, she supposed. And secrets tucked deep within that she never intended to reveal.
    “What did you make of all that?”
    She fairly jumped in her seat from even that soft intrusion. “I beg your pardon?”
    He gazed at her frankly, though she couldn’t be sure of his mood in the growing darkness.
    “Were you satisfied?”
    Her cheeks flushed hotly. “Satisfied?”
    He exhaled sharply through his nostrils. “Miss Marsh, do you so often repeat questions asked of you without offering explanation?”
    Undaunted, she straightened on the cushioned seat. “Apparently so, Lord Renn.”
    Silence reigned. Then he chuckled and rubbed his eyes. It was a soft, deep chuckle, and she likened it instantly to someone gradually and deliberately dragging a feather down her naked spine. It made her tingle in all the most improper places and she forced her thighs together beneath layers of binding petticoats and skirts. This should not be happening. Not now.
    “Lord Renn,” she replied sternly, trying to gulp down her insecurities.
    “You are quite a contradiction, aren’t you?” he said thoughtfully, cutting into her forthcoming admonition.
    “Meaning what, may I ask?” Then she realized she shouldn’t have asked at all. She didn’t want to know what he thought of her. Not really.
    The coach hit a rut in the road and they both jerked against the sidewall, though his gaze remained focused on her.
    “For all your coolness,” he explained in a husky, speculative tone, “all

    your aloofness, your serene loveliness and quiet charm that you exhibit on the outside, I know there must be a rather warm and scintillating personality within.”
    Stunned, Mary sat tightly, fingers digging into her palms, wanting to look away, to escape the stuffy confines that secluded them from the outside world, but unable to do so. In a manner, he’d captivated her.
    “I know this, you see,” he finished in near whisper, never moving his gaze from hers, “because Christine spoke so well of you, mentioned your humor, your cleverness and warm friendship.” He cocked his head to regard her even in the near blackness. “I’ll bet the two of you shared frivolous stories and enticing secrets about love and romance as ladies often do. Knowing Christine, she probably even revealed a few of my own in that regard.”
    His voice hypnotized her, or maybe it was merely his masculine dominance so close to her feminine form. She felt like jumping out of her skin.
    Your serene loveliness…
    “I’m sure you know much about ladies and their topics of discussion in private conversation,” she stated crisply, sounding, even to her ears, utterly defensive.
    He chuckled again and she visibly shivered.
    “Did she say you’d like me?” he asked slyly.
    Her stomach flipped over. “Like you? In what manner?”
    She shouldn’t have asked that, for he laughed again, annoying her.
    “As a person, a man,” he replied after a moment, watching her closely.
    She looked out the window to the dark night sky. “I’m sure you’re a very intelligent, congenial gentleman, Lord Renn.”
    He said nothing to that for a moment, then murmured, “So she did tell you about me.”
    Mary swallowed, trying to breathe normally. “That’s not exactly what I said.”
    “No, but you certainly implied it. And I knew my sister. She could talk about nothing whatsoever for thirty hours straight if she didn’t need to sleep.”
    Mary shot him a quick glance, and although he remained in shadow, she could positively hear him grinning. He teased her with every word, and even in her