No Other Man Read Online Free Page A

time. She took a sip. The coffee was hot and delicious with
just enough whiskey in it to add a reassuring warmth to her system each time
she swallowed. She swallowed more quickly. Closed her eyes. Drank it down.
    The cup was taken from her fingers, and a moment later given
back, full once again.
    Coffee. It seemed a touch of normalcy in the midst of insanity.
    Or maybe it was just that the whiskey in it was blurring the
madness of her situation.
    She felt him staring at her again, studying her intently. She
backed away uneasily. She didn't really realize that she was doing so until her
calves touched the edge of the bed. She didn't think she planned to sit; it was
just that her knees wouldn't hold her upright anymore. She sank down, sitting
on the edge of the bed as primly as possible. "I can't begin to understand
what's going on here. I've done nothing to you! If you would just tell me who
you are, explain—"
    "I'm asking the questions, remember?" he said
sharply.
    "Then tell me what you
are!" she cried. "You pretended to be an Indian, a complete savage—''
    "Oh, I am an Indian. Sioux!" he interrupted, his
tone deceptively soft. "And I suggest you not forget it. And as to being a
complete savage ... well, I have always found that some men are, by nature,
savage, and some are not, race having no bearing on the issue whatsoever."
    She swallowed another sip of coffee, amazed—unnerved. Not
only did he speak English, he was a damned philosopher. How in God's name had
she fallen in his path?
    "Perhaps you'd best change your behavior then,"
Skylar suggested sweetly. "For so far, it has been completely detestable,
heathen, and savage."
    "Really? I don't think I stated that I was among the men
who weren't complete savages," he informed her with a sardonic smile.
"I was merely making the point that 'savage' is often how the whites
choose to view a society different from their own, when often white behavior
is far more cruel and heinous. And frankly, I don't give a damn whether you
consider me to be a savage or not. Now, back
    to basics. Who the hell are you, and why are you claiming to
be Lady Douglas?"
    Skylar
warmed her hands around her mug, inhaling deeply. "I have told you the
truth! I am Lady Skylar Douglas—"
    "Married to—?"
    "Lord Douglas, naturally."
    "Naturally?" he grated.
    She
drained her coffee mug, grateful then for the riveting warmth that seemed to
put some steel back into her own limbs. "Naturally. Well, actually, I am a
widow now. Lord Douglas—died."
    "After you married him?"
    "Obviously,"
she heard herself snap. "That is the way one becomes a widow."
    "When and where did you marry him?"
    "That's
none of your damned business," she informed him coolly.
    But he
started to take a step toward her, his green eyes sharply narrowed. ' 'I ask
you again, when and where were you married?" he demanded.
    Skylar
stiffened, afraid and indignant. She assured herself it didn't matter in the
least if she did or didn't give him information that was actually public
record.
    "I
married Lord Douglas a little more than two weeks ago in Maryland."
    "And then he died. How damned convenient."
    "How dare you—"
    "Easily.
Now, you married Lord Douglas—Lord who Douglas."
    "What?"
    "What was your husband's given name?"
    "Andrew."
    "You're certain."
    "The name is on my wedding license."
    "But your husband died."
    "Yes."
    "You're quite certain." "I was there!"
    "Ahhhh .. . !"
    The drawn out exclamation had a damning sound to it. As if he
seemed to find it perfectly natural that Lord Douglas might have died—and that
perhaps she might have had something to do with his death.
    "Don't you dare look at me like that; don't you dare
sound like that!" she exploded, feeling pain welling up within her.
"I was there with him, I was there—" she choked out.
    "I'm sure you were!" he interrupted derisively.
    "You heathen bastard!" she hissed. "How dare
you—"
    "No! How dare you!" he breathed back through
clenched teeth.
    She leaped up. "You've no