Taken and Seduced Read Online Free

back at their little campfire, and the young woman who knelt beside it, a half-eaten apple in her hands.
    “I can take a turn watching her tonight,” Robert said casually.
    “We all need our sleep.”
    “She won’t mind sleeping with me.”
    Adam gave a small smile. “She is not the kind of woman you’ve been with before, little brother.”
    “And that’s why she’ll help me learn about ladies at court.”
    “I think not.”
    Robert gave an exaggerated sigh. “So she is your prisoner, instead of ours?”
    “She is my responsibility, just as you are. And I take such things very seriously.”
    “When you finally need help, you can call on me.”
    Adam put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “My thanks, but I will not need help with her. She is simply a sheltered young woman who I’ve succeeded in making afraid of me. She will be biddable.”
    Robert smirked again. “And you think I haven’t had enough experience with women.”
    Before Adam could reply, Robert sauntered back toward the fire, leaving Adam to trail him.
    They passed the rest of the meal in strained silence as darkness descended and a wind rose up from the valley to rustle through the trees. Adam did not disguise his focus on Lady Florence. She met his gaze once or twice, always looking quickly away. She turned over and over the dried bread in her hands as if distracted, crumbling it without seeming to realize it.
    At last Adam decided to get on with what she must already be fearing: the sleeping arrangements. “’Tis time to rest, for we’ll arise early in the morn.”
    Lady Florence seemed frozen in place, her eyes darting nervously from Robert, who packed away their supper, to Michael, who began to remove blankets from the saddlebags.
    “Lady Florence, do you need to relieve yourself once more?” Adam asked.
    She blushed and didn’t meet his eyes as she quickly shook her head.
    “I do,” he said. “I will return in a moment.”
    When he came back, Lady Florence was as frozen as when he’d left her, as if her refusal to accept it would stop the coming night. The other two men took their turns for a moment in the trees, and Robert settled down on his blanket, his cloak closed about him. Though it was summer, this part of the lake country had chilly nights. Michael walked to the edge of the clearing, taking the first watch.
    Adam spread his own blanket, then knelt on it. “Come here, Lady Florence.”
    He saw the shiver that passed through her, and with regret, he knew it wasn’t from the cold. He hadn’t imagined how terrible it would feel to keep a young woman afraid of him. He kept reminding himself that the end result would be worth it, that even she might understand his motives once she knew everything.
    He was lying to himself—she would understand nothing when her father lay dead on the ground.
    She rose unsteadily to her feet at last. “I will sleep in the cart.”
    “Since you’ll be sleeping tied to me, I think proximity to the fire will keep us warmer. We won’t be sleeping in the cart.” He deliberately deepened his voice. “Come here, Lady Florence.” When she didn’t move, he said, “Now.”
    She took the two steps to his blanket and knelt down. Adam tied a rope to his wrist, then looped it tightly about hers, leaving enough loose rope for comfort.
    He said, “This wouldn’t have been necessary if you hadn’t lied to me.”
    She didn’t answer, only narrowed her eyes. She obviously had much to say to him—if she weren’t afraid.
    He couldn’t look at her anymore. Lying down on his side, he held open his cloak. “Join me, Lady Florence. I will keep you warm.”
    Feeling shocked and disoriented, Florrie knelt on the wool blanket, her back to the fire, and gaped at Sir Adam. His long body took up most of the blanket; his boots rested in the sparse grass. He waited, his cloak held open, as if he fully expected her to lie against him! He was a kidnapper, a man out to kill her father. She didn’t even want