THE VIRGIN COURTESAN Read Online Free Page A

feel of her making his pulse throb, as well as other things, lower
down his body. As he kissed her harder and pulled her against him, she moaned
involuntarily into his mouth and moulded her body into his, fitting into him as
if she was meant to be there. Guy cupped her buttocks, his breath ragged, then
staggered back in surprise as she pushed him with considerable force. Her eyes
were blazing with anger now, not desire.
    ‘How dare you!’ she hissed, ‘no doubt this was your intention
all along!’ and with a choked, angry sob she pushed past him and ran out of the
door. Guy stumbled and fell nearly into the fire.
    ‘Juliana!’ he shouted, hearing her footsteps running down the
stairwell. Righting himself, he went after her, only to find an open door and a
white blur running into the dark. He shouted after her again, inwardly cursing
the silly girl at the inn for leaving the door unlocked. He debated getting his
horse from the stable but decided against it, tearing after her instead. She was
heading into the forest, in the rain and clad in only her chemise. With the men
he had encountered earlier possibly still abroad.
    ‘Juliana!’ he ran after her, his heart hammering.

Chapter Four
    Juliana ran until she thought her breath would give out
and then stopped, panting with exertion and a tumult of emotions. How dare he!
Promising not to harm her and then handling her so. She tried to ignore the
voice in her head that pointed out her passionate response to his kiss would
have hardly been a deterrent,
    Getting her breath back, she looked around her and felt a stab
of fear as reality sank in. In the dark and the rain and surrounded by thick
trees, she wasn’t even sure which way she had come. She was cold, and in
complete disarray. If any man should come on her like this, well, she doubted he
would be as gentlemanly as the mysterious Guy. But would he be so gentlemanly
now, if she did find her way back? Perhaps she should make for the road. If
there was an inn, there had to be houses not too far away. She looked around her
for any sign of light but could see only the thick shadows of trees. Twigs
snapped behind her and she whirled round, terrified.
    ‘Juliana!’ she heard his voice and sagged against the nearest
tree with relief.
    ‘I’m here,’ she called, her voice thin and high. She realised
she was shaking. As Guy emerged from the gloom in front of her she had to
restrain herself from hurtling into his arms. As it was he came swiftly over to
her, pulling off his shirt and wrapping it around her without a care for his own
comfort. Not that the thin shirt did little to warm her but it helped preserve
her modesty a little, for her breasts were nearly visible through the thin and
now damp material of her chemise. She flushed at her own foolishness.
    ‘Are you crazy?’ In spite of his words there was no anger in
his tone, and when Juliana saw the concern in his eyes, she could have wept. But
then as his eyes flickered over her, wet and half-dressed, the desire in his
eyes was evident. Juliana swallowed, meeting his gaze. The sight of his strong
body without his shirt and his dark hair slicked to his head from the rain,
making his eyes even more piecing in the half light, caused a surge of a rather
different emotion to rise within her. She realised she had been running away
from her own response to him as much as from the man himself. She wanted him,
and damn the consequences.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ he began, ‘I meant no disrespect. You looked so
beautiful...’ his voice trailed off as Juliana pressed herself into him and
kissed him again, no longer caring what he thought of her, or what was proper.
Guy was too shocked at her sudden about-face to respond at first, then his mouth
closed over hers, the rush of desire staggering him. For a wild moment he wanted
to take her here and now, up against the tree, with her flimsy chemise around
her thighs and her breasts pressed against his chest. This time however it was
he who