A Promise of More Read Online Free

off her ruined dress. Another expense, she thought as she peeled sodden stockings down her legs. Terrified of Coldhurst’s return before she was decent, Beatrice made quick work of drying herself with the towel. Then, spying a blanket at the foot of the bed, shewrapped it around her, and was instantly engulfed in Lord Coldhurst’s scent. It was a heady mixture of stale cheroots, a spicy cologne, and maleness.
    A knock at the cabin door made her jerk her nose guiltily from the blanket.
    Lord Coldhurst entered the room and handed her what appeared to be a clean garment very similar to what the ladies on the dock were wearing. “It’s all I could find.” With that, he turned his back and pulled his shirt over his head.
    She couldn’t help her cry of outrage. “What on earth are you doing?”
    He turned with a quizzical look at her cry. “Even though you might want it for me, I’m not about to let myself die of cold. Don’t look if it offends your sensibilities.”
    She said nothing. She’d lost her ability to breathe. To think. To move. But she hadn’t lost her ability to look at him.
    She shouldn’t be so affected. He was a rake, a man of decadent passions with a terrible reputation. Her brother’s killer. Yet that expanse of sun-kissed bare skin was stunning. She blamed the months he’d spent in the Caribbean. No man should look so …
    With no sign of embarrassment, he continued undressing. With wide shoulders, a broad chest corded with lean muscle, a hard flat stomach, and narrow hips, he had the physique of a Greek god. She wanted to believe she was immune to his treacherous handsomeness, but his masculinity had become both heat and light, drawing her to his beauty like a moth to flame. She could feel her wings flutter and begin to singe.
    Her pulse went wild, even as her mind shrieked protest. He was a man as salacious as her father. She despised her father. Men as contemptible as her father she would normally sail to the ends of the earth to avoid. Besides, Coldhurst had killed her brother.
    That thought slapped her into action and she finally turned her back. It took supreme effort for her not to sneak a quick look when she heard the sound of breeches and stockings being removed. She’d never seen a fully naked man before, only statues, and mostly they were discreetly covered. Her mouth felt dry and she tried to swallow. What would he look like if she turned round? She would not look. She was not interested. She wasn’t …
    “You may turn round now.”
    Beatrice did, and almost turned back again. Although he was dressed, given who she was, it was not to an appropriate standard.
    He’d pulled on a cambric shirt and a pair of black drawstring linen trousers—if one could call such an item trousers. And his feet were still bare.
    “I’m surprised you didn’t spend the time while I was dressing to do the same.” His eyebrow rose on a knowing smile.
    Curses . She felt heat invade her cheeks. “I’d prefer you to leave the room while I dress.”
    His smile deepened. “You don’t trust me. Very wise. I don’t have your willpower. I would peek.”
    Of course he would. “Why does that not surprise me? A man of your low moral fiber will have forgotten how to behave like a gentleman, if you ever knew.”
    “Ah, on such short acquaintance you seem to know me so well. We have established that you are not here to warm my bed. In that case, I pray you quickly explain what you are doing here, so you may be on your way and I may pursue an activity that is far more pleasurable.”
    “I will not have a conversation with you while I’m naked.”
    White teeth flashed in his tanned face. “You could always change your mind and do something else with me while you’re naked.”
    “Have you no respect? You killed my brother and now you proposition his sister.” She stood, the blanket wrapped firmly around her. She could barely contain her shaking, but whether from cold or anger she wasn’t sure. “I’d