Read Adele Ashworth for Free Online Page A

he so chose, then casually drop the intensity and turn the conversation into something ordinary with a blink of an eye. Because of his flirtatious nature, she would need to be extraordinarily cautious around Jonathan Drake. Her attraction to him, if considered honestly, was remarkably potent, stunning even her because she had always been so utterly sensible. And she knew to her soul this man would easily break her heart and spread the news of his conquest without a trace of emotion beyond indifference. She could never allow that to happen.
    Desirous of moving on and getting home to the safety of her bedroom, she agreed with a nod of her sensible head. “Yes, indeed. The point of my visit.” With as much courage as she could gather, she said, “I need you to help me find the Black Knight.”
    He sharply turned to her, studying her oddly. “ The Black Knight?”
    She straightened. “Yes, the Black Knight.”
    Sauntering back to the table to sit again, he placed her cup in front of her. “What makes you think I know where he is?”
    Natalie was slightly taken aback. She had expected the man to be surprised or disbelieving, but instead he seemed only mildly curious. “Vivian told me you know him personally. Naturally, I didn’t believe her—”
    “I know him,” he admitted.
    Her eyes flashed with a burst of excitement. “You do? You truly know the man?”
    “What exactly do you want with him, Natalie?” he asked cautiously.
    She paused to drink her nearly scalding coffee in gulps now, thinking furiously. She realized she had to disclose at least some of her desires, even if the man laughed her out of his home for being completely unbalanced.
    Licking her lips, she sat fully erect. “I intend to marry him.”
    After an eternal moment of looking at her blankly, he leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out in front of him. “What makes you think he’ll want to marry you?”
    She had absolutely never expected this reaction. It stunned her into submissive silence, which in turn made him smile devilishly, knowingly.
    “You are undeniably lovely, Natalie, but somehow I think there should be more to marriage than attraction, don’t you?” He lowered his voice. “Perhaps he’ll only want you to warm his bed. Are you prepared to settle for only that?”
    She felt color rush to her face once more. “I told you I will not be anyone’s mistress, but that’s really none of your business. I simply want you to help me find him.”
    “Mmmm . . .”
    “What does that mean?”
    “Nothing.”
    She sighed. “Will you take me to him?”
    He gazed at her speculatively.
    “Please?” she begged.
    Finally he leaned forward on the table in front of him, placed his arms on the wooden surface, and stared at his coffee cup as he turned it around in his hands.
    “What do you intend to do about us?”
    Admittedly, she had a fairly good idea of what he meant by that, but in the end decided to play it stupidly. “About us?”
    He pursed his lips but didn’t move his eyes from his cup. “You and me, Natalie. We’re strongly attracted to each other, and I don’t know if we could be together every day without wanting each other physically.”
    Her heart thundered at once from such brazen considerations on his part, and she was certain he could hear it pounding in her chest. Composing herself, she whispered, “That’s absurd.”
    He looked to her at last, lifting a brow quizzically. “I’m quite certain you’ve thought about it, so don’t you think you should be a bit more honest with your feelings?”
    She couldn’t believe he was talking so intimately about the two of them, as if there were something more to their relationship than a casual acquaintance, and the only thing she could do to take control of the situation was simply to ignore what he’d said.
    “I need you to help me locate the Black Knight,” she maintained, “and that is the only thing I want from you, sir. Beyond that, there is nothing between