Read TemptedByHisKiss for Free Online Page B

thigh has a way of getting a man cashiered out.”
    “You were wounded in battle, then?”
    “No.”
    “But—”
    “I was an advanced scout, a reconnaissance officer for Wellesley.”
    “A spy, you mean?”
    His lips twisted. “That isn’t a term we generally prefer to use, but I suppose it’s as good as any.”
    “What happened?”
    “An unfortunate encounter with the French.” A shuttered expression lowered abruptly over his features. “Now, isn’t it time you were retiring?”
    His tone, as well as his words, told her she would get no more from him on that subject tonight. Sliding back her chair, she prepared to rise. Before she did, Cade lifted the whiskey decanter and filled his glass yet again.
    “Do you not think you have had enough, my lord?” she ventured in a gentle voice.
    He gave her a measured stare. “No.” Deliberately, he tossed back the portion in his glass, then reached to pour another.
    “I realize it is none of my business, but—”
    “You’re right,” he interrupted. “It’s not.”
    “I only thought that if you are in pain from your leg, there are other remedies—”
    “What makes you think it’s my leg? Maybe I just like to drink.”
    “Oh, I…I just assumed—”
    “Well, stop assuming and go to bed. You can plague me afresh tomorrow.” He looked away; clearly she was dismissed.
    She held back a sigh, wishing she could rewind the past few minutes and restore their earlier conviviality. Still, she had wanted to know about him, and now she did, at least a little. Although to her frustration, his answers left her even more curious than before. Resigned for now, she stood.
    “As you will, then, my lord. I bid you good-night.”
    He responded with a sound somewhere between a grunt and a growl, then drank another dram from his glass.
    She made her way to the door. Just before she passed through, she glanced back and saw that Cade had transferred his glass to his left hand and was using his right to rub his damaged thigh in a quiet circle, as if he were indeed in pain. In that instant, though, she realized it was far more than his leg that hurt him.
    Resisting the urge to turn back and offer comfort she knew he would refuse, she left the room.

Chapter 4
    T he following day Cade very nearly skipped nuncheon with Meg. But after his conscience prodded him several times, he walked across his bedchamber and reached for one of the starched cravats he so rarely wore these days.
    When he’d asked for a neck cloth last night, his batman had been delighted—Knox apparently bored with so little to do. Not like when they’d been on the Continent, making shift as circumstances required. But those times were gone, along with so much else from his former life in the military.
    Blasted thing, he cursed to himself as he ruined one long, linen rectangle and reached for another. If not for his inconvenient houseguest, he could have gone downstairs in shirtsleeves and pantaloons. Then again, if not for Miss Amberley, he wouldn’t have to dress for a meal at all. Nevertheless, a promise was a promise, and she’d won their wager fair and square.
    Of course that doesn’t mean I shall enjoy sharing the meal with her, he reassured himself. Or talking to her, either.
    Yet in spite of his glum prognostications, the meal proved pleasant. As the minutes passed he found himself relaxing, Meg showing herself to be an amusing conversationalist with a knack for light banter. She was careful, he noted, not to bring up any of last night’s uncomfortable queries, and he made sure not to provide ammunition with which to tempt her.
    Dinner that evening went well, too—wretched neck cloth notwithstanding—and then it was once again time for the entertainment portion of his pledge.
    “So, your lordship,” Meg ventured, as Harvey cleared the dessert plates and poured a last round of beverages before withdrawing. “What shall we play tonight? Piquet or speculation perhaps? I’ll grant it’s not quite as