Read The Devil To Pay for Free Online Page B

all too soon
    she was walking up the patfi to the slightly tilted porch of Julian’s cottage.
    Xerxes was aware of her before she could knock even once. She heard his expectant little whine and braced herself
    for his cheerful assault when the door opened.
    “Ah, Emmy,“ Julian said, a wealtii of satisfaction in his voice as he stood on the threshold and took in the sight of
    her standing on his front step. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t disappoint me.“
    Emelina was too busy fending off Xerxes to get a good look at Julian’s face but she thought she caught a trace of
    satisfaction in his eyes as well as his voice and didn’t quite know what to make of it.
    “Down, Xerxes,“ she ordered gruffly as the sleek dog danced around her. He shoved his head under her hand, and
    she was more or less obligated to pat him. The long pink tongue came out to thank her. “I’ve come to talk to you
    about…about my problem,“ she said to Julian as she hastily wiped her hand on her jacket
    “I assumed as much. Come in, Emmy. Have you eaten?“
    “No, but Fm not really hungry,“ she assured him quickly.
    “If you are going to accept my help, you might as
    well accept my food,“ he pointed out with unassailable logic. “And perhaps a drink, too, I think,“ he added as he
    shut the door behind her.
    Emelina had a moment of panic as the door closed and she found herself trapped in the room with him. She made a
    frantic grab for her fortitude and nodded once. “Yes, I think I could use the drink.“
    Xerxes draped himself contentedly by the fire after seeing Emelina into the old stuffed chair she had used the
    previous evening. Silence reigned in the room until Emelina found a glass of deep red Zinfandel pressed into her hand.
    She took a long sip and then met Julian’s eyes as he sat down across from her.
    “There’s just one thing,“ she stated very carefully. He gave her a politely inquiring look. “My brother is not a part
    of this deal. I’m the one making the arrangement with you.“
    “I understand,“ Julian said very gently.
    Emelina would have given a lot of money in that moment to have had the gift of reading minds. What the devil was
    he thmking? “I am the only one who will be required to repay your offer of help,“ she clarified, feeling as if she were
    digging her own grave.
    He inclined his head in acknowledgment.
    “Can I trust you?“ she whispered.
    “You can trust me.“ It was a quiet statement of fact, and Emelina found herself believing him. There was no real
    reason to do so, yet she did. Perhaps men like this really did have their own code of honor. He saw her watching him
    and lifted his glass in salute. “To our bargain, Emmy Stratton.“
    They sipped the solemn toast in silence. For a long
    moment mere was only the crackle of the fire on the hearth and the pounding of Emelina’s pulse as she absorbed
    the impact of what she had done. She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off Julian’s face. He was the personification of
    the devil, she told herself. Or perhaps it was Dracula he personified. Legend had it that such creatures could be
    strangely attractive to a woman.
    Emelina’s breath stopped for a split second as she realized just what she had been thinking. Oh, no, she screamed
    silently, surely I’m not going to find myself in that kind of quicksand! Her eyes widened. Attracted to Julian Colter?
    Never!
    “What are you thinking, Emmy?“
    “That when you sup with the devil you need a very long spoon,“ she replied with utter honesty. The old advice
    had never seemed so apropos. Getting close to Julian Colter was an excellent way to get one’s fingers burned. Badly.
    A strange little smile played at the edge of his hard mouth as he regarded her. “Since I want you to share my
    supper with me, I shall go and see just how long a spoon I can find,“ he murmured, rising lithely from the depths of the
    old chair.
    Emelina was left to stare into the flames and wish she could have