Page 9 of Seducing the Knave

His expression darkened curiously for just a moment. It was just a flash really. Barely noticeable before amusement returned to his gaze. “The earl knows what I want him to know.”

“Why so cryptic?” she pressed.

“I’ve me reasons.”

For some reason, his answer made the fine hairs on her nape stand up. But then he grinned with roguish charm. “The Earl of Wright’s me brother.”

Elle snorted in firm disbelief. “Of course he is.”

Though his laughter at her obvious skepticism was rich and throaty, a sharp edge entered in his voice when he replied, “Be grateful I’m not the earl. If I was, ye’d’ve been handed over to those men without a second thought. Surely, ye know Wright’s sterling reputation for doing what’s right. Always.”

“You assume helping me isn’t doing what’s right.”

“I know it ain’t,” he replied in a gravelly murmur that made her toes tingle in the oddest manner. “Ye’re trouble, princess, in every bloody sense of the word.”

She chose to ignore his insistence on the infuriating moniker to ask, “Then why did you agree to help me?”

His smile then was not a smirk nor a grin. It was a slow, suggestive flash of white wolfish teeth. “I happen to like trouble.” His voice was low and dark and sent shivers down her spine. “And I like fine gems even more.”

Chapter Three

After uttering his provocative comments, the infuriating man gave another brief chuckle then rested his head against the thick-cushioned backrest and closed his eyes. The remainder of the morning passed in silence while the scenery slid past the carriage windows in a steady blur.

Despite her determination not to be curious about the man, Elle couldn’t keep herself from staring at him from the shadows of her hood. There was something undeniably uncertain about Max Owen. His thin façade of sophistication obviously did nothing to conceal the knave beneath, but she suspected she still hadn’t even scratched the surface of his true self.

She certainly had her reservations regarding the man’s character, but she could only hope he proved to be a step above her licentious guardian. She knew exactly what fate awaited her should Jasper’s guards manage to capture and return her to her cousin’s hands.

It was a fate she intended to avoid at all costs.

And if she had to put her momentary trust in a shameless cad who appeared to have not an ounce of honor...well, at least she was heading toward London and her cousin’s guards had been properly thwarted. For now, anyway.

As her body relaxed into the rhythmic swaying of the carriage, the physical and mental exertion of her escape and a full night without a moment of rest finally took their toll. She was asleep before she even knew it only to be slammed back into consciousness in a disorienting rush as the carriage came to a rocking stop.

She blinked rapidly to clear the sleepy haze from her vision as Max leaned forward to open the carriage door. She was still reorienting herself when he vaulted to the ground.

“Come.”

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