Free Ruined by Moonlight by Emma Wildes Page A

pace across the room, andhopefully she didn’t realize the source of his sudden restlessness.
    Elena—to the devil with their titles; he was done with propriety and her first name would do—sat across from him in a light blue robe now, her shining hair loose, and while she was as manipulated as he was, the scene had certainly been set.
    No
.
    He refused to play this game. He knew exactly what their diabolical host wanted from him.
    The bastard.
    “I’ll sleep on the floor tonight,” Ran said more tersely than he intended. “I think perhaps it would be better.”
    Waking with her in his arms again was not a good option, but stating that involved admitting that it had happened in the first place. If she didn’t really remember it,
he
did.
    She frowned, shaking her head. “I don’t think that sounds very comfortable, my lord.”
    It didn’t sound comfortable to him either, but better than the alternative, which might involve a weakened state of resolve. It wasn’t that he actually doubted his willpower, but more that he had come to the conclusion this wasn’t about the two of them but something else entirely.
    Perhaps he should just be blunt.
    “All of this,” he said with as little intonation as possible, “is designed so we are coerced into not only sharing our meals, the washbasin, and the close quarters, but also that bed. Whether it is aimed at you or me, Colbert, or for an unfathomable reason someone else, the intention is hardly subtle.”
    “I realize that.” She gazed across the room, her profileclean and lovely. The long shimmering strands of her hair brushed her waist as she turned her head finally and met his eyes. “I might be not nearly as sophisticated as you are, but I understand clearly the purpose of this abduction.”
    Suddenly Ran was struck with the impulse to laugh, not out of amusement but because he admired the lift of her chin and the defiance in her eyes. “I see. So we both know the intent but not the motivation.” Carelessly he picked up the decanter of whiskey and refilled his glass. “We always come back to that. Any thoughts? What about your father? I assume he has enemies, as all powerful men do.”
    “That has occurred to me.” Elena sat composed, her voice prim but holding a thoughtful note. “I’m afraid I am not well-versed enough in his business affairs to suggest a specific culprit. I suppose it is plausible that someone might wish to get back at him through me.”
    “He’s had more time on this earth to antagonize others than we have,” Ran agreed sardonically, but further elaboration would involve his own political opposition to the conservative and loyalist views of Lord Whitbridge, and, at this point in time, that was hardly useful.
    “He’s certainly antagonized me once or twice,” his lordship’s daughter murmured with a hint of the humor he was starting to appreciate, “but never enough I felt the urge to retaliate. You would know better than I. Is his position in the House of Lords worth this?”
    She was quick minded, he would give her that. The implications were interesting to him also. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly, “because while I don’t agree entirely with his opinions, I suppose I am not rabid enough to ever consider ruining someone else’s life to prove mypoint. Besides, while your father is influential, a scandal involving his daughter would not change the course of the way he votes for Britain’s future policies or how he debates the new agricultural laws. He’d be injured personally, but this won’t influence the course of history.”
    Propping her chin on her palm she murmured, “I agree. It seems excessive.”
    Women were not usually offered the option to agree or not, as it was hardly important if they did. Ran took a sip of his favorite whiskey and registered how intriguing he found the lovely Lady Elena’s sense of independent self-worth. “I suspect you were a mischievous child. Weren’t you?”
    She laughed in