Free Jenna Petersen - [Lady Spies] by Seduction Is Forever Page A

in.”
    “No, but you ran to me quickly enough, didn’t you?” he pressed and even in the dim light from the entryway, she saw his dark eyes sweep over her. With suspicion. With…interest. Her heart jolted.
    Had she been wrong in the carriage? Was he going to demand payment for his assistance? Did he want her?
    And why did that make her jealous? Jealous of herself…which made no sense. Even in all her confusion when it came to the man, she didn’t want Grant to want her, not as Emily and certainly not in her disguise. Those feelings, the ones that rocked her when she was alone with him, they only interfered in her investigation.
    “You ran right for me and although we’ve never met before, you asked for my help in escaping Leary and his comrades,” Grant pressed. “A woman in your profession must know that’s dangerous. And yet you allowed me not only to take you out of The Blue Pony, but you got into my carriage and let me escort you here. To this house that a lightskirt would not normally live in. The facts I see don’t match what you’ve told me. So I wonder what is really going on?”
    With his every pointed word, she moved further up the stairs and he charged after her, searching her face in the fading light. She was shocked by how quickly he was deducing everything. His interrogation was swift, to the point, cold, despite the hint of accusation.
    It was the kind of examination she had done herself many a time over the years. The kind she’d had months of training to master.
    “Sir, there is nothing going on except that you are frightening me. Please leave!” She backed down the hallway and grasped the handle to the bedroom door. Turning it, she flew inside and spun to slam it.
    But Grant was quicker. He caught the door with one hand, shouldering his way into the room. Before she could react, he’d slammed the door and locked it, putting the key in his jacket where it was out of reach…at least for now.
    Emily’s heart sank. There would be no escaping him unless she went out the window. She wasn’t opposed to that route, but she doubted she’d have one leg out before he caught her and hauled her back inside.
    Silently, he walked to the mantel and lit the candles, then threw a few logs into place and set a fire to warm the room. Worse, to light the room.
    “You are frightened, I can hear it in your voice, but not of me,” he said, his voice calm. He never turned to face her, just continued to coax the fire higher.
    Emily gasped. Could he really sense the truth about the terror that still lingered from her earlier encounter? And more to the point, why was his assertion correct? She wasn’t afraid of him. None of her worries roared forward when she was alone with Grant, despite the fact that he was much larger than she was.
    Oh, certainly, she had training, but in the small space with a locked door, she knew full well she might not be able to control Grant if he decided to use his advantage against her.
    And yet, she didn’t have any sense of nervousness when she looked at him. Even though being trapped normally triggered her deepest fears, with Grant it didn’t.
    “You—I don’t have no idea what you want,” she hissed, fighting to keep her accent when she was breathless. “’Course I’m afraid of you.”
    He looked up from the fire with an incredulous arch of his brow. “If you were afraid of me, I think you would have attacked me by now. I saw the outline of the knife you have attached to your leg through your gown when we were in the carriage. If you’re so afraid, why haven’t you unsheathed it?”
    Emily’s eyes went wide as her hand covered her thigh by instinct. He’d seen her weapon? Dear God, the carriage was almost totally dark! The only time there had been any light was when he lit his cigar. He would have to be very observant to catch the outline of her blade in the flash of a moment before the flint went out.
    “You’re lucky I haven’t,” she managed to answer weakly.