Free The Runner's Enticement (Men of Circumstance Book 2) by Addie Jo Ryleigh

visitor weren’t on friendly terms. Had the encounter been deliberate or had she simply happened upon the man? The stranger hadn’t been invited to the party. At least not by official invitation.
    Nate had spied him slipping into the garden from an outside entrance a short time before Lady Annabel’s appearance, whereas an invited guest would have accessed the garden from the ballroom.
    When Lady Annabel had first ventured beyond the balcony to the garden, Nate had fought the urge to rush from his cover of foliage to explain quite fiercely what dangers awaited a young woman under the cover of night. Even a woman who had a unique way of hiding her charms behind a very convincing disguise of a nondescript bluestocking.
    Curious as to what her purpose might be, Nate remained still. With her in his sights, he’d be able to interfere before something untoward occurred.
    Words weren’t needed to know whatever the two had been discussing, planned or not, Lady Annabel was not pleased with the results. From his vantage point, Nate watched her hurry back to the party while he kept an eye on the mysterious man. If he wanted to discover her secrets, the visitor held the answers.
    Nate’s hackles rose as the man continued to peer after Lady Annabel, even after she’d disappeared from sight. Just like the night’s shadows chased away the light of the day, the further she’d moved away, the more the stranger’s gentlemanly mask ebbed. Until all that remained was something Nate always discovered resided below the surface of his most dangerous targets . . . pure evil.
    The man paused a moment, patted the pocket of his jacket, then turned for the garden exit, disappearing from Nate’s sight.
    Giving chase, Nate darted after. He burst through the wooden door, only to find a cloud of dust kicked up from the man’s fleeing horse. With it, the answers he craved. Damn.
    All he had to show for his sneaking about were more questions. Had Lady Annabel planned the encounter? If so, why secretly meet with a man who was clearly no gentleman?
    What else was the pretty miss hiding?
    As the night swallowed man and horse, Nate’s focus shifted from the stranger to hunting down the truth from one maddening female.

Chapter 11
    The day after Nate discovered Lady Annabel might be more interesting than the straight-laced bluestocking he’d taken her for, he found himself back at her beloved school.
    And back in the corner of her office like a wayward schoolboy.
    Only today he wasn’t sending murderous scowls in her direction, forced to watch her tending to tedious school activities. No, today he was busy trying to dissect the lady as she shuffled from one chore to the next.
    Visually she was the same annoying miss who’d been tying him in knots since Lawson had forced the assignment on him. Her yellow dress seemed as demure and serviceable as the light blue gown she’d wore the day before. No unnecessary bit of skin was allowed to make an appearance.
    Yet something was different. From their first meeting he’d unwisely desired her. Even while he’d fought the impulse to strangle her.
    What pulsed through him today was more than basic craving. He was intrigued. The bluestocking wallflower had managed to engage every instinct he’d honed for the last five years.
    For the first time in a long while, he felt a renewed purpose for his job. A twinge of something more than simply going through the motions. Getting one assignment done to move on to the next.
    Lady Annabel dismissed the student she’d been meeting with for the last thirty minutes, only to sit back at her desk and shift through more papers. As much as he wanted to dismiss her as a typical highborn lady, he had to give her credit for her devotion to the school and students. He might not be familiar with every lady of stature, but he was acquainted with enough to know very few would be content with the trivial tasks Lady Annabel dealt with on a daily basis.
    “Does your job require you