Free Pure Temptation by Connie Mason Page B

black jacket molded perfectly to his broad shoulders. His powerful presence was intimidating—just the sight of him was enough to send blood pounding through her veins. He stepped away from the door and crossed the room to where Moira was sitting.
    “The doctor said your arm is good as new. How does it feel?”
    “Well enough,” Moira replied, flexing her healed limb.
    “I’m glad.” Suddenly aware of Jilly staring curiously at them, Jack said, “You may go, Jilly, I wish to speak to your mistress in private.”
    “What do you wish to say to me that demands privacy?” Moira wanted to know once Jilly was out of hearing.
    “I didn’t think you wanted Jilly to know we’re not really related. Are you satisfied with your new clothes?”
    “They’re lovely,” Moira admitted. “I’ve never had anything so grand.”
    “Wait until you see the ball gowns. I chose styles that will be flattering to your figure and coloring. I think you’ll be pleased.”
    “My dancing has improved,” Moira said, fishing for Jack’s approval.
    “So it has. No one will find fault with your dancing. You’ve exceeded my fondest hopes in every way. You’ll take London by storm. I predict you’ll be married before spring.”
    The warm glow from Jack’s compliments faded abruptly when Moira pictured herself married to a man she had yet to meet. A man other than Jack. Lord, where did that thought come from? She wouldn’t have a man like Jackson Graystoke if he was served to her on a silver platter. A disreputable rake like him would abandon the marriage bed before it was cold.
    “Doesn’t that please you?” Jack asked, puzzled by her silence. “You’ll be able to bring your family to London. Or help them financially if they wish to remain in Ireland.”
    “Of course that pleases me,” Moira snapped. “Anything is better than being dependent on you. What about your own wedding plans? Has Lady Victoria accepted your proposal?”
    Jack looked away. “I haven’t proposed yet. Been too busy grooming you for your introduction to society. I don’t anticipate any problems. Marrying money is as necessary to me as it is to you. I suppose I could ask my cousin for money, but I’m not the sort to go begging.”
    “Your cousin?”
    “Aye, the Duke of Ailesbury. Though we’re not close, he’s a likable sort and we respect one another. His father and my mother were siblings. Mother married beneath her, but it never bothered her. Young William is to marry soon, and Iexpect an heir will follow in short order. Will and I have no other living relatives.”
    “Your cousin is a duke? I didn’t know you had relatives so highly placed.”
    “Titles do not impress me, nor do macaroni dandies. Young William is welcome to the dukedom; I never aspired to the title and he knows it. The title is entailed; that’s why I urged him to marry and produce an heir. I’m perfectly content with being the black sheep of the family.”
    Moira’s golden eyes twinkled mischievously. “Black suits you, Sir Jack. You wear it well.”
    Jack threw back his head and gave a shout of laughter. “And you, Lady Moira, will set London on its ear with your wit and beauty. I wish…”
    Moira’s attention sharpened. “What do you wish, Jack?”
    He drew her to her feet and into his arms. “I wish I had been the man you were meeting that night. I wish I had been your lover.”

Chapter Five
    “I wish I had been your lover,” Jack repeated when Moira appeared dazed by his admission. “You’re pure temptation, do you know that?”
    Their eyes met, and in the taut, vibrating silence that followed, Moira realized she was completely out of her element. Her body felt heavy with yearning, her heated center liquid with anticipation and throbbing with a craving she didn’t fully understand. She tried to deny the feelings Jack’s volatile presence evoked in her, but all she could think of was the searing heat of his evocative gaze and the warmth of his hard