Free The Temptation of a Gentleman by Jenna Petersen

help?” Marion eyes widened. She’d been so focused on him telling her about his secrets that she’d almost forgotten how they related to her.
    “ Yes.” Noah smiled as if he could read her thoughts. “I’m here in Woodbury not only to begin my duties as Marquis, but because I’m hunting a dangerous man, a man who may have committed a murder.”
    Now she again wondered if he was teasing her. “Are you trying to impress me by being vague?”
    Noah opened and shut his mouth again, just as he had when she’d doubted the truth of his story a moment before. Really, it was almost too easy to make him speechless.
    “ No. I’m investigating Josiah Lucas.”
    The color drained from Marion’s face and all the humor she’d felt faded with it. Noah thought Josiah Lucas was a killer and yet she was forced to share a home with the man. And perhaps a bed if she couldn’t escape his advances soon.
    “ Whom do you believe he killed?” She fought to remain calm.
    Noah’s voice grew quiet. “His wife.”
    She closed her eyes to absorb the shock she felt hearing all this information. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she asked, “Aside from terrifying me, how does this relate to my quandary?”
    “ You must be frightened if you don’t see the answer to that question,” Noah said with a humorless laugh. “If Lucas goes to prison, the debts he holds over your father will be gone as if they never existed.”
    She nodded slowly. “I suppose that’s true. But you said Lucas was only a possible suspect in Georgina’s death. What if he’s innocent? I would still be forced to marry him.”
    Noah sighed as if he were uncomfortable with what he was about to say. “If we cannot prove Lucas is a killer, then I’ll do what you ask of me. I’ll make it appear you’ve been ruined.”
    Marion covered her mouth with a little yelp of joy. “You’ll help me?”
    His eyes narrowed at her emotional outburst. “Yes. Don’t worry, Marion. I’d never let you come to any harm.”
    She lowered her hand slowly and looked him up and down. “Yes, I know that. Somehow I know it.”
    His face darkened, and for a moment she thought she saw a flicker of desire in his gaze. With a quick movement, he got up from the bench and turned away. His action broke the spell he’d held her in, and Marion remembered that by the end of the month Lucas would claim her body whether they were married or not.
    “ How long do you think this will take?” she asked.
    He didn’t look back at her. “Probably no more than a few weeks, why?”
    She paused, weighing the benefits of telling Noah the whole truth about her father’s agreement. But then, it seemed like the whole situation would be taken care of before she was forced to do anything unsavory. Why tell him if Lucas’s bargain would never come to be? It was so humiliating.
    “ Father is planning on beginning our – engagement - at the end of the month, so my time is limited,” she said.
    “ I see.” Noah rubbed his chin. “If you’re helping me, we should catch him before you’re forced into something so vile.”
    Marion stood up and rung her hands in front of her. “I’m not sure I’ll be very good at this. Perhaps I’ll hinder you.”
    He shook his head. “I’ve had women as partners before, I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully.”
    A pang of jealousy shot through her. Noah’s former partners had probably been gorgeous, sophisticated women. After a long night of spying he probably returned to his rooms with them, repaying their efforts with kisses and…
    She shook her head. The thoughts were making her angry.
    “ My sister Audrey and I solved many a crime in France,” he continued with a reminiscent smile.
    “ Your sister?” Marion gasped. Powerful relief poured through her.
    “ Yes.”
    “ But-but isn’t she married? Isn’t she respectable?”
    Noah laughed. “She is both. She married Viscount Berenger last year and is one of the most respected ladies in all of