Free Bad Kitty by Debra Glass Page A

Kitty froze when she saw Bram’s hulking frame in the doorway.
    His eyes widened at the sight of her and she shook as her uncle appeared behind him. The top of Jasper’s head barely reached Bram’s shoulder. The old man waddled out of the house, his face reddening as he trotted toward her. He raised his fist threateningly.
    Kitty gasped as he rushed toward her. “Harlot! You fallen woman! How dare you defile my house while living under my roof!”
    Bram, riding crop in hand, was close on the old man’s heels. “You will not lay a hand on her! Do you hear me, old man?”
    Uncle Jasper gaped breathlessly.
    “I am to blame,” Bram told him, his voice stern.
    Kitty was incredulous. He had known all along she was a lady and not a servant? Anger quickly replaced surprise. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.
    Bram’s gaze slid to hers and her body’s reaction infuriated her. Everything inside her constricted with the unsolicited need to feel him connected to her again, with the memory of what had happened only hours earlier.
    “He’s come to make an honest woman of you, you…you strumpet!”
    Kitty’s gaze darted from her uncle’s to Bram’s. “What does he mean?”
    Bram’s lips parted to speak but Uncle Jasper interrupted. “He’s going to marry you before word gets out that you’ve fornicated with him.”
    Kitty felt her face grow scarlet. She stared, disbelievingly. Bram wanted to marry her?
    Her?
    But…
    She warred with the joyous knowledge the man who had awakened her body to physical pleasure wanted to marry her, and the fact that she was supposed to hate this man and everything for which he stood.
    “N-no,” she uttered.
    “No?” both Bram and Uncle Jasper asked in unison.
    By this time Kitty’s aunt had appeared in the doorway, holding a handkerchief over her nose and mouth.
    Kitty lifted her chin. “I do not wish to marry.”
    Now it was Bram’s turn to be angry. Clutching the crop, he marched toward her with long, purposeful strides, not stopping until he was toe to toe with her, her chest pressed against her breasts.
    Kitty swallowed thickly.
    “You have no choice in this matter.”
    The masculine scent of him wafted around her, reducing her to putty in his hands. She struggled to maintain her composure.
    “It has already been arranged,” he told her and then he spun on his heel, turning toward Uncle Jasper. He slapped the crop with such force on his thigh it made Kitty shudder. “See that she is before the vicar on the morrow.”
    Jasper nodded.
    “And if there is a mark on her, I will hold you to account,” Bram warned as he stalked toward his horse.
    Kitty stared as he unhitched the monstrous beast, swung himself into the saddle and galloped away.
    When he was out of sight, she looked at Uncle Jasper. “I refuse to marry him.”
    * * * * *
     
    Bram paced in the front of the church. Where was she? Surely his bride would come to her senses and arrive willingly at the altar. After all, she was the daughter of a baron and marriage to a duke’s heir would be to her advantage.
    The church bell had already tolled the hour and the priest stood by looking a bit bewildered.
    Bram had known better. He never should have fucked her. He never should have let her stay past the initial interview.
    He heaved a sigh. He had never intended to marry and wondered if he had not compromised Katrina simply because he knew it would infuriate his father. He was both marrying below his station and not marrying the woman the old bastard had chosen for him.
    Possessing Katrina had been on his mind since the first time he had laid eyes on her at the Duke of Blakemore’s party. With chagrin, he recalled not being able to finish with the duchess. That had been days before Katrina had turned into bespectacled Kitty, the curious servant girl, and had requested employment at his estate.
    He stopped pacing and looked toward the door. Nothing. “Where are they?” he ground out and resumed walking back and