Seductive Wager Read Online Free Page A

defend her hard to believe, but that this stranger would defy Martin just to spare her embarrassment was inconceivable. She glanced up at her brother and quailed inwardly at the venom in his eyes. This stranger might protect her now, but he wouldn’t be here tomorrow, or the next day, in case Martin decided to take out his anger on her. Besides, what harm could there be in staying a few moments more? She couldn’t be any more embarrassed than she already was.
    “Thank you,” she said finally, “but I’ll stay a little longer. Martin must have wanted me for something, and I’m warm enough with this cloak.” She pulled the garment tightly around her shoulders. It didn’t reach her ankles, but she was hardly aware of that.
    Brett nodded curtly and sat down, a fierce scowl on his face. He could guess the reason behind Kate’s answer, and the thought that she might be mistreated in his absence angered him.
    After gulping down another glass of brandy to help him recover from Brett’s rough handling, Martin brought his open palm down on the table, interrupting Feathers in a fanciful but garbled series of compliments.
    “That’s enough, puppy,” he blustered, ignoring Feathers’s flush of anger and turning irascibly to Brett. “I demand one more chance to make good my losses.” He jumped up and dragged his sister toward Brett. “I’m going to stake the last thing I have against my IOU’s.” Cries of protest and exclamations of disbelief erupted about him, but Martin kept his eyes glued to Brett’s face.
    “That’s right,” he stormed. “My sister against everything on that paper.”
    “Don’t be a fool,” Brett commanded, his voice rough and unsteady. “Nobody stakes his own kin in a card game.”
    “I have to. She’s all I have,” Martin declared, fixing Brett with a hawklike glare. “And by God, she’s worth, every guinea on the table, and then some. Look at her! Did you ever see anything to beat it?” He attempted to pull the cloak from Kate’s shoulders, but her fingers clamped tightly over the folds of the flawlessly cut garment, and she turned to Edward with an imploring look.
    “Thank you for your touching faith, my dear,” he said, grinning ruefully, “but it’s badly misplaced. I would strive to defend you with all my ability, but I’m persuaded you would do better to enlist Mr. Westbrook’s aid.”
    “She can keep the damned cloak,” Martin cursed. “Brett’s already seen her. You know she’s better looking than the titled beauties you normally seduce. And you won’t have to wait until midnight, or until her husband’s out of town, either, for your little bit of fun.” He leaned down the table and sank his voice into a conspiratorial whisper. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a warm little ladybird to cuddle up to whenever the mood strikes? She’s a tasty morsel. Her temper’s a bit sharp, but you ought to be able to handle that with some of your famous charm.”
    Brett was not accustomed to having his personal life discussed publicly, but to have his intimate affairs talked about in front of a gently bred female caused his temper to boil over.
    “You contemptible swine,” he rasped. “I’ll oblige you with any wager you like, but I don’t traffic in humans.”
    “The man’s gone completely off his head,” broke in Feathers, who had been making odd noises for several minutes. “I’m as fond of the game as any man alive, but I wouldn’t wager my sister, even if I had one, which I don’t, being an only child.”
    “I doubt there’s any way to still his tongue, short of death,” groaned Edward.
    “It doesn’t matter what you think, stripling,” Martin roared. “I’m offering her to Brett, and he’s honor-bound to accept any wager I propose.”
    “I cannot see how Brett can in honor accept your wager,” Edward objected, clearing his throat. “Miss Vareyan may not be of any value to you, but she is a person, albeit a female, and should be treated with