Sinful Deeds Read Online Free Page A

full well you would turn up on my doorstep before long.”
    “Damn,
I hate to be predictable.” He edged forward until he nearly stood on her toes.
She stepped back. “Will you not invite me in?”
    She
closed her eyes briefly and opened them before giving him a stiff nod. She
stepped back, and he slipped in and removed his hat. He placed it on the hat
stand and glanced around the small hallway. Well-decorated, simple, nice
enough.
    Josephine
led the way into what his mother would call a quaint drawing room. Heavy blue
drapes framed the window that looked out over the street and several clusters
of fresh flowers sat on all the various wooden surfaces. Had they been bought
for her by a lover?
    He
forced himself to concentrate on the task at hand—coaxing her back.
    She
clasped her hands in front of her and faced him. “Can I get you a drink?”
    “No.”
He stepped forwards and tried to take her into his arms, but she shied away. His Jo-Jo shied away. What in the hell was going on? She always melted as soon as
he touched her.
    “What
are you doing?” she hissed.
    “Don’t
be like that, Jo-Jo...”
    “Dante,
you cannot just touch me however you please.” She bit her lip. “Not anymore.”
    He
slashed a hand through his hair. “Look, I cannot claim to understand what’s
going on here, but if this is you trying to teach me a lesson—” he released a
laugh “—consider it learned. I miss you. I need you back, sweeting. Come back
to the house, and I will make more of an effort to be home on time. I’ll
change, I swear it.”
    Josephine
eyed him and shook her head slowly. “You’ve not learned a thing. Forgive me,
but I cannot return. I am content here.”
    “Content?
How can you be content in this small house? Even the furnishings are basic.
Return to the house, and we can talk about this properly.”
    Chin
lifted, she shook her head again. “There is nothing to talk about. I’m staying
here. I do not wish to be your mistress anymore.”
    Those
words...Lord, how they struck him in the chest. He’d hoped this was all some
big mistake. She was simply trying to make him want her more or something. But
no. He knew from her expression and strong stance that Josephine truly meant
what she said. She wished to end their relationship.
    The
temptation to storm away and lose himself to drink created a deep ache in his
gut. But before he drowned his sorrows he needed answers.
    “Is
there someone else?”
    “No, of
course not.”
    She
wasn’t lying. Josephine hadn’t suddenly conjured up the ability to tell
falsehoods it seemed. Her voice remained steady, her gaze firm. He’d seen her
try to lie to him once or twice—usually about wanting him. He’d caught her
admiring him at an inappropriate moment and had dragged the confession from her
later. You want me , he would say. No , would always be her
response. But before long she would be soft in his arms, begging for more.
    “How
the devil are you even funding this place?”
    Red
patches appeared high on her cheeks. “I am not destitute. In fact, I have
sold—”
    “Goddamn
it, the jewellery I gave you?” Of course, he had given her a fortune in jewels.
Why had he not figured it out before? She intended to fund her new life with
his gifts. Damn her. He didn’t begrudge the money or the jewels but to be so underhanded...
    “No!”
Her eyes widened, and she unfolded her arms to clench her hands by her side. “I
left them in the safe. You know me better than that surely?”
    He did.
He really did. But Josephine leaving, moving out, and declaring she did not
want him...He couldn’t fathom it. It had addled his wits. Up was down, and down
was up. Few things in his life were certain. Being the second son of a marquess
tended to leave one rather aimless and uncertain. But Josephine...for the past
four years she had been his anchor. She carried him through every stormy event.
    Now he
was lost at sea.
    Dante
drew in a breath, held it, and expelled it slowly.