The Earl's Outrageous Lover Read Online Free

was still bustling with activity.
    “I need to speak with Jessica Mallory,” Edward said with menacing authority to the first officer he ran into.
    The officer immediately smiled at Edwards comment, then burst out laughing.  “You and all the rest of us!”  he guffawed.  “She’s in the back robbing us blind.”  The man turned around and pointed to a back door.  “Go through there.  And have your money out.  You’re gonna need it,” he said with another snicker as he moved through the cubicles towards another door.
    Tony and Edward looked at each other with confusion.  Tony shrugged and led the way, walking through the door the officer had indicated.  When both men entered the conference room, six other officers all turned around with equally irritated expressions at being disturbed.  There was only one female face and Edward felt like he’d been punched in the gut when she lifted her head and smiled towards him.
    “Who the hell are you?”  one of the officers asked belligerently.
    Tony stepped forward with all of his lawyerly mannerisms.  “I’m here to represent Ms. Mallory.  Please explain the charges against her and why there are so many men interrogating her at once.”
    There was a moment of stunned silence, then as one, all six police officers burst out laughing.  The woman was also smiling but she stood up and placed her cards on the table quietly, putting a gentle hand on the two officers nearest to her until they quieted once again.  “I’m Jessica Mallory.  And I believe there’s some confusion here.”  She looked to Tony, narrowing her eyes before she shook her head.  “You’re not Edward.”  She glanced behind Tony to survey Edward, taking in his tall, muscular appearance with the angry, irritated expression and nodded.  "You’re Edward Livingston, right?”
    Edward stepped forward and examined the woman standing on the other side of the table.  “You’re Jessica Mallory?”  he demanded.
    She smiled brightly and nodded her head.  Edward couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  Could this bright, beautiful woman really be so outrageous that she was arrested as soon as she’d walked out of the airport?
    “What are you being charged with?”  he asked, more gently now that he’d seen her.  Her curls bounced around her face and her eyes danced in….amusement?  She was stunningly beautiful and something happened to his stomach when her smile widened.  His eyes even traveled down her figure, pretending to check for abuse or handcuffs, but all he saw was a knockout figure in a white, peasant blouse and jeans that hugged her figure.  She wasn’t tall, was in fact significantly shorter than the officers who stood up as if they were trying to protect her.
    “The lady isn’t in any trouble, my lord,” one of the officers stated firmly.  “In fact, most of us are in trouble so if you’d like to take her off of our hands, we might end up with a few bucks in our pockets tonight when we head home.
    Edward’s eyes snapped from the woman to the table.  Sure enough, there was a poker game going on.  And most of the money was sitting right in front of the lady in question.
    Jessica’s eyes went from smiling to worried as she looked around.  “I’m not really going to keep all of this,” she declared.  “We were just having some fun.  You all need to take back your money.”  She pushed it all into the center of the table, mixing it in with the pot that had been building from the most recent round.  “Besides, I was going to win that pot as well,” she said and turned her cards over to show three kings.
    Six men stared in horror at her cards, ending in groans and guffaws as they smacked each other on the back, arguing on how they were going to split the money now that Jessica had comingled all of the funds.
    She noticed Edward’s thunderous expression and knew that she needed to get out of this situation quickly so she could diffuse his anger somewhat.