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"Go to the devil," she said in a low voice, and sprang to her feet She had taken only two strides before he caught her from behind "Don’t touchher easily His hands closed over her slender upper arh the thin muslin of her sleeves As he held her, the innocent scent of lavender water rose to his nostrils There was a faint dusting of talc at the base of her throat The fragrance of her reminded Leo of a freshly made bed with pressed sheets And oh, hoanted to slip into her

"You have too many secrets, Marks You’ve been a thorn in ue and your mysterious past Noant soe?"

Her fine brows, several shades darker than her hair, gathered in a scowl "Why don’t you ask him?"

"I’ve asked you " Met with her mulish silence, Leo decided to provoke her "Were you a different kind of wo your lures at him But we both know you don’t have any lures, don’t we?"

"If I did, I certainly wouldn’t use them on you!"

"Come, Marks, let’s attempt a civil conversation Just this once"

"Not until you take your hands off me"

"No, you’d only run And it’s too hot to chase after you"

Catherine bristled and pushed at hiainst his chest Her body was neatly packaged in stays and laces and countless yards of ht of as beneath … pink and white skin, soft curves, intih her, as if she could read his thoughts Leo stared down at her intently His voice softened "Are you afraid of eon and cut me down to size at every opportunity?"

"Of course not, you arrogant ass I only wish you would behave like a man of your station"

"You ly "This is how peers behave I’m surprised you haven’t noticed by now"

"Oh, I’ve noticed A h to inherit a title should have the decency to try and live up to it Being a peer is an obligation--a responsibility--but instead you seeent and disgusting behavior iinable Moreover--"

"Marks," Leo interrupted in a velvety tone, "that was a perfectly wonderful atte to work You’re not getting away from me until you tell me what I want to know"

She sed hard and tried to look everywhere but at hiht in front of her "The reason I was talking privately with Mr Rutledge … the scene you witnessed…"

"Yes?"

"It was because … Harry Rutledge is my brother Half brother"

Leo stared at her downbent head, trying to absorb the infornited a bonfire of rage Holy hell Marks and Harry Rutledge were siblings?

"There could be no good reason," Leo said, "for such information to have been kept secret"

"The situation is co before now?"

"You don’t need to know"

"You should have told ated"

"By what?"

"Loyalty, daht affect ?"

"It’s none of your business," Catherine shot back, noisting in his grip "LetIs Catherine Marks even your real nale in earnest "Hold still, you little she-devil I just want to’ouch!" This last as she turned and jabbed a sharp elbow in his side

The ht, but her spectacles went flying to the ground "My spectacles!" With an aggravated sigh, she dropped to her hands and knees and began feeling for theuilt From the looks of it, she was practically blind without the spectacles And the sight of her crawling on the groundto his knees, he began to hunt for them as well

"Did you see the direction they went in?" he asked

"If I did," she said, fu, "I wouldn’t need spectacles, would I?"

A short silence "I’ll help you find them"

"How kind of you," she said acidly

For the next few arden on their hands and knees, searching aristly silence as if it were a mutton chop

"So you actually need spectacles," Leo finally said