Lady of Seduction by Laurel McKee Page A

nothing like this in her safe life of Dublin libraries. He would see that she was returned in one piece to her life
     as soon as possible.
    They turned a sharp corner, and Caroline’s boot suddenly slipped on the wet gravel. Her hand slid from his as she tumbled
     toward the edge of the path—and the sea below.
    Panic seized Grant, cold and furious, and he lunged forward to seize her around the waist.
    For an instant, they both hung suspended over the roilingabyss, halfway between life and death. Then he pulled them back to the precarious safety of the path. He pressed his back
     to the cliff and held Caroline close against him.
    She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he could hear the frightened catch of her breath.
    I won’t hurt you again, Caroline
, he thought. She was the one drop of goodness he had seen in his life, and he didn’t want to lose that. Even if she was far
     from him, she had to be there in the world.
    “Are you well?” he said against her ear.
    She nodded but still held on to him.
    “Let’s get back to the castle then,” he said. “You’ll catch a cold.”
    “Better that than falling into the sea again,” she said.
    They quickly made their way down to the rocky beach. Grant led Caroline around the path that led back to the steps of the
     castle. They didn’t speak again until they stepped into the empty foyer.
    The echoing silence of the house was deafening after the howl of the storm. Grant shook back his wet hair and slumped against
     the wall. Caroline wrapped her arms around her waist, shivering. She looked exhausted, and self-loathing rose up in Grant
     again.
    “Have you had enough of adventure yet, Caroline?” he said.
    She laughed and reached behind her to ring out the sodden braid of her hair. The movement pulled the wet fabric of her bodice
     close to her breasts, outlining their soft shape and the darkness of her erect nipples. Grant tore his stare away from them.
    “I have had enough of being cold and soaked to the skin,” she said. “But adventures—I don’t know. I think Icould get used to them. It’s certainly a change from having adventures only in books.”
    “Books are a great deal safer.”
    “Oh, I don’t know,” she said. Grant glanced back at her to find her bright, avid gaze focused on him. “There must be something
     very dangerous indeed in one book—
The Chronicle of Kildare.
”
    Before he could answer her, Mrs. McCann came bustling in with her keys jangling. She took in their pitiful, soaked state with
     astonishment.
    “Sir Grant?” she said. “I thought you were in the library, my lady.”
    Grant pushed himself away from the wall and gave the housekeeper a warning look. “It seems our houseguest was not being looked
     after and decided to go wandering, Mrs. McCann.”
    Mrs. McCann flushed. “Her ladyship said she did not require anything else, and Maeve has many duties to see to.”
    “Well, now I think I require a hot bath and a copious number of towels,” Caroline said. “I’m sorry for the trouble I caused.
     I will just go back up to my chamber now.”
    She hurried to the stairs and dashed up them, leaving behind a small puddle of rainwater from her hem at every step. At the
     landing, she stopped and looked back down at him.
    “Thank you for saving me, Grant,” she said. “Again.” Then she disappeared, her footsteps fading until he heard the faraway
     slam of her bedroom door.
    Grant turned back to Mrs. McCann, who watched him with a stern but worried frown. “She can’t be allowed to wander around,”
     he said.
    “There are very few servants here, Sir Grant, as youknow,” she said. “None of us has the time or training to be a guard, especially to a fine lady.”
    Grant saw her message—if he wanted Caroline kept close and safe he would have to do it himself.
    “Go and see to her now,” he said. “Perhaps she will join me for dinner, and we can come to an understanding for her visit.”
    He followed Caroline up the