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“There is nothing nice about you, Mister Corey.”
He smiled and in that smooth, half-mocking voice that only added to his magnetism, said, “You can be cruel. Anybody ever tell you that? Real cruel.”
“I have had excellent tutors,” Ellen coldly informed him.
“Well, if that were the case, why didn’t you…?”
“Don’t start with me! You know nothing of my life or the circumstances that govern it and I will not be appraised by a common carnival barker!”
For a long moment Mister Corey said nothing as he watched the expression on her face. When he spoke, it was in low, soft tones. “We live not as we wish to, but as we can. Or so the philosopher says.”
“Really?” she answered hatefully. “And if I want to hear any more of your trite little platitudes, I’ll be sure to let you know.” She gave him a smug look, pleased with herself.
But as usual, he surprised her. Leaning close, he said, “What about when you want me to kiss you again? Will you let me know?”
“Oh! That will never happen, I assure you. I did not want you to kiss me that morning at the station. And the day will never come when I do want you to kiss me!”
“What about the night?”
“Neither morning, noon or night. Not ever.”
He grinned wickedly. “Say that to me again in twenty-four hours.”
“Gladly!”
Nan Ryan “brings us a hot story with the unique flavors of New Orleans, heated passion, mystery and the spice of her signature sensuality.”
—Romantic Times on The Countess Misbehaves
Also available from MIRA Books and
NAN RYAN
WANTING YOU
THE COUNTESS MISBEHAVES
THE SCANDALOUS MISS HOWARD
The Seduction of Ellen
Nan Ryan
For
my dear sister Glenda Henderson Howard
With love, affection and most of all,
gratitude for being there with me during the bad times as well as the good.
Contents
One
London, England
Early April 1899
It was growing dark when Ellen Cornelius stepped down from the hired coach before a gloomy tenement house in London’s West End. Ellen gazed at the dilapidated building and inwardly shuddered. She did not want to go inside.