Redeeming Jack (36 page)
Her mouth worked and she swallowed twice before she was able to speak. “I’m well aware of how heavy the clock is, Your Grace. I am the one holding it, after all. My brothers taught me how to throw properly when I was a little girl, and I’m quite capable of hitting my target.”
Her brave statement impressed him more than he cared to admit. Any other woman of his acquaintance would have been in floods of tears by now, not calmly threatening to brain him with his own clock. He fought an absurd desire to laugh.
“Well, if you wish to throw something at me, please go ahead.”
He advanced a step toward her, one hand held out, and then froze as she drew her arm back.
“I don’t think I could kill you, even though you deserve it. They would probably behead me at the Tower if I murdered a duke.” She eyed him with great consideration as though he were a paper target. “No, I think if I winged you, it would be enough to stop you from following me.”
Gervase laughed then and took another step forward. “Stop this foolishness, my dear. Give me the clock and we will talk. You have my word I won’t lay a finger on you.”
She took aim as he crossed the carpeted space between them and the heavy clock connected with his shoulder, ripping his dressing gown and making him reel backward.
“That,” he said with deep appreciation, “was indeed an excellent shot.” The shocking pain caught him unawares and he staggered to the side and fell against the marble mantelpiece, striking his head.
Eventually, he heard his valet’s worried voice over the roaring in his ears. When Jacques bent over him, Gervase managed to grasp his sleeve.
“Don’t let her leave.”
Jacques’s voice sounded puzzled and increasingly faint. “Who, Your Grace? You are the only person here.”
Excerpts from all my other books can be found at
http://www.katepearce.com
Eden’s Pleasure
Antonia’s Bargain
Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?
Roping the Wind
Planet Mail
Secured Mail
Riding The Line
Simply Sexual
Simply Sinful
Simply Shameless
Simply Wicked
Lords Of Passion
Simply Insatiable
Some Like It Rough
Simply Forbidden
The Ties That Bind
Kiss of the Rose
Blood of the Rose
Raw Desire
Mark of the Rose
Simply Carnal
Educating Elizabeth
Captive Mail
Simply Voracious
Simply Scandalous
Soul Sucker
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Award winning author, Kate Pearce was born into a large family of girls in England, and spent much of her childhood living very happily in a dream world. Despite being told that she really needed to “get with the program”, she graduated from the University College of Wales with an honors degree in history.
A move to the USA finally allowed her to fulfill her dreams and sit down and write her first romance novel. Along with being a voracious reader, Kate loves trail riding with her family, “western style” in the regional parks of Northern California. Kate is a member of RWA and is published by NAL Signet Eclipse, Kensington Aphrodisia, Ellora’s Cave, Cleis Press, Carina Press and Virgin Black Lace/Cheek.
Visit Kate on her website
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Redeeming Jack
Copyright
© 2012 by Kate Pearce
Cover by
Dara England
Formatted by
Nadia Lee
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.