Dangerous to Love by Elizabeth Thornton

eyes flashed at the threat. “I was innocent, once, before I met you.”
    He shrugged and pulled out a chair. “That is what I wish to discuss with you. Sit, Victoria, or I shall be forced to make you sit.”
    In pent-up silence, she stalked to the chair he held for her. With one disdainful glare, she seated herself. Calm and dignity, she belatedly decided, those were her best weapons. The silence lengthened. Finally, she looked up at him.
    When he saw that he had her attention, he smiled. “I have been exercising my mind,” he said, “to try and discover what Serena Ward, baronet’s daughter, was doing at The Thatched Tavern, and why she would surrender her virtue to the first man she chanced upon.”
    His words kindled a spark of alarm. She had more to fear than the loss of her reputation. A moment’s reflection steadied her. He was curious, but he could not prove anything.
    “Answer me.”
    She bristled at the command. “I did not surrender my virtue. It was stolen from me.”
    His sigh was exaggerated. “Somehow, I just knew you were going to take this tack. That is not how I remember it.”
    Her dignity was unshakable. “I can only repeat, I did not surrender. I fought you tooth and nail.”
    “Come now, Victoria. We both know that is a blatant untruth.”
    There was acid in the sweet smile she bestowed on him. “And we both know that you are an unconscionable libertine with a penchant for innocent young girls. Well, I give you fair warning, Julian Raynor. You had better stayaway from my young sister or I shall lay charges against you.”
    He stared at her, an eloquent tension gripping his features. “Now what maggot have you got in your brain? I am not a libertine, nor do I have a penchant for innocent young girls, least of all your sister.”
    “Why should I believe you when I distinctly remember that you tried to steer
me
into a life of debauchery? And I was an innocent, was I not?”
    “Hardly debauchery. I asked you to be my mistress.”
    “An honorable offer, I’m sure,” she said, and sniffed.
    “At the time, I did not know who you were. I took you for an actress.”
    She pounced on this. “Hah! Your own words condemn you, sir, for you are admitting that you prey on weak, defenseless women.”
    His eyes lightened with reluctant laughter. “Now that is where you are wrong, Victoria. It never once entered my head that you were a weak, defenseless woman. But we are digressing. Why me? That is what I want to know. And where was your escort?”
    Her hands curled into fists. His indolent manner, his mockery, and his careless and totally erroneous assumptions touched her to the quick. Calm and dignity, she reminded herself.
    “What are you implying? That I was overtaken with a sudden infatuation the moment I set eyes on you? That I find you irresistible? If you must know, you have the opposite effect on me.”
    “What effect is that?” he asked politely.
    She searched for words to express herself. “You make me so uncomfortable that I can never be in the same room with you but I am overcome with the strongest urge to take to my heels.”
    She had heaped abuse on him, and he stood therelaughing at her. Calm and dignity were forgotten as she sprang to her feet. Burning with indignation, she made to stalk past him only to be forcibly restrained when his hands cupped her shoulders, wrenching her round.
    Unsmiling, he said, “I would advise you to curb that temper of yours. Now, answer my questions. What were you doing at The Thatched Tavern? Where was your escort, and why did you play out that little charade for me?”
    Once, when she was learning to ride, her mount had got the bit between its teeth and had bolted with her. The experience of conversing with Julian Raynor reminded her of that harrowing ride. There was no restraining him once he got an idea in his head.
    Shrugging out of his grasp, she took a careful step backward. “It is not so unusual a thing for ladies of fashion to amuse