This was exactly what he knew she needed, and exactly what the sly Marcus had successfully arranged, even if it had happened half by accident, half by the intervention of some benevolent deity. He could grumble all he wanted about the outcome, how Marcus and the girl had triumphed over his objections, but the fact remained that he found Lisle a test of a new way of life, a stimulating one as well. For the first time in a number of years, stretching far back to his slave trader days, he felt his blood rush and a passionate yearning ramp up a bit of genuine desire. She was as easy as any woman he’d conquered in the old days and twice as hard to master. He had no real hold on her; she could split any moment and he’d have no clout to bring her back. In essence she was a free woman. Rather than
