The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo (Victorian Rebels, #6)(102)

His haughty brow wrinkled. “I ken nothing about this Reno.”

“Well, I do, which is why I’m not impressed.” As unimpressed as she was, she still slid her hand into the bag comforting herself with the feel of her pistol.

The earl stepped forward, and Samantha forgot what she’d been taught over the years. Never yield ground to the aggressor.

She yielded to him, stepping back to maintain their distance, to avoid his touch. His proximity. His earthy, intoxicating scent. Something that reminded her of a loamy forest and cedar soap.

“I brought these men to pay ye, lass.” He gestured behind him with measured movements. “This is my solicitor, Mr. Roy Mackenzie.” He pointed at the kind-faced, rotund man, who nodded and blushed. “And my banker, John Douglass.”

The thin man sniffed his disdain.

She sniffed hers right back. “I apologize for your wasted trip, gentlemen.”

She would have taken her leave had the Earl of Thorne not gripped her elbow once again. “If my aim was to frighten ye, bonny, ye’d be terrified.” He sneered, and then gentled his grip, as though his behavior had shocked himself more than it had her. “I’ll do whatever it takes to convince ye to yield. Ye’ll be pleased to find, Miss Ross, that I do nothing by half measures.” The gleam in his eyes was now decidedly more sensual than sinister.

“How nice for you.” She flashed him a taut smile. He might be handsome as the devil, but she’d be damned before she’d let him charm her.

She knew better.

And that knowledge was hard-won.