D2D_Poison or Protect (19 page)

“I’ve given over assassinations for the time being.”

“Suit yourself.” He began shifting her up his body, licking down to her breasts and stomach.
She tastes like peaches, too.

“Although I might have agreed to train a friend. We will have to return to London occasionally.”

“If we must.” He delved lower, and her voice stuttered as her breathing altered. Then he realized what she’d just said. He lifted her back down to sit on his chest. “Train? Train who?”

“Miss Pagril.”

“What!”

“She’ll need it more than most.”

“She’s only a wee lass.”

“Exactly.”

“Weel.” He paused to consider. He supposed it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if the young miss had some skill in sneaking about. “I see your point. But could we leave Miss Pagril out of matters for the moment?” His tone was plaintive.

She laughed, wriggled off him, and jumped out of bed, pulling the long, filmy gown over her head.

“Come along, then. I believe there was mention of testing the efficaciousness of kneeling, beards, and tongues.”

She was perfect, and she was waiting for him. So, Gavin went and knelt, presenting the beard and the tongue in equal measure for her assessment.

Preshea was very exacting, and she did get prickled. Later, much later, he did go find a cooling cloth. At which point she said sleepily that she didn’t mind. And wondered if she would like Scotland.

Gavin told her she would love it. For Scotland, being both ruthless and beautiful, appreciated both in others.

She gave a tiny sigh and curled against him. “I do love you. It’s a most peculiar sensation. Not unlike the beard. A great deal of pleasure is to be had, but I know it will likely hurt in the end.”

“Look at it from my perspective,” he teased.

“I did. That’s why I stayed away so long. Then I decided it was unfair. I wasn’t allowing you your choice.”

“Wise lass. I intend to be particularly good at loving you.”

And he was.

And Preshea learned to be quite good at loving him, in due time.

And Gavin never again forgot to shave of an evening.

Thank you so much for picking up
Poison or Protect
. If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review. I’m grateful for the time you take to do so.

I have a silly gossipy newsletter called the
Monthly Chirrup
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If you’d like to know when my next book releases, that newsletter is best. If you are not inclined to chirrup, I’ve a fun
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You’ve just read a stand-alone story set in the Parasol Protectorate universe. Characters cross between most of my scribbles. You could play a rousing game of Where’s Lord Akeldama? I hope you enjoy them all!

The Delightfully Deadly
series: stand-alone romance novellas

(proper, stealthy lady assassins)

The Finishing School
series: 4 young adult novels beginning with
Etiquette & Espionage
(spies, girl power, and flying food)

The Parasol Protectorate
series: 5 novels beginning with
Soulless

(adventure, romance, silly hats)

The Custard Protocol
series: spin-off, begins with
Prudence

(world travel, romance, stolen tea)

The Curious Case of the Werewolf That Wasn’t
:

a short story set in steampunk Regency Egypt

(featuring one sexy and rather unpleasant Italian)

Marine Biology
: an LGBT shifter comedy romance short story

(with geeky werewolves and hot mermen)

Fairy Debt
: a YA comedy girl power short story

(with dragons and cupcakes)

My Sister’s Song
: a high fantasy historical short story

(warrior woman takes on a Roman legion alone)

New York Times
bestselling author Gail Carriger writes to cope with being raised in obscurity by an expatriate Brit and an incurable curmudgeon. She escaped small-town life and inadvertently acquired several degrees in higher learning, a fondness for cephalopods, and a chronic tea habit. She then traveled the historic cities of Europe, subsisting entirely on biscuits secreted in her handbag. She resides in the Colonies, surrounded by fantastic shoes, where she insists on tea imported from London.

www.GailCarriger.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, used in a fictitious manner, or in the public domain. Any resemblance to actual events or actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

WARNING

This story may contain sexually explicit situations of a romantic and carnal nature between members of the same sex, opposite sex, or both. If love (in its many forms) and love’s consequences (in even more varied forms) are likely to offend, please do not read this book. Miss Carriger has a young adult quartet, the Finishing School series, that may be more to your taste. Thank you for your understanding, self-awareness, and self-control.

Copyright © 2016 by Gail Carriger, LLC

Cover photo ©
Perry Gallagher
. All rights reserved.

Corset by
Dark Garden Corsetry & Couture

Cover © 2016 by Gail Carriger, LLC, assembled by
Starla Huchton

Digital Formatting by
Seaside Publications

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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, including the right to reproduce this book, or any portion thereof, in any form.

This book is for your personal enjoyment only. If you are reading this book and it was not purchased for your use, then please purchase your own copy.

In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the uploading, torrenting, or electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting [email protected].

The author strives to ensure her self-published works are available as widely as possible and at a price commensurate with her ability to earn a living. Thank you for respecting her hard work.

ISBN: 978-1-944751-04-3