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Page 24

| to this man who seemed not to be a stranger at all to Ashton, Sasha jerked away from Ashton's possessive hold. Kneeling, she scooped the coins up into her hands, then straightened her back proudly and took it upon herself to drop the coins in the stranger's waistcoat pocket. |

| "Sir, I am barefoot by choice," she snapped. "Please take your coins and take leave of this pub. It seems you took a wrong turn when you entered. The hotels where whores would find your generosity and flamboyance amusing are just up the street." |

| Not swayed by either Ashton's or Sasha's rebuff, Stanford slipped his cigar from his pocket and lit it. He took a long drag from it, then gave Sasha a slow smile. "I find you much more fascinating than any whore I could pay to lift her skirts for the night," he said smoothly. "My dear, there are so many stories that I would like to amuse you with if you would so desire to listen." |

| Ashton circled his free hand into a tight fist at his side, tempted to let Lightning loose on this vain, damned persistent man. "Sasha doesn't need to hear any of your tall tales," he said, his jaw tight. It was taking all the willpower he could muster up not to slam a fist into Stanford's smug face. It was obvious what the con man was trying to do. He was going to get on Sasha's good side, eventually to get her to reveal secrets about Ashton Yorksecrets that Sasha did not even know and Ashton had hoped never to have to tell her! |

| "Sasha," Stanford said, delicately flicking the ash from his cigar. "What a lovely name. But of course it would be. A beautiful woman deserves a beautiful name." |

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