Sins of a Wicked Princess by Anna Randol Read Free Book Online Page B

perched in the space near the ceiling like a gargoyle. “Bed?” he finished.
    “I hate you.”
    “Good. I’m not precisely a fellow you should be fond of.” He swung off the bed and landed inches from her. “The other street urchins would mock me mercilessly.” He reached out and pulled the hem of her shirt lose from her trousers.
    She stumbled back, her heart hammering. “What do you think you are doing?”
    He didn’t even look distracted. “I have given this a good deal of thought. There are many methods of thievery. I think your best option will be to brazen it out.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “You simply walk into the room where the documents are being held.”
    “That is insane.” Obviously, she shouldn’t have relied on him. That was worse than any plan she could have made on her own.
    “It works far better than you think. My job for the next week will be to teach you not to betray yourself. And how to pick any locks you might encounter.”
    “Wouldn’t it be better if I dressed as a maid and—”
    “How will you explain why you’re dressed as a maid if you’re caught?”
    “I don’t think—”
    “That’s exactly it. You don’t think.” He leaned against her bedpost. “At least not like a criminal. You think like someone who wants to pretend to be a criminal. Two vastly different things.”
    He might have a point. She’d seen plenty of people ape being a princess and she didn’t look a thing like that. At least she hoped not.
    “I want you to put on the exact dress you will wear the night you plan to retrieve the letters.”
    “I have no idea what I will be wearing.”
    “Pick one.”
    “It isn’t that simple.”
    “It is. You’re a princess. Simply order your servant to bring you a certain dress.”
    He thought she was naive. “It will be a house party. There will be a dozen variables. The venue of the meal, the color of the hostess’s gown, the color of my escort’s waistcoat, whether there will be dancing afterward.”
    He shrugged, an elegant motion that brought her eyes back to the broad strength of his shoulders. “Then pick the worst possible one you could be wearing.”
    She sorted through all her dresses in her mind. “Fine.” She made it as far as her dressing room before she stopped. “I won’t be able to get into the dress on my own. And I can hardly call my maid in to help.”
    “I’ll help.”
    Why that— “ Lecher! ” She hissed. Was that why he’d asked her to change her clothing? “You already saw me nearly nude. Wasn’t that enough?”
    His drawl was like satin over her skin. “Not nearly.”
    She threw her slipper at him. “Well, it’s all you’re going to get.”
    He prowled closer. “So you’re going to tell your maid you’ve decided to sleep in your clothes every night? Prudery is one of the first things that need to go when someone embarks on a life of crime.”
    She wanted to clear that smug look from his handsome face. “You’re right.”
    He paused. “I am?”
    “Yes, but I warn you, I’m completely naked under this.” She reached up and slowly untied the bow that held the shirt closed at the top. It fell open, resting on the swells of her breasts. She took a deep breath, causing it to slip even further.
    “Does it always take you this long to get undressed? No wonder you need a maid.”
    Oh!
    Juliana stepped into her dressing room and out of sight before she tugged off the rest of her clothing.
    I an was going to go mad. It was as simple as that. That had been a juvenile taunt, but his other option had been to take her royal virginity against the wall.
    Damn, but she was rather glorious when she was flustered.
    Even more so when she was angry.
    In the throes of passion she must be—
    “Are you all right?” Juliana called out. “Did you just groan?”
    Certainly not.
    She emerged a few minutes later completely swathed in a white linen night rail.
    Her full lips tilted like a cat’s. “I’ll take the letters at