Free if hes wicked by Hannah Howell

Thinking of how Chloe would soon be smiling and dancing with men eager to savor her charms only soured his mood more. He had no right to
    feel that way as he was stil a married man, but that stern reminder did not kil the feeling.
    “Only a week to wait,” he told himself. “One more week and I can join in this game.” And maybe even steal a dance with Chloe , he thought with a
    faint smile as he closed his eyes.

    Chloe stood behind a set of heavy drapes in a tiny library. The Paxtons were obviously not the bookish sort, she mused as she vainly tried to
    scratch an itch at her waist. Unfortunately, the heavy material of the dress and the corset she wore beneath it were making it impossible. She truly hated
    coming to these affairs, she decided. If she heard one more man speak of the great hunt he had attended or one more woman slander another with
    honey-sweet words, she would scream. The only thing that kept her from doing so was the knowledge that it would hurt Leo in many ways. It would also
    make it difficult for her to hostess his occasional dinners and gatherings, and she liked doing that. His friends did not treat her as if she were some lack-witted dol whose only purpose upon this earth was to smile and look pretty. Sadly, none of those people had attended this gathering, nor had any of her
    relatives besides Leo.
    Making herself comfortable on the narrow bench beneath the window, Chloe savored the cool air the heavy curtains blocked from the room. Her
    thoughts immediately turned to Julian and a smile curved her lips when she recal ed how he had looked at her tonight. That one hot look from his beautiful
    green eyes had given her the confidence needed to face this interminable evening.
    He was far too attractive for any woman’s peace of mind, she decided. Chloe had to admit that it was not just his fine looks that stirred something
    strong and hot within her, however. She had the sinking feeling she was coming to care for the man, and that way lurked disaster. He was a married man,
    and the fact that his wife was trying to kil him, had betrayed him again and again, and that the marriage was nothing but names on a paper, did not
    change that. He was also far above the touch of a penniless, cast-off daughter of a knight. She suspected the man held some very poor opinions of
    women, too. Unfair, but understandable. She suspected that if a man had done to her what Beatrice had done to him, she, too, would find it hard to trust
    any man again. Sad to say, that knowledge and al the good sense she could muster did not halt what appeared to be a rapidly growing infatuation.
    The sound of a door opening and shutting startled Chloe out of her thoughts. Her moment of solitude was over. Even as she started to get up, two
    men began to speak and she went very stil . The name mentioned by one of the men was enough to make her sit back down and pray that she would
    remain unseen.
    “You ask too much, Arthur,” said a man with a low, trembling voice.
    “Rubbish. I but ask you to do a smal favor for a friend, Conrad.”
    “You are no friend of mine.”
    “No? Is it not a true measure of friendship to keep a man’s secrets? And I do keep your secrets, Conrad. Or do you no longer care if that sweet girl
    you are betrothed to finds out about your lover? How is young George, by the way?”
    “Bastard.”
    “Tsk. Name-cal ing is so beneath you.”
    “What you are asking me to do could get me hanged.”
    “So could what you are doing with young George.”
    There was a long heavy silence, broken only by the harsh breathing of one of the men. Chloe assumed it was Conrad. Arthur’s voice had
    remained cool throughout the exchange. She wished they would say exactly what was going to be done.
    “This is the last thing I wil do for you, Arthur. The very last.”
    A moment later, the door slammed. Chloe stood up, intending to step out of her hiding place, when she realized she had only heard one set of
    footsteps. A chil went