Free Tonight or Never by Dara Joy

with women! There wasn't a chance he would overlook the small… inconvenience.
    A line furrowed the center of her smooth forehead. She had to come up with a plan and quickly!
    Her heart hammered in her chest as she gazed up at him. John was put together like a work of art… what would it be like to touch him as she had always wanted to?
    She squelched the image immediately; she didn't have time now to fantasize, either.
    Anyway, her fantasies were about to become a reality. She needed a plan!
    "What do you want?"
    As if he read her libidinous thoughts, he rejoined silkily, "Go and find your grandmother, sweet."
    "What for?"
    "Tell her not to put too many herbs in the bouquet… we won't be needing them." The captivating green eyes sparkled with blatant implication. All sexual.
    Chloe had never seen that suggestion on John's face.
    Oh, well . Add it to the growing list of intriguing expressions he had been sending her way lately.
    All things considered, she supposed she had asked for it. More than asked for it.
    She had fought for it.
    Her palms got moist. She rubbed them on the front of her gown. She needed a plan! Inhaling deeply, she gathered her frayed nerves. It was just a first night—nothing to be alarmed about.
    The one positive aspect of her intended's vast experience was that he would make it as enjoyable for her as he could.
    In that regard, she had complete confidence in John. His capabilities were legendary.
    The other little matter, though, needed some tending.
    How do I stop him from discovering it?
    Getting him inebriated was out of the question. John had an amazing capacity to hold his drink, and something told her he would not be persuaded to overimbibe today.
    Finding Grandmere might not be such a bad idea; perhaps she could lure her into divulging some boudoir secrets that would allow Chloe to come up with a workable plan.
    She would have to be extremely careful; Grandmere must not suspect her real reason for seeking such advice. The countess might not readily accept that her granddaughter was trying to hide from her new husband the fact that she was untouched. Chloe had no intentions of explaining the strange business.
    Course of action settled, she elected to hide her present nervousness with brashness. She placed her hands on her hips. "You might help with the guests, John, instead of standing there like a stallion on loan to stud!"
    His jaw dropped. He couldn't believe his ears. " Chloe ."
    Chloe squirmed out from under a pile of clothes and pushed past the dumbstruck viscount. "I'm very busy, John; I don't have time for this." She neglected to clarify exactly what "this" was.
    "The ceremony is in two hours." She pointed a stern finger at him as she headed out the door. "I expect you to be ready and… and… prepared."
    With those cryptic words, she disappeared from view.
    John watched her leave with a knowing glint in his eyes. He idly wondered if she had any idea how prepared a stallion he could be.
     
    Chloe found her grandmother in the conservatory.
    It was a truly beautiful room and Chloe's favorite. No matter the weather outside, plants and flowers bloomed profusely inside the glass walls of this airy space.
    Her grandmother was something of an amateur perfumer, having been intrigued from an early age by the stimulating and enticing powers assigned to the efflorescence of plants. The lands around her ancestral estate flourished with these plantings, and the family had sponsored their own perfumery for ages.
    Here in
England, she grew many aromatic varieties; roses, true myrtle, jasmine, and, of course, French lavender.
    The countess also took great pleasure in concocting fragrant oils for the skin and bath. Scores of the little odd-shaped bottles lined the stone floor of the room.
    Chloe was especially fond of a scent Grandmere had made just for her, containing jasmine, tuberose, and lilac oil, with a hint of exotic spice. Apparently John was fond of it too, for he had commented on it on more