Free Something Reckless by Jess Michaels

the day? No Cyprian ball or courtesan’s bed or erotic opera could be going on now, could it? If any of those things were, she wasn’t sure she could bear them in her present state.
    “Yes.” He nodded. “Will you do me the honor of riding with me? Come to my home.”
    Penelope staggered away from him a step. “To your home? No, that would be utterly improper. Your reputation, our being alone together. If that were discovered…”
    He frowned. “I would insure we weren’t seen, Penelope. I’ll protect you.”
    Penelope sucked in a harsh breath. Protect her. That was the one thing she couldn’t afford to believe, that this man could be her protector. And she found, now that it had been said, that it was the one thing she wanted, perhaps more than anything else in the world.
    She hadn’t had a true friend, a real confidante, since…since she and her sister broke faith years before. And that had been because of a man almost exactly like the one standing before her. Yet now, looking at Jeremy, she felt like she could whisper her most intimate secrets to him and find no judgment. She could tell him her pains and be comforted.
    And no matter how much she tried to convince herself that those appearances were nothing more than an illusion, she couldn’t bring herself to break from him, as she knew she should.
    “You promise that you will not let me be seen?” she whispered.
    He hesitated, then nodded. “I do.”
    Her head dipped. She was defeated by her own secret desires and a loneliness that felt so keen when she was near this man. “Very well. I will gather up my wrap and we can go now, if you would like.”
     
    Jeremy glanced down surreptitiously at the hand Penelope had slipped into the crook of his arm after he snuck her into the back servant door of his opulent London estate. She seemed so-so fragile today. Shaken and quiet as they rode in his carriage to his estate. She had barely met his gaze the entire time they were together.
    He supposed he should take pride in that fact. It was perfectly clear that he was breaking her every time he exposed her to the erotic and she responded with muted arousal. And his anonymous letters moved her, as well. He was certain of it. Now it was almost time to progress to the final stage of his plan.
    And yet, he felt no pride. Looking at her, so pale and quiet, feeling her cling to his arm as if she thought he would support her, he felt… guilty .
    And that was not an experience he’d ever had before. Certainly not associated with a woman. His life was his to lead. He’d never led it thinking much of other people. If they didn’t like him, they could move out of his way. If they were hurt by his actions, that was their failing, not his own.
    But with Penelope everything was…different.
    “Why did you bring me here?” Penelope asked.
    Jeremy started. He’d been so tangled in his own confusing, unwelcome thoughts, he had forgotten his purpose. Well, he couldn’t allow for that. He couldn’t allow for Penelope’s strangeappeal to manipulate him into abandoning his sworn duty. He had some honor, although his promises were so dishonorable.
    “I wanted to show you something,” he said, letting go of her arm. Distancing himself was best. After all, he was supposed to be her convert, not her friend.
    She stared at him for a brief moment, then broke the gaze with a blush as she forced her hands behind her back. “What is it?”
    “I will, of course, be ridding myself of these things shortly, but before I did, I thought you would want to see them. They represent all you fight against,” he said as he stopped in front of a door.
    Penelope tilted her head in question, but before she could speak, Jeremy gave a push and the door swung open, revealing his private gallery.
    Penelope stepped past him, her mouth slightly open as she moved into the large, sunny room. Jeremy shut the door behind them and leaned back against it, watching her as she stared in awe at what she