Sins of a Wicked Princess Read Online Free PDF

expense. “Isn’t this why you invited me?”
    “I—”
    “Don’t worry, most women can’t resist me. Though a princess is a first. I bedded a royal duchess once but never—”
    “Out.” This had been a foolish plan from the start. She knew nothing about him. Not even his name. If she’d gotten the impression that there was something noble lurking beneath his surface, she must have been blind. The man was a miscreant.
    “Then I must ask, why do you want me here?” He stood, but prowled closer. So close in fact that she could smell him, a hint of mint and ginger. “I must say I was thankful for all the fellows you had watching for me. I needed a good laugh. Hired extra guards for the occasion?”
    She had, actually. She backed up until the silk wallpaper was pressed against her back.
    His gaze was so intense she couldn’t remember how to breathe. “Was it a trap, Jules?”
    Why did that nickname shiver down her spine? She was a princess. She didn’t have nicknames.
    He raised his hand, caressing her throat, but somehow she knew he could strangle her before she could even scream.
    “It was a test.” He shouldn’t have been able to get in. A servant had been assigned to watch each window. She’d purposefully chosen a time when it was still light out. She had two soldiers planted in the corridor outside her room.
    “Did I pass?”
    She nodded.
    His index finger slid over her bottom lip. She wanted to slap him away. No one had ever touched her lips.
    That was a rather depressing thought, actually.
    His finger paused in the center, dragging her lip down slightly. “So what do I win?”
    His eyes mocked her, yet she couldn’t look away. She cleared her throat. “How did you get in?”
    He shook his head. “It is my turn to ask questions. What do you want, Cinderella?”
    “I want to hire you.”
    “Hire me? For what? Do you need help getting to a ball?”
    “Among other things.”
    His brows drew together at that. “Pardon? That was intended as a joke.”
    “There will probably be a ball at the house party. I haven’t checked. But I need to retrieve something from someone.”
    He stepped back, and she could suddenly breathe. “You want me to steal something.”
    “No, I want you to teach me how to do it.” She’d thought hard about it and she couldn’t risk someone else getting ahold of the letters. Then they’d be no better off than they’d been with Sommet.
    “My skills are a bit more complex than Latin conjugations. They aren’t something you can pick up in a few hours.”
    He was going to refuse her.
    She couldn’t allow that. “I can learn.”
    He plucked at a bit of lace on her bodice, then flicked at a pearl bob on her ear. “I can see you’re made for a life of crime.”
    “Do not mock me.”
    He grinned. “Or what? You’ll embroider me to death? I seem to recall that your punches were ineffective.”
    “If you agree to help me, I will give you the name of the man who betrayed your friends.”
    That silenced him. A cold gleam lit his eye. It obliterated his humor so completely she had to wonder which was his true self.
    “You told me you didn’t know.”
    She was a princess. She would not quake. “I didn’t then. I do now.”
    “Then perhaps I’ll go find the answer myself.”
    She couldn’t let him learn about Gregory. “I can show you the one truly responsible, not the misguided, confused imbecile that might be connected to my household.”
    “And why do you think I won’t just carve the answers from you?”
    That was a very, very good question. A flicker of apprehension licked up her spine. But she lifted her chin. “Because a business deal is far less messy for the both of us.”
    “Messy?” That brought a quirk back to his lips. “If there’s one thing that describes me, it’s fastidious. One of the main characteristics of the gutters. What do you want of me?”
    “I have two requirements.”
    “Oh, do tell.” He waved his hand in an exaggerated motion