Sins of a Wicked Princess Read Online Free PDF Page B

for her to proceed.
    She clenched her teeth together. “First, you will teach me how to retrieve certain documents without being seen. Second, you’ll agree not to harm the person responsible in my household. You will only pursue the true culprit.”
    “So I let your . . .” He studied her for a moment, then lifted his brow. “Your brother. Your brother, the debauched and foppish Prince Gregory, go unpunished.”
    “He isn’t debauched—”
    “Ah, so it was him. I think I’ll pay him a visit.”
    How could she be such a blind fool? He’d been leading her on. And she’d fallen for it.
    His head tilted as he watched her. “Don’t feel bad for telling me. I’m a professional.” He strode toward her bedroom door, but she lunged in front of him.
    “He isn’t here.”
    “Do you really think it will prove difficult for me to find him?”
    He brushed past her.
    “There are guards in the corridor.” She hated that her voice was so desperate.
    “Really?” He opened the door and stuck his head out. “Hello? Soldiers?”
    “What did you do to them?”
    He shrugged.
    “If you have hurt them—”
    His gaze swept her again, surprised, and she felt utterly naked. Vulnerable. “They are unharmed.”
    Her breath escaped in a rush, but she still couldn’t let him leave. Not if she wanted Gregory to go the night without a knife in his back.
    “Good-bye, Jules.”
    She grabbed him around the waist and yanked him back into the room with all her strength. She must have caught him off guard because he stumbled back, falling on top of her.
    She couldn’t help the small eep of pain that escaped; neither could she breathe. She struggled to pull in air. She would not suffocate on the floor of her bedroom. That wasn’t a dignified death for a princess.
    He rolled off her. “What the devil was that?” He scowled. “Are you hurt?” He swore and lifted her into his arms as if she was nothing more than a child. He laid her gently on her bed, the mattress creaking as he sat on the edge next to her. He ran his hands over her ribs, then leaned back. “You’re fine. Slowly suck air in. Slow. You’ve just had the wind knocked out of you.”
    She wasn’t so sure he hadn’t broken all her ribs, but she obeyed and, finally, managed a lungful of air. Who would have known he could weigh so much? But then remembering his hard muscles, she shouldn’t have been surprised.
    “Hell’s bells but you’re batty.” His handsome face seemed pained. But she couldn’t have hurt him that much, after all he landed on top of her .
    “You cannot go. I need you.”
    His finger traced the edge of her bodice, his lids hooding his eyes. “Darling, many women do.”
    “ Argh! ” she screeched at him. Actually screeched. It was the most unladylike sound she’d ever made. And why was her skin on fire where he’d touched? “If you help me, I can give you the man responsible for betraying your friends. In a week, I can get you into his house.”
    Her spy’s finger dipped into the hollow above her collarbone. “I can get into any house I desire. And why are you still breathing so hard, Princess?”
    He had to be the most arrogant, insufferable beast she’d ever met. She caught his hand as it wandered again toward her bodice and sat up despite her aching ribs. “I can get you there without any skulking. You can walk in openly and have as much time as you need.” She shouldn’t have sat up. Now her lips were inches from his. Heavens, but he had beautiful lips.
    When they weren’t smirking. Which was basically never.
    “Fine. You’ve won me over. Now tell me who it is.”
    “No.” She wasn’t a complete fool. “I will tell you after you train me.”
    “How do I know you aren’t lying to me?”
    “Because I know how fond you are of threats, and I have no desire to see if you’ll follow through.”
    He stood so quickly that she would have fallen off the bed if he hadn’t caught her shoulder. “Done. I’ll give you a