Read Online To Wed a Wicked Earl by Olivia Parker - Free Book Online Page A

was rather remarkable. Who knows, with the knock to his skull coupled with his drunken state that night outside Rosalind’s window, he could have very well caught his death if Charlotte wasn’t there to rouse him back to consciousness.
    And he desired her, but secretly vowed to never cross the proverbial line. Granted, there were three extremely helpful notions that helped keep him walking that particular tightrope.
    One: she thought the prospect of marrying him was utterly ridiculous.
    Two: he suspected she was still enamored of his friend Tristan.
    And three: she had “adopted” him as her newest project, her friend.
    Lord, he hated that word. “Friend.”
    Too bad for Charlotte that her little friendship mission had to be conducted entirely in secret. Her mother, like most mothers, considered him a despicable rogue and banned them from speaking to or being near each other. So they met at the park and various other places, timing their social outings so that they’d “bump” into each other.
    It was an odd relationship, when he thought on it. And they were an odd pair, he mused, catching a glimpse of his tawny hair, loose and resting against his collarbone. Quite like the lion and the mouse.
    Oh, how bloody absurd. Clearly, he’d finally gone stark raving mad.
    “Charlotte,” he muttered again, rubbing his temples. “I can’t believe you’re in my house, in my bedchamber.”
    “Well, who did you think I was?” She shook her head in derision, settling her map upon his shaving table—but not her parasol, he noted. “Really, who else did you expect this eve?”
    “Any great number of women.”
    She didn’t like that comment, if the way she crossed her arms tightly over her chest was any indication. It was a defensive gesture. And one of the things he was astonishingly good at was reading body language. Especially  her  body language.
    He flicked a glance at the window. “You’re quite the determined lass. Agile too.” He paused to yawn and stretch out his arms above his head. “The last woman who tried to climb into my town house ended up getting the laces of her dress tangled on a hardy rose vine. Poor creature. She wasn’t discovered until dawn, hanging nearly upside down.” He hadn’t been home at the time, but the gardener claimed she’d paid him handsomely for his secrecy after he’d cut her down.
    “Thank you for your very arrogant story.”
    “Anything to please you.” He ran a hand through the hair atop his head.
    “You,” she said pointedly, “are a shameless flirt.”
    A lock of hair now hanging in his eyes, he leveled a stare at her. “Believe me when I say that your accusation has offended me. How dare you besmirch my character.”
    “You  are supposed to be behaving.”
    “And I was,” he said, in mock offense. “Cleary,  you  are not.”
    “Be serious.”
    “I am. For someone determined to avoid scoundrels, you’re doing a deplorable job.”
    “Don’t be silly. It’s just you.” Her foot tapped an impatient staccato upon his floor. “Seriously now, we must get down to the matter at hand…though I suspect you don’t even know why I’m here.”
    “I’ll guess. Could it be that you’ve had a sudden epiphany? Yes, that must be it. Let’s see…After months of searching for the perfect gentleman, you now crave a steady dose of wicked men and you’ve decided to start with me.” He patted his lap, knowing she couldn’t see the gesture in the dark. “I don’t think I should like you finding another, so I shall work hard to hold your attention.”
    Inhaling deeply, she was evidently trying her best to bite back a retort. “Has she accepted any of your calls?” she asked, speaking of Rosalind, the woman he was “trying” to court, only her brother deemed him and his reputation unfit to lick her half boots. Charlotte thought he had been leaving his calling cards with her footman for the past week. Unbeknownst to her, he hadn’t left a single