The Devil's Thief Read Free Page A

Sharp entirely.
It was a business proposition, nothing more. She had seen countless men and
women, her father included, walk away from affairs such as this without a
backward glance. She knew Mr. Sharp had done so in the past. She saw no reason why
she couldn’t do the same.
    But
could she trust his word? That was the real question. Could she trust that he
would live up to his side of the bargain? And could she live with herself after
it was over, after she had sold her body for the price of a pearl?   Well, an incredibly beautiful, valuable
pearl, but still.
    She
could feel his eyes on her, measuring her, tempting her, seducing her. She bit
her lip in panicked indecision and watched his eyes narrow just a bit more as
the rise and fall of his chest lost a step in the cadence of his breathing.
    With
amazement she realized he really did want her. This might be a diversion for
him, a meaningless encounter, but he really did want her. Why? He didn’t
recognize her. For all he knew she was nothing but an immoral thief. And yet he
wanted her. Did he even know what she looked like? It was dark enough in the
room that she could make out only the basic outline of his features. If she
hadn’t seen him countless times before, she wouldn’t know the blue of his eyes,
the gleaming blond of his hair. So what did he see that intrigued him?
    It is what he thinks me to be. He thought her a thief, a trickster, a
criminal. It was why he’d proposed the bargain. He thought she was experienced,
he’d said as much. He thought she was a woman of the streets. She almost
laughed aloud. She knew her way around a lock, it was true, but she hadn’t
learned that on the streets. Oh, no. She’d learned that in the drawing rooms
and country houses of the glittering society in which he moved so effortlessly.
He had no idea who she was, none at all. And that was a good thing. She worked
very hard to blend into the background, disguising the real Julianna behind a
bland facade. That way no one would take an interest in her. It was a habit
she’d learned as a child, so as not to interfere with her father’s thieving or
romancing. She’d grown to like the anonymity of it. Now her disguise gave her
the freedom to do as she chose while society promenaded past her, uncaring
about who she was or what she did. Clearly Mr. Sharp had walked past as
uncaring as everyone else.
    But
tonight he cared. Tonight she would drop all disguises and, for the first time
in her life, she would be herself and take what she wanted, as well as get what
she needed.
    “I
accept,” she whispered the words as she closed her eyes tightly, her stomach
flipping, though not unpleasantly, at the risk she was taking.

 
    Chapter Two
     
     
     
    “Ah,
delightful,” he murmured in a satisfied tone. “It took you so long to think
about it that I was beginning to worry a little. Surely that was more than a
moment.”
    Julianna
jumped as she felt his hand close gently around her upper arm. Her eyes flew
open and met his amused gaze. “In the scheme of things, I believe it was but a
moment,” she said breathlessly, trying to act normal, as if she did this sort
of thing all the time.
    “I would
rather not waste even a moment in thought tonight,” he said in a dark tone that
made Julianna’s mouth dry up. Then his words sank in.
    A
nervous giggle escaped from Julianna. “You don’t want me to think? You want me
to behave like a mindless idiot?”
    Mr.
Sharp frowned. “Perhaps I did not phrase that correctly.”
    “I
certainly hope not,” Julianna teased. She was proud of her bravado. She even
sounded a little like a loose woman.
    “What
I meant was I want to spend every moment fucking, not wasting time discussing
it.” He was sounding a little like that annoyed schoolmaster again, and
Julianna would have grinned had she not been shocked senseless by his casual
use of such a crude word. Good Lord, that is what they were going to do, was it
not? Fuck. The word was deliciously