Married on a Wicked Morning
Married on a Wicked Morning
Thieves of the Ton series, book three
Sandra Sookoo
Table of Contents
Title Page
Married on a Wicked Morning (Thieves of the Ton, #3)
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Blurb
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
The End
Intrigued by an Ancient Pedigree | (Thieves of the Ton series, book four)
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MARRIED ON A WICKED MORNING © 2017 by Sandra Sookoo
Published by New Independence Books
ISBN- 9781386642640
Contact Information:
sandrasookoo@yahoo.com
newindependencebooks@gmail.com
Visit me at www.sandrasookoo.com
Edited by: Victoria Miller
V.millerartist@gmail.com
Book Cover Design by David Sookoo
Couple: SKU: REG3130HIGH Category: REGENCY Tags: Jesse Ashlee dark hair man pirate brunette wench maiden gun duke couple embrace| Hot Damn Stock
Background: Serpentine Bridge in Hyde Park by VictorHuang| DepositPhotos.com
Publishing History:
First Digital Edition, 2017
First Print Edition, 2017
Dear Readers,
Adventure is such a wonderful thing.
In this third book of my Thieves of the Ton series, my leading couple is set to fight evil on their home soil of England. That doesn’t mean the plot afoot is any less exciting. For we all know that soon Miles and Emmaline will be off once more to far-flung places in the world.
I hope you enjoy Married on a Wicked Morning as much as I did writing it. It seems that once this series started, it’s taken hold of my brain and my imagination. There’s no stopping us now, and nothing left to do except enjoy the journey.
Happy reading!
Sandra
xoxo
Dedication
To my editor and friend, Victoria Miller, because she’s wanted a particular villainous lord to meet a horrible end since book one.
Acknowledgements
Writing a book can be a solitary endeavor, but there are times when it’s nice to have a little help and guidance. Special thanks to the following people for giving me hints as to where Emmaline and Miles should visit next.
Michele Worley, Lindsay Downs, Lori Beth Oglesby Johnson, Sherry Gloag, Rachel E. Moniz, Kyla McLinn, Mili Gonzalez, Wendi Zwaduk, Sue Perkins, MaryBeth FitzHarris, Brea Essex, MK Mancos, Jeff Salter, Beth Caudill, Saralee Etter, Betty Foye Mileti, Cindy Drennan von Hentschel, Sandie Liu Morehead, Marci Baun, Amy Valentini, Elaine Cantrell, Jenifer McConnel Ranieri, Pj Dean
Blurb
When the quest for power threatens to put an end to adventuring, only belief in each other can save them.
Two weeks after nearly losing her scandalous earl to a fire, Lady Emmaline Darling is finally marrying him. Almost six months pregnant, all she wants is to enjoy London with her soon-to-be husband and their growing family. Yet this morning isn’t just the dawn of a new adventure in wedded bliss, Miles has pledged to be a second in a duel, which might compromise the new union.
Bad timing, perhaps, but the fifth Earl of Archewyne, Miles Lawrence Hawkins has always been an honorable man, so when his best friend, Viscount Trewellain asked him to stand up as his second after the powerful Duke of Litton challenged him to a duel, how could he refuse? Threats made in the Hyde Park fog chills his blood, especially since an old foe deliberately names his soon-to-be-wife as a target.
Emmaline and Miles are able to say their vows, but dire events overshadow their joy. A woman with ties to Litton comes to them with a clever plan to finally close the murder of Lord Leventhorpe and enact revenge on those previously untouchable. When secrets threaten to destroy the earl and his new countess, the little band of thieves must put aside their differences and fight to survive the vile plot at play within the ton... but death might be the only option.
Chapter One
March 1, 1821
London, England
“Bloody hell.”
The whispered curse echoed in the empty, darkened halls as Lady Emmaline Darling, daughter of the oftentimes ridiculed archeologist and nearly impoverished Earl of St. Ives slipped through the corridors of the Earl of Archewyne’s new townhouse in Berkley Square.
Breaking into the residence had been one of the easiest locks to pick, but then, she really should keep current on that particular skill anyway. It had proved effective in quite a few instances lately, and this morning was no exception. With a hand resting gently on her rounded and pregnant belly—not so swollen yet that she couldn’t hide her increasing figure with strategically placed clothing—she glided through the halls and up two flights of stairs. The carnelian wool of her gown made no sound as she climbed each step.
Today was her wedding day to the respected and recently scandalous earl. After several months of tempestuous courtship and two rather heady, as well as dangerous, adventures, she finally accepted Archewyne’s proposal. Yet, she couldn’t wait another minute in her father’s lonely, drafty and rundown townhouse across Mayfair. She had to see Miles.
Especially on this morning.
A chill shook her shoulders and she pulled a shawl of ivory wool closer about her body. If only spring would come and chase away some of the damp, dreary and chilly London weather. She wanted sunshine and warmth and flowers and new life. There had been too much ugliness of late. It was time for a change, but the shadows didn’t lighten as she walked through the corridors. Dawn was a couple of hours away, and because there was much preparation still ahead of their eleven-thirty ceremony, this little scandal had to happen now. With the sunrise, the household would awaken and there would be no time to slip away, no opportunity to be alone.
Finally arriving at the door to the earl’s chambers, Emmaline paused. She pressed an ear to the oak panel but nothing stirred within. At least nothing she could hear. Not even soft snoring. With a touch of her hand, she pressed the latch and the door s
wung silently open. Entering the room on quiet feet, she closed the panel behind her, turned and approached the massive four-poster bed, her slippers stealthy on the hardwood and then the Oriental carpet. Excitement zipped through her veins and heightened her awareness of him. Though she’d been married twice before, the feelings she held for the earl were deep, profound and all-encompassing.
Lasting.
“Miles.” Her whisper rasped in the gloom and sounded overly loud in the silence.
He didn’t answer and his form showed as a dark lump in the middle of the bed. Not even a lock of his raven hair lay on the pillows.
“Miles,” she said again and continued advancing into the room. The fire in the grate to one side had long since burned itself out and the drawn drapes at the floor to ceiling windows kept out the moonlight. No other source of illumination helped guide her way. Once before had she been in this room, and that was merely to help direct furniture placement or the hanging of an oil painting when the earl had been absent due to his work for the Crown.
She’d gained the foot of the bed when a soft inhalation sounded behind her. Emmaline pivoted swiftly to face the attacker, but strong arms banded around her, clamping her arms to her sides before she could draw the dagger strapped to her right thigh and hidden beneath her skirts. Barring one exception that had nearly proved deadly, she never went anywhere without the weapon. Not even on such a tame errand as this. Her heartbeat raced into double time, and she opened her mouth to scream.
His sage and citrus scent gave his identity away, halting her urge to rouse assistance. Her pulse accelerated now due to a different sort of anticipation.
“What the devil are you about, Miles?” she hissed, perfectly content to remain in his arms, but not in such a submissive posture. She struggled. He immediately relaxed his grip only to grasp her shoulders and grinned when she met his darkly glimmering gaze. “You frightened me.”
“I could ask the same of you, Emmy,” he responded, using the shortened version of her name he’d employed since their childhood days in Cairo. His deep tenor whisper sent thrills crashing down her spine. “I cannot explain it, but felt something awry so I woke.” He slid his palms to her back and didn’t stop until he cupped her bottom. “When the slight sound of the door latch being manipulated reached me, I assumed there was an intruder and slipped from bed. One can never be too careful these days.”
“This is most certainly true.” A tiny frown took the lift from her good humor. Not two weeks prior, Miles had been betrayed by a close friend and said former valet attempted to murder him by setting fire to the vacant townhouse next door to the earl’s previous residence. “I didn’t mean to jolt you from sleep... at least not that way.”
“Ah, then you do have an ulterior motive for sneaking into my private chambers in the dead of night.” He walked his fingers up her spine, easily tugging the shawl from her shoulders then he worked the few buttons on the back of her gown from their holes. “Care to enlighten me? After all, none of that would have been necessary had you accepted the offer of a room here.” Gentle chastisement rang in his voice.
“Despite the rumors the Marchioness of Wellesley has attempted to spread regarding what remains of my reputation...” She refused to share the on-dits about herself—clearly dictated by either Georgiana or even Lord Darnell—she’d found in newspapers left in her townhouse, opened and turned to the gossip columns. After perfunctorily reading then dismissing them, she’d burned the hideous sheets. “I didn’t wish to perpetuate the stories, so I chose to remain in my townhouse. Sarah is, as always, a most friendly companion. Besides, I did need to supervise the packing.” Miles had graciously sent over a handful of staff to help finalize affairs so she could immediately remove to his residence. In time, and after she wrote to her father, who still lived in Cairo, they might sell the aging townhouse. Until then, it would remain empty, full of memories of long past years.
His lips formed a thin line. “As I promised you before, Georgiana will be dealt with. I have had other, more pressing concerns regarding that last case.”
Twice now, Emmaline had tangled with the powerful marchioness, and twice the woman had escaped unscathed and without recrimination for her crimes. “Hush, my noble knight. Now is not the time to discuss such evil, and it has no place today.” As always, every time she was near him, she craved his touch, and now more than ever. He would help her forget the trauma she’d endured at the hands of that woman. Emmaline smiled and gave into the need. She dragged her hands down the front of his fine lawn nightshirt and didn’t stop until she brushed her fingers over his member. It twitched to attention and he bit back a groan. “I came this morning because I wanted to surprise you by waking you with kisses and perhaps tease you into other things before the day begins and the madness of the celebration overwhelms us.”
“Oh?” Without missing a beat, Miles tugged the gown up and over her head, leaving her standing in only her thin linen shift. Even that soft, much used fabric, when rasping over her tightened and sensitive nipples, sent flames of desire into her blood. “Why the urgency, love? We’ll be married soon then you’ll have me all to yourself, surely no later than dinner.” He let the gown drop and it fell to the floor with a muffled thump. “For the rest of our lives.” A trace of enthusiasm infused his voice.
“Where you’re concerned, I simply cannot wait. Plus, we haven’t had the opportunity for intimacy since the morning after the fire, due to your being cloistered with Parliament and Rathesborne, the move and Jane. I miss you even beyond the physical, miss the way we used to talk of whatever we fancied.”
“Trust me when I say I’d rather be in your company than the old, stodgy peers in the House of Lords.” He pressed a baby-fine kiss to the side of her neck. “You’re much easier on the eyes, too.”
“Well then, it’s fortunate I’m here tonight, for you can look all you like.” She toed off her slippers and headed toward the bed. With a glance over her shoulder, she pulled the few pins from her loose bun and her hair tumbled in thick waves down her back. “Shall we indulge, or have you some antiquated notion of waiting until after the ceremony?” It was such fun baiting him. Even more so when it would lead to satiation in the sheets.
“Will you always lead me into temptation and trouble?” In less time than it took to utter that question, he’d whipped off the nightshirt then ran at the bed and with a dive threw himself onto the mattress where he landed with a decided bounce, deflating the lump he’d used as a decoy.
Every day, if my luck holds. Emmaline shook her head in amusement. His semi-erect length bobbed and drew her gaze. “Most likely, yes, but then, what does it say about you for following with full intent?” As soon as she joined him, he pounced, catching her between the hard wall of his chest and the bedding. She couldn’t help her sigh. He made her feel safe, but at the same time, she could do anything with his support behind her.
“It says I’m quite happy letting you distract me in the most wicked of ways.” He lowered his lips to hers then proceeded to tantalize her with feather-weighted kisses that nipped, bit and teased. As he paused, he said, “It also says I’m hopelessly in love with you and look forward to many more days spent thusly.”
When she reached a hand between their bodies, Miles slid down hers until his face drew even with her rounded belly. “What are you doing?” She levered herself up on her elbows with a frown.
“Telling the little one to close his eyes. He doesn’t need to see the unspeakable things I’m about to do to his mother,” he whispered before murmuring something she couldn’t quite hear into her stomach. The heat of his breath warmed her skin through her shift.
Her heart trembled. He already had a four-year-old daughter from his previous marriage, but he learned as he went along and he would be an attentive and doting father to the new babe. “There is every chance the child will be a girl, you know.” No doubt he wished for a son to continue his name and hold the title, but there was a twinge of concern at the back of her mind
that he wished to replace his dead son from that relationship with this new baby. This child would be its own person.
“If it is, I shall be just as excited.” He held her gaze, and the intensity in his eyes, even in the gloom of the room, started tremors in her core. With a wink, he kissed her belly. “Besides...” He knelt between her legs, which were bent at the knee, and with a tug untied the ribbon at the bodice of her shift. “If it is a girl, it gives me the best of all excuses to bed my wife many more times in the hopes there might be a son to follow.” His fingers stilled. “However, if we’re not fated to have more children, if this babe is the only one we’re given as evidence of our union, I’ll be blissfully happy.”
“Oh Miles. I don’t know what to say.” Tears crowded Emmaline’s throat. When she’d previously been married, it was assumed, since she didn’t bear children with her first two husbands, she would never conceive. Not even the opinion of a midwife, who’d told her nothing was wrong with her, could convince her that she didn’t suffer a barren fate from an Egyptian mummy’s curse. Then she’d returned a couple of missing mummies to their final resting place, and after a scandalous coupling with Miles, she’d become enceinte.
Perhaps it had been, indeed, all about proper timing.
“You always tell me I’m too charming. Mayhap I’ve finally learned the exact thing to say when it’s needed.”
“It’s true, and it is but one reason I fell for you.” She batted his hands away and finished unlacing the ribbon. “Right now, I merely want the man I’m about to marry to love me, to tell me he’s extraordinarily pleased this day is finally here and that we will always be this happy.” When she bared her breasts, she wrapped a hand about his nape and urged his mouth to one taut nipple. The scrape of the stubble shadowing his cheeks and chin heightened the edge to her yearning.
“I’m quite content with where my life—our future—is heading,” he said after teasing a moan from her. “And what’s more, I haven’t been given orders from Lord Liverpool for another mission, so I’m all yours for a while. I’ll remain in London while closing off threads from my last mission.” He gave attention to her other breast and didn’t ease off until she panted for breath.