Too Wicked to Wed Read online

  Too Hot to Handle

  “Holt showcases what she knows, writing a luscious erotic romance as a coy innocent collides with an alpha male in steamy love scenes and hot sessions of temptation...settle in for a delectable night of reading pleasure.”

  —Romantic Times BOOKclub Magazine (starred review)

  “Holt’s erotic romances touch the hearts of readers with an even pacing of compelling emotions interlaced with seduction and intrigue.”

  —Rendezvous

  “Too Hot to Handle is on fire! Reminiscent of the magic of Complete Abandon, this may very well be Holt’s best erotic yet. The characters are lively, the erotic sweet, and the love between Michael and Emily so turbulent and emotional it has all the makings of a five-star romance...when you read Cheryl Holt, you enter a world of stunning passion, intrigue, and tender love.”

  —Historical Romance Club

  “A book lush in historical detail that will transport readers back to a different time and place...love scenes are intense and sultrier than a hot summer day. Bestselling author Cheryl Holt proves once again why she is at the top of the list.”

  —Romance Junkies

  “A spicy, hilarious battle of the sexes, Regency style.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “Holt fills the pages with lovers’ angst, loving embraces, and plenty of conflict to ensure that the road to happily-ever-after isn’t smooth...Holt truly has another winner on her hands...[an] utterly romantic story of love in the most unexpected of places.”

  —Fallen Angel Reviews

  “An entertaining read. The pages are filled with deceit, debauchery, romance, heartache, and lust...the characters are interesting with a lot of depth to them.”

  —Joyfully Reviewed

  “The passion...is hot enough to singe the fingers...a pleasing tale.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  “Captures the readers from the first scene...Holt weaves this erotic romance like a master...an enjoyable afternoon read.”

  —Romance Divas

  “A delightful historical with a slight twist.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  Further Than Passion

  “Fantastic...a keeper...Holt has finely tuned the art of delving into secret fantasies and drawing out what women want. In this deliciously sensual story, she keeps readers glued to the pages by infusing every one with plenty of sizzle. Very sensual.”

  —Romantic Times (starred review)

  “Holt pens a compelling, erotic tale...a sensual feast of love, betrayal, and sensual pleasure, Further Than Passion takes the reader beyond the typical consequences of desire for happily-ever-after...[a] powerful story that readers will find impossible to put down...each character springs vibrantly alive, living in the reader’s imagination long after the last page is turned.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “A deeply passionate book...very seldom does a historical novel find its way to my shelf, but this is one author for whom I will always make an exception. Fans won’t be surprised to find this book on their keeper shelf.”

  —A Romance Review

  “Holt’s most exciting story of all. Further Than Passion is an intriguing and spellbinding love story.”

  —Fallen Angel Reviews

  “Highly erotic...a poignant and emotional love story...only Cheryl Holt can write such sweet, erotic romances that touch the heart, body, and soul.”

  —Historical Romance Club

  “Holt is an extremely talented author. Every book she writes is so sexy, the characters so real, that I’m sorry when the story comes to an end.”

  —FreshFiction.com

  More Than Seduction

  “Fantastic...a keeper...Holt demonstrates why she’s a grand mistress at keeping sensuality at a high boil in her latest and most tempting romance. She adds depth to this sensual tale with her mature characters, a touch of poignancy and a strong plot. Holt truly understands what readers crave.”

  —Romantic Times

  “Hang onto your hats! Cheryl Holt gives you hot romance with characters you love and admire in all her books, but I think she outdid herself with her latest book. To me it’s her best work yet. It’s a winning story you can’t read fast enough. Excellent, stirring, steamy, and so darn good you just about melt in a puddle of desire if you aren’t careful. Cheryl Holt is magnificent once again. I wonder what she will do next? I can hardly wait!”

  —Reader to Reader Reviews

  “More Than Seduction is another winner for Cheryl Holt. This book pulls you in and you won’t be able to put it down. The sexual tension is extreme and the love scenes are blazing hot. This is definitely a keeper.”

  —The Romance Studio

  “An enticing story, rich with sensuality...a tantalizing read.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  “A tempting treat.”

  —Romance Junkies

  Deeper Than Desire

  “Just about the best writer of erotic romance that we’ve got.”

  —Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon)

  “Sexy, titillating love story...add some suspense, abductions, a mad villain, and an exciting climax and you have all you need in an erotic romance.”

  —Romantic Times

  “A jewel...intriguing, compelling, and passionate.”

  —Old Book Barn Gazette

  “The thing that I like best about Cheryl Holt’s writing is that she makes her characters come alive as their stories unfold. You get mad, glad, sad, and sexy as the devil while reading her glorious books that not only are well-written erotic stories but have substance and a good storyline concerning the characters’ lives that make them human and realistic. Now this is a writer to watch because she is going places. Ms. Holt delivers stories that you love reading. They are hot and spicy...filled with compelling characters that set your heart to racing with her imaginative and titillating storytelling.”

  —ReaderToReader.com

  “An intricate tapestry of intriguing characters.”

  —RomanceReaderAtHeart.com

  “Romance fans will enjoy this erotic tale of forbidden love that feels and is right. Holt turns up the heat with this superior historical.”

  —TheBestReviews.com

  “Cheryl Holt will ravish her reading audience with this well-written tale. Her clever plot will lure the reader on as she seduces one to continue reading page after page. Filled with sexual tension and loaded with secondary story lines, one comes away satisfied. If a delightful taste of erotica is what you are looking for, you will find your senses replete in Deeper Than Desire.”

  —Simegen.com

  Total Surrender

  BEST SENSUAL NOVEL OF THE YEAR —Romantic Times Magazine

  “Cheryl Holt is something else again. I was totally blown away by Total Surrender, a tale both erotic and poignant. Sensational characters, and a very compelling read that readers couldn’t put down unless you’re dead! It’s also the dynamite sequel to last year’s Love Lessons...don’t miss this author. She’s a sparkling diamond.”

  —ReaderToReader.com

  “A lush tale of romance, sexuality, and the fragility of the human spirit. Carefully crafted characters, engaging dialogue, and sinfully erotic narrative create a story that is at once compelling and disturbing...For a story that is sizzling hot and a hero any woman would want to save.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  “A deliciously erotic romance...the story line grips the audience from the start until the final nude setting, as the lead characters are a dynamic couple battling for Total Surrender. The suspense element adds tension, but the tale belongs to Sarah and Michael. Cheryl Holt turns up the heat with this enticing historical romance.”

  —Writerspace
r />   “A very good erotic novel...if you like a racy read, you’ll enjoy this one!”

  —Old Book Barn Gazette

  “Cheryl Holt is very good at what she does.”

  —Statesman Journal (Salem, OR)

  Love Lessons

  “With her well-defined characters, even pacing, and heated love scenes, Holt makes an easy entry into the world of erotic romance...readers will enjoy Love Lessons.”

  —Romantic Times

  “Hot, hot, hot! The love scenes sizzle in this very sensual romance between two people from different worlds...readers enjoying an erotic romance will not be disappointed.”

  —Writers Club Romance on AOL

  ST. MARTIN’S PAPERBACKS TITLES BY CHERYL HOLT

  Too Tempting To Touch

  Too Hot To Handle

  Further Than Passion

  More Than Seduction

  Deeper Than Desire

  Complete Abandon

  Absolute Pleasure

  Total Surrender

  Love Lessons

  Too Wicked To Wed

  Cheryl Holt

  NOTE: If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  TOO WICKED TO WED

  Copyright © 2006 by Cheryl Holt.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

  ISBN: 0-312-93799-7

  EAN: 9780312-93799-7

  Printed in the United States of America

  St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / September 2006

  St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

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  Too Wicked To Wed

  1

  LONDON, ENGLAND, 1814 . . .

  The front door to the house was wide open.

  Helen Mansfield looked up and down the busy street. No one was paying any attention to her, and without pausing to reconsider her plan, she slipped inside.

  Due to the delicacy of her mission, she’d come alone, without benefit of maid or footman, and her heart pounded with dread. The clandestine visit was the first really bold, exotic thing she’d ever done, and she yearned to conclude her business quickly and quietly, and without making a fool of herself.

  After she had been out in the bright July sunshine, the vestibule seemed very dark. She tarried, her eyes adjusting to the shadows, while hoping that the butler would step forward to welcome and announce her, but it was eerily silent.

  She studied her surroundings, finding the lodging to be well built and appropriately fashionable, but it had an air of abandonment. The entryway was empty, with a lone table positioned down the hall, and it was covered with a sheet as though the current occupant hadn’t yet had occasion to tug it off so the space would be more habitable.

  Of course, that occupant being a notorious, barbaric pirate, perhaps he didn’t realize that civilized people lived any differently.

  She tamped down the uncharitable thought, refusing to proceed on a sour note. Her feelings were sufficiently conflicted, her temper adequately ignited, and she was determined to remain calm and courteous, regardless of how humiliating her appointment proved to be.

  Noise erupted on the stairs, and she leapt away as a barefoot, scantily clad woman came racing down. Her clothes—if one could call the garment an outfit—consisted of only a summery shift, the hem of which fell to mid-thigh. It was constructed from a slinky red material that hugged her torso like a glove, revealing each of her curves and hiding nothing that ought to be concealed.

  Her breasts were enormous, and they bounced gleefully as she passed, the mounds swaying in tandem, her nipples jutting against the bodice.

  The woman was obviously a strumpet, and Helen couldn’t stop gawking.

  What sort of bawdy abode had she entered? What mischief was occurring that a gentlewoman—such as herself—could stumble into it? Who was in charge?

  As the woman reached the foyer, she gazed up the stairs and shouted, “Catch me if you can, you surly lout.” Laughing, she vanished down the corridor.

  A man scurried after her, his arms stretched out to grab her, but she was too fast and easily evaded him. He was a grubby fellow, with a scraggly beard, a gold earring, a knife in his belt, and numerous teeth missing, and he embodied every low trait Helen had expected to observe among the residents.

  With how her luck was running, he would likely turn out to be Mr. William Lucas Westmoreland, the man she was seeking. What if he was? How would they have a rational conversation?

  He had hesitated, struggling to detect how his prey had escaped, when he espied Helen cowering in the corner. With unrepressed lechery, he scrutinized her, and the odor of alcohol around him was so strong that she was amazed he could walk. She gagged and lurched away.

  “You’ll be next, my pretty little thing,” he promised. “Don’t go anywhere.”

  “Your next what?” she mumbled as he tottered off.

  She checked to be certain she’d brought the kitchen knife she’d sewn into the seam of her skirt. After all, she wasn’t stupid. She was in the lair of treacherous, violent bandits for whom no deed was purported to be too evil. If she was threatened, she hadn’t the temerity to use the weapon, but still, she felt better knowing she could yank it out and wield it with great relish.

  Her fury with her younger brother, Archibald, surged anew. How typical that he would immerse her in such a wretched jam! His dominant attribute was his total ability to wreak havoc. He was immoderate in his appetites, passionate about his pleasures, and never fretted over anyone but himself. As a twenty-five-year-old spinster, she’d eschewed marriage to stay at her beloved home of Mansfield Abbey, where she diligently worked to curb his worst excesses.

  He was her sole kin, so she’d always been too protective of him, had rescued him from too many scrapes, and he was positive that she would rescue him from this latest one, too. The notion had her so angry that if he’d been standing there with her, she’d have clasped him by the throat and strangled the life out of him.

  From down the hall, commotion drifted toward her. People were talking, and there seemed to be a party in progress—in the middle of the day!—but the social event sounded different from any to which she’d ever been invited.

  Their voices were odd and furtive, as if the participants had been naughty—or were about to be. Women were cooing and sighing, oozing with a bliss Helen didn’t comprehend.

  She yearned to investigate, but she was staunchly convinced that, whatever was transpiring, she couldn’t bear to learn the details. Without a doubt, she should simply stomp out and let Archie handle the mess for once—it would serve him right—but she wouldn’t.

  He was incredibly spoiled, so she shouldn’t have been surprised when he’d informed her that he’d lost Mansfield Abbey in a card game. But even for him, the behavior was extreme. He’d frittered away every last chattel, every candle and fork, every horse and hoe.

  There was nothing left.

  The villain Mr. Westmoreland had won it all, and if she couldn’t persuade him to give it back, she couldn’t predict her and Archie’s fate. She had to reason with Westmoreland. She had to! The estate was a small place, a pittance, a veritable hovel compared to the other grand properties in their neighborhood. Why couldn’t he have coveted somebody else’s home?

  Despite his savage reputation, he was alleged to possess a shred of integrity. During a terrible sea storm, he’d risked l
ife and limb on a ship of drowning British sailors. Using daring sailing skills, he’d maneuvered through the gale, plucking those he could from the turbulent waters. Then he’d personally pursued the floundering stragglers, braving thirty-foot waves in a dinghy and finally even diving into the raging tempest to prevent what would have been instant death for some of the Navy’s finest.

  Every man had been saved.

  As a result, Westmoreland was the darling of the kingdom, his courage bandied over in every tavern in the land, and as a reward, he’d been pardoned for his previous crimes by the Prince Regent.

  Surely, such a dashing hero could find it in his heart to heed an anxious woman’s plea for mercy.

  Ready for anything, she squared her shoulders and marched down the corridor to the closed door at the end. It was ajar, and she peeked through the crack into a cavernous room that had probably been the prior owner’s library. The walls were lined with bookcases, but they were empty of books, and there were dilapidated pieces of furniture that didn’t match. It appeared as if the individual who’d purchased the items had no clue as to what was needed to fill a fancy house. Boxes were stacked, waiting to be unpacked, but there were no servants who might be set to the task.

  A dozen gorgeous women were present, and they sprawled like lazy mermaids on pillows and daybeds, sipping wine and purring to one another. They were scandalously garbed in only their undergarments, fancy corsets and colored pantaloons that were festooned with ribbons. Their slender calves were concealed by lacy stockings, their tiny feet balanced on spiky heels.

  They were attractive and alluring, and in contrast, she felt dowdy and provincial. With her brunette hair tucked into a tidy chignon, her hazel eyes that were too wide and saw too much, her drab brown traveling dress and shabby cloak, she was a boring, unsophisticated country girl. She was too skinny, too old, too plain, and so far out of her element that she might have laughed had she not been so desperate.