Read To Tempt An Angel (Book 1 Douglas series) for Free Online Page A

overhead.
    “Mack, take me home,” he instructed his driver.
    Robert leaned back in his carriage. He wasn’t tired at all and knew he would never sleep, but going to White’s for a nightcap held no appeal to him. He wanted only one thing at the moment.
    The ride to Park Lane took fifteen minutes. When the carriage halted, Robert climbed into the front seat and lifted the reins out of his driver’s hands.
    “What are you doing?” Mack asked in surprise.
    “I’m going to visit a friend.”
    “If you start driving yourself,” the man complained, “I’ll soon be unemployed.”
    “I’m giving you a paid holiday,” Robert told him.
    “Thank you, my lord.” Mack climbed out of the carriage.
    Robert drove in the direction of Primrose Hill. He knew he was behaving like a schoolboy, but he’d never felt this way about any woman. Too bad her father had bankrupted the family. If circumstances had been different, he would have married his angel in a heartbeat. On the other hand marriage might tarnish her allure.
    After midnight, Robert stopped his carriage in front of the pink stucco cottage. Staring at the darkened windows, Robert wondered what Angelica was doing at that moment. Was she dreaming of him?
    In spite of a few eccentricities, Angelica Douglas had more honor and gentility in her little finger than any woman of his acquaintance. At the tender age of eighteen, she bore the heavy burden of her family’s survival and wore this cloak of duty with grace. She was more than worthy to be his mistress, and he knew she was a woman who would never stray into another man’s arms.
    Robert closed his eyes and conjured her hauntingly lovely image. Her blue eyes made him feel as if he were drowning in a Highland loch, her full lips begged to be kissed, and her streaked blond hair topped with that crown of flowers had lent her an ethereal, otherworldly appearance.
    “Bull’s pizzle!”
    The voice in the darkness sounded exactly like his sweet angel’s.
    “Darling, a lady never—”
    “Be quiet!” The voices emanating from the garden belonged to Angelica and Aunt Roxie.
    “We need the money,” a third voice argued.
    “Samantha is correct,” said a fourth voice. The sisters , Robert thought. Just what in hell was happening back there?
    Robert climbed out of the carriage and walked silently around the side of the cottage. He saw the soft glow from a lantern as he neared the garden. Pausing at the corner of the cottage, he watched them for a moment.
    “How disrespectful to poor Mr. Lewis,” Aunt Roxie said, shaking her head in obvious disapproval. 
    “I don’t give a fig about that,” Angelica snapped. She rounded on her sisters and asked, “Do you want to hang on Tyburn Hill?”
    “What is the problem?” Robert asked, stepping into the garden.
    All four women cried out in surprise. Angelica and her sisters drew their daggers.
    “It’s Robert.”
    “ Sacred sevens , what are you doing here?” Angelica asked.
    “You’ve been on my mind all day,” Robert said easily, walking toward her. “I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see you.”
    “How sublimely romantic,” Aunt Roxie sighed, making her two younger nieces giggle.
    Robert placed the palm of his hand against Angelica’s burning cheek. She was blushing again.
    “Can I be of service?” he asked.
    “Mr. Roy, you are heaven-sent,” Samantha said.
    “We need help with Mr. Lewis,” Victoria added.
    Confused, Robert stared at them blankly. Then he glanced at the ground and spied a corpse in burial clothes.
    “Good God, what is this?” he demanded.
    “This is Mr. Lewis,” Angelica told him.
    “I don’t care what—”
    “Girls, I forbid you to sell Mr. Lewis to those surgeons,” Aunt Roxie interrupted.
    “Sell him to—” Robert rounded on Angelica and asked, “Have you robbed a grave?”
    “Mr. Lewis will bring us good money,” Victoria argued. “Ten pounds, at least.”
    “We misjudged his weight and had the devil of a time