Page 76 of When He Was Wicked

She stared at his hand and then at his face as if he were a creature. Miss Sutton tentatively shook his hand before quickly releasing his clasp. “Henrietta will do...and thank you.”

“Please call me Simon,” he smoothly invited.

A small silence fell.

She delicately cleared her throat. “Are you to tell me why you are waiting for Henry…in this state of undress?”

“That is rather complicated, I’m afraid.”

“I am the one who will paint you, Lord Hardwick; I do fear you’ll have to offer an explanation even if you are trying to spare my sensibilities.”

Simon smiled. “You are rather perceptive.”

An elegant shoulder lifted in a casual shrug. “I do have to be.”

He cleared his throat. “The lady I am commissioning this portrait for would appreciate it more if I was in the nude.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Miss Sutton choked on the air, and a frightful blush colored her entire neck and crept up into her face. “In thenude?”

That dark amusement washed through Simon once more. “Yes.”

She shook her head as if dazed. “As in without any clothes, my lord. Surely that is not what you meant?”

As she awaited his reply, she stared at him, her expression unguarded but composed.

“Yes, Miss Sutton, without any garments covering me,” Simon said with brisk clarity. “Naked.”

“Why would your lady wish for a portrait that scandalous if I may be so bold to ask?”

“Do you wish for honesty, or for me to consider your sensibilities, Miss Sutton?”

With seemingly extraordinary effort she held his regard. “Honesty, my lord.”

Simon bit back his smile. “Very well. Are you familiar with the name Mrs. Vivienne Trammell?”

Her eyes widened. “The most sought-after courtesan in all of London? The woman the scandal sheets have called ‘the most beautiful woman society has ever seen?’”

“Ah, the very one.”

Awareness glittered in Miss Sutton’s lovely eyes. “You want to commission a portrait to procure aparamour? You are not wooing a lady for marriage?”

“I am not ready for marriage; and yes, the hope is for her to become my paramour.” Simon swallowed his amusement at her dawning outrage. “I believe once the incomparable Vivienne sees my delightful charms, she would have no choice but to choose me.”

Miss Sutton appeared momentarily transfixed. “You are abominably conceited!”

“Of course, I am. It is all part of a rake’s charm.”

As if the absurdity of the situation just struck Miss Sutton, a peal of laughter tore from her. Simon found himself smiling, an odd hitch in his heart at the sweet sound.

“So when do we start?” he murmured hopefully.

She gave him a small, taut smile. “That would be too wicked of me, my lord. I am sorry; however, I cannot accept this job.” A shadow of regret touched her gaze.

Simon did not allow that rejection to dissuade him. “Come now, is life worth living without walking the edge of wickedness once or twice?”

Amusement brightened her eyes. “I am still unconvinced even if your words speak to my heart.”