Tonight or Never Read Online Free Page B

scoundrel!
    She was not the least put off by his reaction to her proposal. Au contraire . She was a woman with a mission.
    "You heard me, John; I want you to marry me."
    John shook his head—both to clear out the cobwebs and negate the horrifying image from his mind. Married . Him. As if he would know what to do with a wife!
    What could she be thinking? He said as much. "Have you lost your mind?"
    Chloe put up her hand to forestall him. "Please hear me out, John. I think once you hear what I have to say, you'll agree this is a plan that could benefit us both."
    John placed one booted foot up on the edge of the bench he was sitting on and laced his hands around his knee. Bending his head forward, he purposely made his green eyes go round with feigned interest. He did nothing to disguise the mocking dimple in his cheek.
    "I'm breathless with curiosity, dearest ."
    Pursing her lips at his annoying attitude, Chloe began her practiced speech. "As you know, I have always admired you—"
    "I'm touched." He placed his palm over his heart.
    Chloe decided right then and there she would pay him back for this at a later time. "Your life is one that I wish to emulate—you see , I believe you have the best of all possible worlds."
    John rested back against the trunk. "How so, Chloe?"
    "You enjoy whatever pleasures come your way, yet you are not confined by the dictates of society."
    John raised a dark eyebrow. "There is a difference between—"
    "I'm not finished. While it is true I am only nineteen, I am not naive."
    "So you've intimated." He glowered. "Just what kind of experience have you—"
    "John, please. You presume too much." Especially if he expected her to answer that! The truth was she had no experience whatsoever. It was the one thing she could not let him find out if this scheme had a hope of working.
    "The point is—I like what I have discovered and I wish to pursue the—the… pastime."
    "Pastime?"
    "So to speak." She cleared her throat. "While I now have practical knowledge, I lack refinement of technique. This is where you come in."
    "You have lost your mind." He stood up, towering over her. This was bordering on insult! He couldn't believe what she was asking of him. He was no one's practice drill—he was the bloody battle! "What game are you playing?"
    "No game, Viscount." Chloe turned away from him. She hated having to make him believe this, but it was essential to her plan. " Grandmere is already talking of coming-out balls and such. Under the circumstances, that just won't do."
    His fists clenched. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
    Chloe bit her lip and nodded.
    John ran his hand through his long hair. The slight tremor in his fingers obviously was due to shock at her disclosure and not because he was bothered by this bit of news. It was just that he had never actually thought of Chloe… in the arms of someone else.
    But a second, more disturbing thought followed.
    His palms rested gently on her shoulders. "You're not … ?"
    "No!" She gasped, turning to face him. She hadn't meant to imply that she was! It was bad enough what she was implying. Grandmere would have the vapors if she ever got wind of this. The Fonbeaulard women always went to their marriage beds pure. How they behaved afterward with their husbands was another matter.
    John let out a breath of relief. For some strange reason, the terrible tightening in his chest did not ease.
    "Such is not at all the life I'm looking for—your life is one of great adventure and pleasure. Why should I be denied this simply because I am a woman?"
    John groaned. This was worse than he thought.
    Chloe pressed her case. "You know that society frowns on unwed misses seeking their pleasures. However, a married woman doing the same is ignored or even applauded by the ton. So you see why I want you to marry me…"
    Now she had crossed the line! "Chloe, this is the most ridiculous thing you have—"
    She kicked his shin.
    "Chloe."
    "Listen to me! Who better to