Niels Eriksson wanted to live like the London Aristocrats he studied the society pages and used his charm to pretend he was someone other than the poor Finnish thief living in the back room of a boarding house. Orphaned at a young age and physically abused by the only family he had in London, Niels turned to stealing to survive.  As he got older he got better at it, starting out picking pockets then graduating to robbing houses. He's never gotten caught until he targeted the home of Lord Richard Essex.

An aristocrat living within London's high society Lord Richard Essex was known as a rake and a womanizer, but what many people didn't know was that he found true pleasure with men other than women. Richard's dominating and arrogant attitude gave him no qualms about asserting his authority much to the dismay of the young thief he caught burglarizing his home. In lieu of having him arrested, Richard made him a proposition he didn't dare refuse.

I enjoyed reading this story. Niels was such a charming character, it was no surprise he was able to bring out of Richard feelings and needs he never knew he possessed.  At first Richard came across to me as cold and very uncaring, but that quickly changed. Underneath the arrogant, dominant demeanor he put forth there was an insecure man who had a need for Niels that left him shaken. Jade Falconer did a great job, in her creation of these two characters, as well as the Wicked Game storyline.  It embodied all of the quintessential elements of a historical romance, an envious antagonist who will stop at nothing to have what don't belong to him and lovers from different social classes afraid to open their hearts to each other for fear of rejection.  Wicked Game is a recommended read.