Page 41 of A Duke's Keeper
“And the point is mine,” he said, though there was no smugness in his expression.
“This is not a game.”
He gave her a pointed look. “Yes, it is. You’ve played since we first met and are now sore because I have landed a blow you cannot reciprocate. Don’t worry, my dear, you are still well ahead.”
How aptly he understood. Forcing indifference into her words, she said, “I am notyour dear. We are nothing to each other.” She hated how her heart rebelled at the words.
“I’d like to change that.”
Hated more how her heart fluttered athiswords. “We mustn’t.”
He stood then, his tall frame not nearly as concerning as his growing smile. “I hear you said ‘mustn’t’ and notcannot. Which means you wish for it as much as I.”
Another point.Blast!“A simple slip of the tongue.”
He drew close, his eyes darker than normal. “I find your tongue exceptionally skilled. Hard to believe it would fail at anything.”
He was flattering her even as he seduced her. Camille was not naive, not as much as before. The tone of his voice had shifted like his eyes, lower and silkier. And as before, she was not immune.
Backing away, she pointed to the cup on the ground, thankful for something besides his eyes to draw her attention. “I’ll need that back.”
He smiled again as if he knew her new game and retrieved the cup. He did not hand it back.
“The cup?” she said.
“The china is still warm and my hands so very cold. You’ll permit me if I wish to keep holding on to it for a bit longer.”
“The cup or the conversation?”
“See?” he said. “Back on top score already.”
She huffed. For a blundering idiot, he was eloquent in his own right, knowing just how to appease her wounded pride. She leaned against the club door, her fear of falling victim to his expert skills dimming with the familiarity of his company. He was charming and amusing. Two traits lacking in most men in equal quantities. For all his reputation, the ‘rogue’ dukewaseasy to talk to.
“I see you’re warming up to me again,” he said.
He saw too much. “If you state your business, then you may leave and we may both be warm.”
“I’d much rather be cold here with you.” He put up a hand to stop her. “Yes, I know; I’m an idiot.”
She closed her mouth and fought a smile. “Well, then, out with it.”
“I want you to come home with me.”
The smile came regardless of her efforts. “That’s bold of you to ask.”
“Another flaw, you think?”
“Not quite.” She waved him on. “Go on, sweep me off my feet with your reasoning.”
“Is such a thing possible?”
“Doubtful.” She’d needle him into professing some such nonsense of love, as Madam had said. “But I permit you to try your hardest.”
“You are magnificent.”
“Noted. Anything else?”
He licked his lips, his gaze no longer self-assured. “And brilliant.”
