Beauty Tempts the Beast (Sins for All Seasons #6) - Lorraine Heath Page 0,26

his chair, he leaned closer to her. “I’ll be honest with you, Miss Stanwick. I hate this bloody business, and I want out. But I can’t do it guilt-free without ensuring they have something better.”

His tone held a desperation that gave her an advantage. “You’ve given me six months. I can accomplish the goal in three.”

“Fifteen hundred if you do.”

“Two thousand.”

She could tell he wanted to smile again, but instead he flattened that lovely mouth and his jaw tightened. The victory was hers. He was simply striving to make it appear that he wasn’t cratering into her demands without some contemplation.

“You drive a hard bargain, Miss Stanwick, but if you can see this business shut down in three months, I’ll happily pay the two thousand.”

It took everything within her not to gloat. But still it wasn’t enough.

Three months. At the end of that time, what was she to do? She’d have money, yes, but it wasn’t going to see her through the remainder of her life. And if Marcus and Griffith were still engaged in a dangerous enterprise, she couldn’t have them worrying about her. She would still be in need of a protector and was unlikely to acquire a husband.

Clutching the sherry glass, she rose and began pacing, striding between the chair and the window, the window and the chair, passing by several statuettes of nude couples, their bodies scandalously entwined. Back and forth she went, giving thought to all he was offering, all she required.

She finally stopped in front of him. When she’d risen, he’d come to his feet, so now he towered over her. She should have been afraid of him, of the strength and power he projected with such ease. But she realized she’d never feared him. She hadn’t needed to go to Kat to know that he would never harm her. She trusted him. For some reason she always had. “I need more.”

“Name your price.”

“I want you to teach me how to be a seductress.”

Chapter 6

This encounter had certainly taken a drastic turn he’d not anticipated. He’d assumed she’d ask for a few more pounds, a carriage for getting about, a new wardrobe. That she continued to hold his gaze indicated she was serious regarding her request.

“For what purpose?” he finally asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

She gave him a small, teasing smile. “To seduce.”

“I’m deadly serious, Miss Stanwick. Why would you ask this of me?”

He saw a flicker of doubt in her eyes. She set her sherry glass on a low table near the chair in which she’d been sitting, and then lifted her chin defiantly. “Because it will give me the freedom and the means to be my own woman.”

She took a step toward him. “You yearn to be free of your current circumstance. Help me gain what I desire.” Another step.

Everything within him urged him to move away, but he held his ground as she came near enough that the silk covering her bosom brushed up against the satin of his waistcoat. His hands, once relaxed against his arms, now gripped them with such intensity that he was certain to discover bruises later.

“You could show me how men like to be kissed—”

He’d failed to notice before how full her bottom lip was, what a plump cushion it would be. If he rounded his shoulders, lowered his head, he could take that mouth gently, tenderly at first. Then once she’d become accustomed to him, he’d take complete possession, and deepen the kiss.

“—touched—”

The gown revealed the upper swells of her breasts. He could dip a finger or his tongue between the hollow where they met. Stroke one breast, then the other.

“—held.”

Naked, on a bed. She couldn’t reach all of him, but her head to his shoulder, her feet to just below his knee, would suffice. Her breasts flattened against his chest. His large hands cupping her buttocks.

Taking hold of one end of his neck cloth, she pulled until the knot he’d carefully created earlier was no more. She gave a little tug that brought him a fraction nearer to her. “You could turn me into a man’s fantasy.”

How could she not realize that she had already achieved that goal? The temptation of her was almost more than he could stand.

Never taking her gaze from his, she splayed a palm against his chest where his heart thudded, and no doubt vibrated against her fingers. “You. You could teach me how to bring exquisite pleasure.”

But at what cost? Having had her, could he let her