only see how lovely and interesting you are when someone else notices it first?”
“You have no idea what my marriage to Martin might be like, and you are only giving me the slightest bit of notice because I am paying you to.”
“You can lead a horse to water, but … well, you know the saying. Money or no money, I think I saw you far before he ever did.”
“You hardly know me.”
“I know enough. I know that you are afraid of letting people see how fiery and passionate you are for fear of scorn. You won’t let anyone get too close because you think it will make it easier for you to belong. I can tell you’ve never really been kissed.”
She frowned, trying to concentrate on what he was saying but finding it difficult when he wouldn’t stop touching her. His finger had caressed her jaw, twined through a strand of her hair, and now traced a slow path down the side of her neck, pausing just where her pulse thundered. The effect was just as alarming as when he had touched her arm.
“That isn’t true. I’ve been kissed, more than once.”
He chuckled, and the sound sent vibrations through the core of her being. His laugh was deep and husky, thick and full.
“Some overeager lord sloppily trying to devour your pretty lips does not count. I’d be willing to bet you didn’t enjoy a single one of those kisses.”
Damn him, he was right. Kisses from past suitors had been underwhelming at best.
“I didn’t feel anything for those men, so of course their kisses weren’t enjoyable. I imagine it will be different with someone I actually like.”
Dominick’s smile turned wicked as he took his coin between two fingers and held it up before her. “Care to put that to the test?”
She blinked, staring at the coin in bemusement. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s simple. You are asserting that a kiss can only be enjoyable with Lewes because you admire him. I daresay you even fancy yourself in love with him. Am I wrong?”
“N-no, not really. I cannot say I love him just yet, but … I know that someday I could. I will.”
He watched her as if searching for more of an explanation. Perhaps he wanted to know why she felt that way. Calliope couldn’t explain her feelings, aside from the fact that Martin Lewes was everything she’d ever wanted in a man. He was everything Dominick was not.
“I think it safe to also assume that you don’t like me very much. There is no need for you to protest, I’m fully aware that I unsettle you. You find me crass and arrogant, and you only endure my presence out of necessity. However, I know something you’ve yet to be made aware of. Attraction and desire can exist between two people whether they like one another or not.”
“Are you saying you want me, but don’t like me?”
It was an absurd question of all the things she might have asked. Yet, the words had come tumbling out before she could think better of them.
He tweaked her nose with a playful grin. “I never said that. I like you just fine, goddess. But I think you would sleep just fine each night were I to fall off the face of the Earth. Anyway, this isn’t about whether I like you, but if you are prepared to test your theory.” The coin waved before her face, before he settled it onto his bent thumb, prepared to flip it. “Heads, you let me kiss you to prove my point. Tails, we leave right now, and I never mention it again.”
Calliope crossed her arms and glared at him. “You are mad if you think I’m willing to make such a wager.”
“What does it matter when you are secure in the knowledge that you dislike me? If your theory holds true, my kiss will prove as unpleasant as the others and you can walk away from me content in the knowledge that you were right. If you care so deeply for Lewes, then you oughtn’t worry that a single kiss will be enough to sway you.”
“It won’t,” she snapped, annoyed with him for challenging the deeply-held beliefs that had put her on her present course. “Besides, Martin has never kissed me, so there is no basis for comparison.”
“There will be. If I haven’t missed my guess, there will be the chance for you to make the comparison in the very near future. Now … what do you say? One