He shrugged again. “Perhaps I am adhering to the remaining shreds of honor I possess.”
Jo did not believe that explanation. Not for a moment. She wondered how he could be so handsome and careless at the same time. How he could make a noncommittal gesture seem sensual and suggestive.
Regardless, the man was continuing to hold her list and her hat captive. She had to end this stalemate.
“Suppose I accept your assistance with my list,” she allowed. “What does that entail?”
“Lord and Lady Sinclair are hosting a ball tomorrow night. I trust you will be attending?”
Of course she would be there. The ball was Callie’s way of easing her once-ostracized husband back into society’s good graces. “Yes.”
“Excellent. So shall I. Save me a dance. We will discuss it further then.”
He wanted to make her wait an entire day? And why did the promise of a dance with him tomorrow make her heart beat faster than it already was?
“Fine,” she agreed grimly. “Now my hat and list, if you please.”
He retrieved her hat and skirted his desk, coming to stand before her once more. Again, she fought the urge to retreat. He startled her by running his fingers over her cheek, then tucking an errant tendril of hair she had not noticed behind her ear.
Just one swift graze of his bare skin upon hers.
And yet, she felt that touch.
Everywhere.
“A stray curl,” he explained, lest, Jo supposed, she think there was any other reason for that fleeting caress. “In your dudgeon, it came free of your coiffure.” Then he placed her hat neatly upon her head. “There you are, darling. The list, I am afraid, will have to wait.”
He turned away from her and strode back toward the other side of his desk.
She glared at his broad, undeniably masculine form and long legs as he went. Wishing the back of him was not also beautifully formed, and every bit as compelling as the front of him. He was all tall, sensual elegance. He moved with a careless grace that bespoke a man who knew the effect he had upon every lady in his presence.
Jo included, no matter how much she wished it were the opposite.
“You told me if I accepted your aid, you would give me the list,” she pointed out, flustered and irritated.
“I did indeed,” he agreed with effortless sangfroid as he faced her from behind his desk. “However, I am a businessman, you understand. I do not surrender all my power for bargaining until I am satisfied the exchange shall be mutual, not reneged upon.”
“You scoundrel!” she exploded, as furious with herself as she was with him. “You could have told me that from the beginning.”
“I could have.” The roguish grin was back. “But it would not have been nearly as amusing. Now, if you will excuse me, I do have a great many concerns requiring my attention today. Macfie will escort you to your carriage. Until tomorrow.”
With that, he seated himself and began sifting through the papers atop his desk, as if she had already gone. As if it were entirely acceptable for a gentleman to seat himself in the presence of a standing lady. And one who outranked him, at that. She was the sister of an earl, and he was the bastard son of one.
Jo entertained a brief, wild fantasy of throwing herself across his desk and rescuing her list. But in the end, she gathered the tattered remnants of her pride and left the office of Mr. Elijah Decker, cunning rakehell extraordinaire, just as empty-handed as when she had arrived.
Chapter Two
It was not yet time for Decker to collect his dance.
But one of the excellent advantages of being friends with the host and hostess of the ball meant that he was more than familiar with the layout of the Earl of Sinclair’s newly refurbished townhome. It also meant he could avoid being announced. In the interim, he could indulge in one of his favorite vices.
Watching.
Only, this form of watching was not nearly as piquant as the variety he had previously indulged in on the rare occasion. However, since Lady Jo Danvers was present, occupying a place on the periphery of the gathering and looking deliciously innocent in her pink silk gown adorned with white roses, it would suffice.
For now.
Observing the gathering of lords and ladies from a private balcony no one else knew was open had its merits. He had been ensconced here since just after the ball’s commencement, having reached the balcony