A Little Bit Scandalous Page 0,68

of indulgence, but there was something more there. Something deeper and more honest.

“You don’t have to live that way. Certainly there are other gentlemen who do other things with their lives.” She tried desperately to ignore the swatch of chest showing now that his shirt was unbuttoned.

“Ah, but they are mere barons and viscounts.”

Mere barons. Like her father had been. Even Roe himself knew there was a difference between them. But she shook it off. “Not lofty dukes.”

He smiled at her, gesturing toward her with his glass. “Precisely.” He took the cards from her.

“You could do wonderful things with your money. There are so many areas that need changing here in London.”

“Are you suggesting I could become the Benevolent Duke?”

“It is a thought. Could be more entertaining than the alternative. I know it’s not at all something your father would do, or other dukes for that matter.”

“Interesting. A philanthropic noble. I could get use to such a notion.”

They played several more hands in silence, taking turns passing the deal back and forth. Unfortunately, after Roe lost his shirt, she lost count of the cards. She lost three hands in a row and in doing so lost her stockings and then her trousers, so she sat in her undergarments and the overly long shirt.

As she’d peeled off the trousers, Roe’s eyes had darkened as he watched her. If he knew she was seducing him, he never said anything. Perhaps he thought he could resist her. Perhaps he could resist her. She took a seat, crossed her bare legs over each other. Roe’s eyes slid down the length of her.

“I do love those legs,” he said absently.

She didn’t know what to say. She wanted to prance across the room and give him a good long look. Or perhaps she should simply climb up on the table and give him an up close look.

They made their way to the end of the deck and she was able to shuffle. Now she could keep a better count of what was going on with the cards. She doubted it, though. After Roe had lost two hands in a row—purely by luck, as her skill had seemed to disappear completely—he’d removed his boots, and something about the sight of his bare toes had her curling her own. Damnation, but he was so attractive. She wanted nothing more than to go and straddle him across his chair. Her cheeks flamed at the thought.

His eyebrow rose. “Do I want to know what you were just thinking about?”

She released a slow breath. “Probably not. I think I might need to suspend the game for a moment.” She set the cards down and picked up her glass, padded her way across the room to refill her drink.

She took a sip, then turned to face him. “Do you want some?”

“You have no idea.”

…

She was ridiculously seductive. He watched her saunter back to the table, padding over in her bare feet, her long glorious legs, that linen shirt hanging down just passed her bottom. Her bare bottom, he knew because she’d lost her drawers already. He never would have thought a woman could look that attractive in a man’s shirt, but she did. She looked utterly irresistible.

He’d intended to simply tell her about his plans once they returned tonight, but then she’d wanted to play. And her delicious idea about playing cards for clothes.

He knew he should have refused, should have been stronger and done things the right way, but, hell, a man could take only so much. If he was going to marry her, he might as well let her seduce him. He’d wanted her in his bed since the moment he first kissed her.

“Does it not concern you that I dallied with another woman while I was supposedly wooing Penelope for marriage?” he asked abruptly.

She sat back down. “Not particularly. You weren’t married yet, you weren’t even engaged, so it doesn’t seem like the gravest of sins. And you did not bed her, you merely, what kissed her?”

Her words were like balm to his burning skin providing just enough hope for him to grab onto. Perhaps she was right. Perhaps he wouldn’t turn out like his father, though that certainly seemed unlikely. In any case, he needed to get his mind back on the cards before he admitted any of his other sins.

“You need a pause? I was just warming up,” he said.

Challenge flashed in her eyes. “Intermission is over.” She nodded toward the cards. “Deal the hand.”

His lips quirked