Exposed: Misbehaving with the Magnate by Kelly Hunter

speak, so that I can stop thinking about it so much and get back to concentrating on my work.’
    Simone turned her head and looked at Gabrielle from over the rim of her sunglasses. ‘Hnh,’ she said finally.
    ‘The thing is, I’m a little nervous about heading out to dinner with a man whose mind I intend to mess with.’
    ‘So you should be,’ said Simone.
    ‘Looking for a little support here,’ murmuredGabrielle. ‘Possibly a little help. I need to know what a woman should do when she wants to drive a man insane with lust.’
    ‘She should not ask the man’s sister how to go about it,’ said Simone dryly. ‘There are some things a sister simply can’t, or won’t, help you with.’
    ‘You’re right. My apologies. That was thoughtless of me.’ Gabrielle drummed her fingers on the café table top. ‘Suppose I were to ask you for more generic advice about heading out to dinner with a man I wanted to seduce. Advice not targeted towards any one individual in particular. Would you have any suggestions on how to go about it then?’
    ‘But of course,’ said Simone. ‘That’s a different request altogether.’
    ‘Excellent. So where does one begin?’
    ‘You’ll need a dress.’
    ‘I have a dress.’
    ‘I never doubted it for a moment,’ said Simone. ‘You’ll also need a coat to go over this dress. The reveal is very important.’
    True, so very true. ‘When would you say was the best time for this reveal to happen?’
    ‘Somewhere public. Somewhere where many eyes will be drawn to you. I’m very fond of making a man feel possessive. Of course, I should warn you that if we were talking about Lucien I would encourage you to skip that step altogether. He’s always been possessive of you and needs no further encouragement in that direction.’
    ‘What about a bunch of little reveals throughout the evening, just to keep his attention? A wrist here, a hint of perfume there.’
    ‘Perfect.’
    ‘Then what?’
    ‘Banter.’
    ‘Sexual?’
    ‘Sophisticated.’ Simone shook her head. ‘I swear, Australia has had an unforgivable influence on you. Where’s your sense of subtlety?’
    ‘Okay, sophisticated and subtly sexual banter.’
    ‘No, no, no!’ said Simone. ‘A woman intent on driving a man mad with lust does not talk of sex at all! All she need do is imagine the sex.’
    ‘I’m not sure that particular piece of advice is going to work for me.’ Imagining sex with Luc tended to fry her brain. Attempting sophisticated non-sexual banter while frying her brain could prove quite a stretch.
    ‘No one said this was going to be easy ,’ said Simone dryly. ‘Seduction is an art, and like any form of art it requires commitment, constant practice, and skill.’
    ‘Okay, I’ll use my imagination. Then what?’
    ‘Pheromones,’ said Simone sagely. ‘Do not underestimate them.’
    ‘Pheromones. Right. Good to know. I’m not even going to ask you how you know this stuff. Anything else?’
    ‘Yes. Seduction isn’t a game so never, ever treat it as one. Seduction is war.’
    ‘War,’ echoed Gabrielle. ‘Not an art form?’
    ‘So much to learn,’ said Simone on a pitying sigh. ‘So little time.’
    ‘I’m a little uncomfortable with seduction as war,’ argued Gabrielle. ‘Couldn’t seduction be a duel instead?’
    ‘All right, seduction is a duel,’ said Simone with anairy wave of her hand. ‘You’ll be wanting the points on the blades removed next.’
    ‘I do want them removed,’ she said earnestly. ‘I don’t want to hurt anyone, Simone. Especially not the person I intend to seduce. That’s not part of the plan.’
    ‘I’m relieved to hear it, all things considered, but the fact remains that I’ve just armed you with a blade. The traditional use of any blade is to force the acquisition of something that would not otherwise be freely given. The traditional response to such a weapon is surrender, but not always. Sometimes the wielder of the blade gets more than they