Seven Secrets of Seduction by Anne Mallory

pertinent piece of the bribe. The Bengal ? Her uncle would push her into a hack and direct her to show the viscount whatever he wanted if she could obtain a copy. He would sit on top of the carriage and call out directions to wherever they needed to go. And her uncle disliked traveling by carriage only slightly less than she did.
    She could see by the viscount’s face that he was well aware of her uncle’s desire. But she could barely breathe seated next to the man now. And she was to offer herself up as a conquest?
    â€œHow would you measure my success?” Her mouth moved without the express permission of the rational part of her mind. Something else, her own desire perhaps, curled around, covering her good sense like a tendril of ivy creeping over stone.
    â€œWell, that is dependent on you. Me? I’ll be working to have you whispering to the gods.” He smiled. Slowly. Fully. All lovely lips and chiseled features. “We’ll see who bends first.”
    It felt as if her heart would beat clear of her chest at any moment.
    â€œYou are going to seduce—” She cleared her throat forcefully. “ Try to seduce me?”
    â€œI thought I had been quite direct on the point.”
    â€œBut that is ridiculous.”
    â€œYou don’t care for people saying what they mean?”
    â€œThe notion of your seducing me is ridiculous.”
    â€œI might take that as a blow to my confidence if I had any concept of humility.” The look in his eyes, full of the lazy strength he always projected, said that he was deliberately misinterpreting her words. “I might fail.” He waved a hand. “Then you will be all the richer.”
    â€œI, I can’t.”
    â€œYou don’t want the copy of The Bengal ? I’ll tell you what. I will give it to you just for agreeing and seeing the challenge through for a week. And the cuff too. I’ve heard all the ladies desire one.”
    Her uncle would kill her for refusing. But everything about the proposal and the silken way he uttered the seemingly casual words screamed, “ Danger! Crumbling cliff ahead! ”
    She swallowed. “Where would I wear such a piece?”
    â€œWherever you wish.”
    She stared at him. She’d just mosey on down to the market with a fortune in diamonds dripping from her wrist.
    â€œNo hidden strings attached as long as you accept the challenge. Just one measly week.”
    When she continued to stay silent, he leaned toward her with an intensity she couldn’t define. “Do it for me,” his husky voice wrapped around her. “Try and teach me what you see.”
    The syllables, the heat, caressed her skin, looking for ways to lock her inside.
    â€œVery well.”
    Had that been her breathless voice accepting?
    He smiled, and her heart thumped in her chest. “Excellent. I can’t tell you how pleased that makes me.”
    He leaned toward her another few inches. She remained frozen in place as his lips grazed her ear. “I promise that I will make the bending very pleasant.”
    Each word curled inward. Her chest felt unexpectedly heavy—lifting and straining against her dress, which suddenly felt one size too small. His cheek brushed hers as he slid back, the edge of his mouth touched the edge of hers. Her eyes closed of their own will. A corner of her stone rationality crumbled as she wondered what being kissed truly felt like. Would it be like the wonder of finding a new, beloved book? Or the awe of seeing fireworks lighting the sky?
    She felt the edge of his mouth curl. “Such temptation that I can’t resist,” he whispered, the words barely audible above the pounding of her blood, around the dampened perception of everything else in the room that wasn’t him.
    If he but turned a hair to the left. If she but turned one to the right…
    He rose suddenly, a swish of warm skin, then cold air. “Shall I send some men to help