Read Online How the Scoundrel Seduces by Sabrina Jeffries - Free Book Online Page B

have her lush body in his arms, with her soft mouth opening beneath his and her delicate moans turning his blood to fire, his good sense was reasserting itself.
    He probably just needed sleep or food or . . . a knock in the head. That was why he was being an idiot, imagining he’d felt anything but the usual lust for a pretty woman. That was why he’d been fool enough to touch the sort of woman he usually avoided.
    That was why he was standing here letting her pretend to be unaffected by their kisses. “Admit it,” he growled, “despite not liking me, you desired me.”
    He headed for her once more, and she backed away.
    “It wasn’t desire,” she said. “It was curiosity, nothing more.”
    He bore down on her. “Tell me, princess, do you often lie to yourself?”
    “Don’t call me princess.”
    “Then speak the truth, damn it! And perhaps I’ll stop.”
    She came up against a table and halted. So did he,though a few inches more would put him well within reach of her again. But he didn’t want to be that close. Not when all he wanted to do right now was provide her with another “demonstration,” over and over, until she admitted that she wanted him.
    That wouldn’t be wise. If he had any sense at all, he would never attempt such a demonstration again.
    But it chafed him that she was still denying their attraction, even to herself. Any other chit like her would be enjoying the chance at a private flirtation where she needn’t be careful.
    Instead, she looked panicked. “Please, Mr. Bonnaud . . .”
    “Tristan,” he ground out, irritated that she behaved as if he might ravish her on the spot. “After what we just did, you can damned well call me by my Christian name in private.”
    Hell and thunder, what was wrong with him? He was behaving like an arse, and God only knew why. Still, he refused to take the words back.
    She curled her fingers into her skirts as if to keep from reaching for him . . . or, more likely, slapping the tar out of him. He was probably lucky she hadn’t already done so, given her mercurial nature. He was traveling so far beyond the bounds of propriety that he’d soon be in another county.
    “Have it your way . . . Tristan,” she said in a frosty tone. “I concede that you may have shed a certain new light on my impression of relations between men and women, but—”
    “Don’t pretty it up with fancy words. There’s nothing to be ashamed of, no matter what you’ve been taught. For a few moments, you enjoyed our kisses. Admit it.”
    “All right, perhaps I . . . found them intriguing.” She drew herself up stiffly. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I want more from marriage than mere physical attraction. I happen to believe in marrying for love. My parents were wildly happy together, and I’m determined to find a match like theirs if I can.”
    “ Love?  ” he said with a roll of his eyes. “Oh, for God’s sake—”
    “What? You think it impossible that I might marry for love?”
    “Not you specifically. Anyone. It’s naïve to plan one’s future around an unattainable dream. You’re begging to be disappointed.” Though at least she would have her money to soothe her disappointment. Mother had gained nothing but heartache and loss from her unattainable dream of love. It was why he’d put his heart on ice long ago.
    “I’d rather find that out for myself, thank you very much.”
    He managed a shrug. “If some fantasy of love is what you’re after, then you’d better pray that you are the true heir to Winborough. Or be prepared to take your chances on hiding the truth about your past from your cousin.”
    She frowned. “It’s possible that I could fall in love with him. Unlikely, I should think, but possible. That would certainly solve everything.”
    The fact that she could speak so nonchalantly ofanother man after practically swooning in his arms irritated him, and then his irritation irritated him. The woman was a plague, damn