“And yet I did,” he said, just as softly.
His gaze dropped to her lips, just for a moment.
Her breath caught. Cordelia could feel the blush bloom at the base of her throat and race up to her cheeks like it was in a rush to humiliate her thoroughly.
“You know, you should be more careful,” he pointed out in a deep murmur that stirred the very center of her being.
“Of what, Your Grace?”
“One might think you enjoy being helpless in my company,” he teased.
Her eyes widened in shock, and she nearly stumbled back onto a chair that somehow managed to sneak up behind her. “Oh, you are utterly insufferable!”
He leaned a shoulder against the wall with maddening ease, arms crossed over his chest, that half-smile playing on his lips. It was one of his many smiles, this one smug and unrepentantly rakish.
“Only around you,” he said. “You bring it out in me.”
“Because youinsiston behaving like a rake,” she huffed, jabbing a finger in his direction. “You flirt constantly.”
He blinked innocently. “You thinkthisis flirting?”
She stared at him. “Of course, it is!”
He gave her a pitying look. “Cordelia… you wouldn’t recognize real flirting if it stood in front of you and gave you daisies.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“That’s absurd. I… Ididflirt. I tried to seduce you!”
He barked a laugh. “Is that what that was?”
“Yes!” she said, stomping her foot on the floor like a spoiled child. “I kissed you, you absolute beast.”
“And it was a very noble attempt,” he said gravely, “for someone clearly not trained in combat.”
“Still, I kissed you, and what did you do? Push me away? Ha! You kissed me back, so what does that make you?”
He didn’t miss a beat. “A man.”
“A rake!”
“A grateful rake,” he murmured, eyes glinting.
She flung her hands up. “You’re impossible.”
“And you,” he said, straightening now, stepping closer, “are entirely too determined to not be an amateur.”
She took a step back into the writing table again… of course. “Well, I had to try something. I couldn’t be terrible at it forever!”
“Forever?” He was grinning now, full and shameless. “My dear spinster, how many poor unsuspecting victims were you planning to ambush after me?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I was going to stop after I perfected it on you.”
“You were that confident in your ability to improve?”
Cordelia wasn’t entirely sure whether she wanted to slap him, kiss him again, or curl up on the floor and vanish like fog.
So, she settled for folding her arms and saying primly. “I suppose next time I’ll prepare more thoroughly. Perhaps bring diagrams and some grapes for snacks.”
