Until she’d met this man, she’d never thought anything wrong with her desire to conform to society’s rules and expectations. But this duke…
She wanted to defy him.
And confound him.
He thought he had her measure. Well…
“You have a bargain.”
His knowing smile fell, then froze.Shehad flummoxedhim. No small victory, that.
“Pardon?”
“You heard me.”
“And, to be clear, the bargain is that if I pose nude for you, you shall pose nude for me.”
“Yes.”
It occurred to Amelia that she could be a different sort of person with this man. Someone who veered closer to the heart of who she truly was. Someone society had never seen. Even her siblings didn’t know this Amelia.
The look in his eyes shifted, no longer distant, but considering. “I’ll get what I want, and you’ll get what you need.”
“And what is it I need?” she asked, a bit breathless.
“Experience,” he said, his gaze unrelenting. “And I can give it to you with my body.”
Yet another blade of heat struck through Amelia, and for a moment she forgot what they were even discussing.
“You need to fully immerse yourself in the human form to deepen your work.”
Were they still talking about painting? Because her body and that secret placedown thereseemed to have a very different idea—and hope—that he was talking about something else.
He closed the distance between them and extended his hand. “You have a deal.”
She hesitated for the briefest moment, panic threatening to overtake her. She allowed it no air as she placed her hand in his. The contact lasted but a few seconds, but she felt the imprint of his skin scorch upon hers.
A fire lit silver within his eyes. A determination, too.
Anticipation slid up Amelia’s spine, curled in her gut… and lower too. Anticipation of what, she wasn’t certain. But she did know she’d never felt more alive in her seven and twenty years than she did in this instant.
She reclaimed her hand and wobbled ungracefully to her feet. She needed to get away from this man, so she couldthink. “I’ll, um, see you…soon.”
And her boot heels were clicking against the terracotta tiled floor, and she was exiting through the exterior door, upsetting the peace of his inner courtyard in her mad scramble to be away.
Surely, he watched her through the window.
And, surely, he expected her to go back on their agreement.
In truth, she half expected it, too. Except…
She had something to learn from that man. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she knew one thing.
Only he could teach her.
Chapter Six
Next evening
