"I assure you it's no hardship to share my bed. So I've been told." The immodest scoundrel continued to stalk her through the sitting area. "Something tells me you and I would suit very well in that regard."
"You insult my honor, sir," she said furiously. "If I were a man, I would call you out!"
"Good thing you're not a man, then. For more reasons than one." The bounder had the gall to flash straight, white teeth. "And 'twas a compliment, Miss Fines, not an insult. Typically I would not bother with an inexperienced virgin such as yourself. But I have the feeling that you would be worth the trouble... and then some."
His masculine appraisal sent a quiver all the way down to her toes. No one had ever looked at her with this level of… intensity. A strange thrum entered her blood. Was this how a deer felt when cornered by a wolf? All instincts screamed run, and yet her limbs remained frozen.
She shook herself out of the daze. Blast it, what was this effect Hunt had on her? Perhaps he possessed Mesmeric skills, which would only be fitting for a villain.
"Your tricks are wasted on me," she declared. She'd read enough novels to know how a heroine ought to react. Like arrows of virtue, words flew unerringly from her lips. "I will never succumb to your advances. You might as well know that I have already found my one true love, and nothing could make me betray him."
A copper gleam lit Hunt's gaze. "You do have a flair for drama, do you not Miss Fines?" he drawled. "Those sound like tired lines from an insipid play."
Drat the man. Those were lines fromhermanuscript. In truth, she'd shelvedThe Perils of Priscillafor two reasons: as part of her self-improvement plan, yes, but also because she'd found herself sadly short on inspiration. Her own hum-drum existence provided nothing original or exciting to write about. To have Hunt catch onto that fact riled her.
"The point is," she said through clenched teeth, "my affections are already taken."
"Dear God, what has affection to do with anything?" He sounded genuinely surprised. "We're talking about lust here, not love—if indeed the latter exists. Which I doubt."
She stared at him with jaw slackened. Did he just say the wordlustin her presence? And what sort of a person did not believe in the existence of love?
"Love does exist," she sputtered.
"In novels," he agreed, "and the minds of feather-brained females who read them."
Percy held onto the fraying edge of her temper. Barely. "I wouldn't expect a man like you to know anything about love and romance."
"Perhaps not. But I do know human nature."
"You donotknow me."
"Really." His look turned level, challenging. "Would you care to wager your brother's freedom on that?"
She blinked at him. "I beg your pardon?"
"I am asking whether or not you are willing to back up your righteous convictions by engaging in a little bet," he said. "To sweeten the deal, I'll make the stakes your brother's debt."
Don't listen to him. It must be some sort of trick.
Just to be safe, she scooted behind a coffee table, rattling the bowl of fruit on its surface. An apple wobbled at the top of the pile; if need be, she'd pelt him with it.
She inched closer to the fruit. "Explain yourself. What kind of a bet?"
"A wager of seduction, if you will." He stood on the other side of the coffee table. Scarred and foreboding, all he lacked was a cape and a cackle to make the perfect rogue. "My carnal skills pitted against your notions of love and fidelity. In short, I shall attempt to divest you of your virginity, and we shall see if you can resist."
"That is absurd," she said, "and of course I could resist you, you arrogant ass!"
"Then prove it. If you win, I'll release your brother's vowels. If you lose,"—his nostrils flared—"you will deliver your brother and his deed to me forthwith."
"Do you think I came into the world yesterday?" she retorted. "I am well aware of how a villain's mind works. In this so-called wager, what is to stop you from drugging me or tying me up or resorting to some other dastardly means to claim your victory?"
"My, what a wild imagination you have." His slow smile made her belly quiver like an aspic. "But that wouldn't be sporting, would it? I enjoy a fair challenge, Miss Fines. You have my word that I will not coerce you in any way. Ask anyone: my word is my bond."
Even her brother had said that Hunt was a man of his word. That he never forgot a favor or a debt. Which was precisely what made Paul's position so precarious. She chewed on her lip. There must be some hidden angle to all of this. Something she was missing...
"So you are saying you'd abide by my wishes? That, according to the rules of the wager, you would have to… desist when I tell you to?" she said skeptically.
"Ifyou tell me to. Of course, I would have the option of trying to change your mind."
