She caught her breath. “Well, no. I mean, yes, I see you as my friend. I have few enough of those, so I cherish them. I meant more that I…I cannot beyourfriend, can I?”
He was silent a long moment, just watching her through a hooded gaze that left his emotions unreadable. “You think me incapable?”
“No, not at all. I only mean thatFinnis your friend. Your best friend. I’m just the annoying little sister who you are forced to be kind to. Aren’t I?”
She wished she weren’t asking the question. Said out loud, it made her feel so needy and pathetic. But she wanted things to be clear between them, perhaps because the last few times they’d spent together had felt so confused.
He leaned forward in his chair, and though there was a reasonable distance between them it still felt suddenly close in the large room. His bright blue eyes bore into hers, holding her steady and keeping her from turning away. “When we were all children, I suppose I once thought of you as the tagalong sibling who interrupted our fun and forced Finn to run after you, making certain you were unharmed.”
She smiled, for she hadn’t heard Sebastian call her brother by his first name in years.
“But,” he said, stressing the word gently, “that feeling faded swiftly enough. Soon I looked forward to seeing you as much as I did him. And as we’ve become adults, I promise you that I value your friendship as entirely separate from his.”
There was a charged moment that hung between them and then he sat back, all casual confidence again. “If you don’t believe me, please take the fact that I would court his wrath by inviting you into my lair and teaching you to throw a punch against his wishes.”
She smothered a smile and looked around. “It isn’t much of a lair, Sebastian.”
He caught his breath. “Slander! I’ll have you know I’ve worked hard to make it so.”
“Please, you have pretty parlors and a lovely dining room. This room here is unusual in its purpose, but there’s light and happiness in the layout. It all verifies what I’ve long suspected.”
“And what is that?”
“You’re not the rake you pretend to be,” she said.
If she thought he would smile, he didn’t. Instead, he moved forward again and this time his eyes smoldered when he held hers. “I promise you, my dear, I very much am.”
She swallowed, uncertain what to say to him, but he didn’t seem to require a response because he pushed to his feet and strode away from her back toward the middle of the room. “Let’s continue, shall we?”
She pursed her lips as she followed him and watched as he positioned himself back where they had started. She looked toward the ring behind him. “Do you not use that?”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Well, yes, of course. During sparring and if I host a real match.”
“But we’re not going to use it?”
He smiled. “I wasn’t certain you’d want to climb over the ropes in your dress. Or be trapped in the ring with me.”
She returned his smile. “I’ve climbed over plenty of fences in the country. I don’t see how this would be much different. And perhaps I’ve learned so much from you in the last hour thatyou’llfeel trapped in the ring with me.”
His grin widened as he stepped toward the ring and pressed a foot to the lower rope and a hand to the higher one to open a bigger space for her. “I accept that challenge, my lady. Please, after you.”
There was a flutter in her chest as she moved toward the slightly raised ring. She’d teased, something entirely against her character and yet always felt natural with Sebastian, but now she stared at the gap between the ropes and was uncertain how to proceed without dropping herself head over heels into the ring.
He held out a hand. “Or are you having second thoughts?”
“No,” she muttered, and took the hand he offered. He gripped her firmly, steadying her as she stepped onto the narrow ledge of the elevated platform. “Do you have any suggestions?”
“I think if you just lift your skirt a little higher, you’ll find it easier.”
She glanced up at him. A lady didn’t show a gentleman her ankles or calves. He would see both if she did as he suggested. “Will you close your eyes?”
He shook his head with a chuckle. “You think I haven’t seen such things before.”
“Not such things on me,” she said with a playful glare for him.
He obliged her by shutting his eyes. “Go ahead.”
She lifted her skirts, leaned on his hand and ducked under the top rope to slip into the ring. When she released his hand and smoothed her dress down, she said, “You may look now.”
