Page 38 of Seducing Sophia (Scholars of Seduction)

Beside it was a piano stool with matching legs and ornate carved wooden handles, upholstered in a green-and-white striped pattern to match the curtains in the room.

The entire room seemed to have been fashioned to suit the instrument, almost as if it were treated as a member of the family to be loved and treasured, rather than an accessory to be shown off to guests.

“What a beautiful instrument!” she cried. “May I see?”

“On one condition.”

“Which is?”

“That you play for me, of course.”

She hesitated. “I don’t know…”

“Well, I do,” he said. “How many times have you had to endure my playing? Yet not once have I heard you play, unless you count the occasional passage in a piece I’ve been learning, when you’ve put my own attempts to shame by showing me how it ought to be done.”

“I’m not used to playing for an audience,” she said.

“What about playing for a friend?” He led her across the room. “I have had it tuned, and have it on good authority that the pitch is perfect. I would be eager to know your opinion.”

He pursed his lips and gave her an expression of mock hurt, not unlike the look Henry would give her when he was about to burst into tears after she’d refused him a third helping of pudding.

“Of course,” he said, “if you wish to banish me from the room while you play, then I will oblige you—albeit, most reluctantly.”

He cocked his head to one side and she yielded to the urge to laugh.

“Ah,” he said, “at least I have the capacity to amuse my piano teacher.”

“Only when you remind me of an injured puppy pleading for a tidbit.”

“And will you throw me a tidbit?”

He lifted his hands and placed them in the position of a begging dog. With a laugh she swiped his hands away.

“Would you make a fool of yourself?” she asked. “And of me?”

His expression sobered. “I would never make a fool of you, Sophia,” he said. “You have my word.”

“I find you something of an enigma,” she said. “At times I wonder if you deceive me.”

A flash of guilt crossed his expression. “What do you mean?”

“My first impression of you was that you seemed an arrogant man—and a rake, used to getting his own way,” she said, “and with little care for the world around you. But your history paints your portrait as that of a war hero.”

“And now?”

She waved her hand around the room. “Here, in the country, you are a very different man indeed.”

“Which do you prefer?”

“I find myself more able to indulge in a frank, honest conversation with the man I see before me now,” she said. “Honesty is a trait I value above all things. That, and loyalty.”

“If you’re concerned about my honesty, particularly with regard to Henry, may I assure you that you have nothing to fear?” He took her hand and drew it to his breast.

“Sophia,” he said, “I am your friend—and I could be more if you wished it.”

She met his gaze and her heart beat faster at the expression in his eyes—those beautiful eyes that spoke of forbidden promises and secret pleasures. She lowered her gaze to his lips, full, sensual lips that curved into a seductive smile. What might they taste like?

Her mouth watered at the prospect and she parted her own lips and ran her tongue across her upper lip. He moved closer and his breath caressed her lips in a soft sigh.

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