Page 15 of Seducing Sophia (Scholars of Seduction)

“She has agreed to remain in her study, provided your door is kept open,” he said. “That is, if you agree.”

“Is that so I can call for help if need be?”

His eyes crinkled into a smile. “I assure you that you’re safe from me,” he said. “The only damage you’re likely to sustain is a little earache from my playing.”

“You weren’t that bad,” she said, “for a beginner.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Was I not?”

His cocksure air ought to have annoyed her, but it was steeped in a layer of boyish charm.

“You know full well you weren’t,” she said. “You played that minuet almost flawlessly.”

“Except for my fingering,” he replied. “If I recall, the criticism you levelled at my technique.”

“Then, today, we must work to perfect your fingering.”

“I can think of nothing that would give me greater pleasure.” His eyes darkened and he flexed his fingers—long, expert fingers that had glided effortlessly over the piano keys. What might they be capable of if they took command of her? How might they feel against her skin?”

“Mrs. Black?”

She startled at his voice, and looked up to see him watching her, his eyes glowing with intensity.

“You seem preoccupied, all of a sudden,” he said.

An uncomfortable heat bloomed in her cheeks, and she fanned herself with the music book.

“It’s a little hot in here.”

“Isn’t it just…”

His nostrils flared, and she inched away from him, squeezing her thighs together to ease the ache that had begun to pool between them.

“Before we begin,” he said, “might I have the pleasure of an audience with young Henry?”

“For what purpose?”

“I have a gift for him.”

“You shouldn’t have,” she said. “It creates an obligation.”

“I made your son a promise,” he replied, “and you wouldn’t be so ungenerous as to refuse a man the opportunity to make good on his promise, would you?”

Memories of William tore through her mind. “In my experience, few men are capable of making good on their promises,” she said.

He raised his eyebrows in inquiry, and she looked away. How could she be so foolish as to expose her feelings!

When she resumed her gaze, he was still looking at her, his eyes darkening.

“You must permit me to atone for the behavior of the rest of my sex,” he said. “I won’t insult your intelligence by saying that every man of the world is capable of keeping his promises, but I hope you’ll have cause to believe that some of us are capable of displaying honor, even if we are few, and far between.”

“Very well,” she said, “I’ll permit you to see him once the lesson is concluded.”

“He’s a fine-looking young man,” he said. “Such unusual coloring. I presume he favors his father.”

His expression held a tone of sincerity, but she couldn’t afford to trust a man. Not again. At all costs she must do everything she could to prevent herself from falling under the spell of this man.

This beautiful, virile man, who made her body experience sensations she’d never believed possible.

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