Page 33 of Seducing the Knave

But as soon as she had the thought, there was an abrupt change in his gaze. The lovely possessive intensity was swept aside, replaced by a sweeping glance of impatience.

Then he turned and crossed to where his coat had been left draped over one of the chairs.

Unsettled and slightly annoyed by his swiftly shifting manner, Elle turned her attention back to dressing. Retrieving her gown, she slipped the once-elegant and pristine silk over her head and glanced back to the mirror. But her altered position made it so that instead of seeing her reflection, she saw the bathing tub.She almost passed the detail off as inconsequential until she recalled that she’d been standing in nearly the same place when she’d dressed last night.

While Max had been bathing.

Her gasp was sharp with realization. “You could see me.”

“What’s that?”

Holding her loose bodice against her chest, she turned to face him.

“You watched me dress last night,” she accused, her belly tight.

Pausing in his task of buttoning his coat, he lifted his gaze to hers. A wolfish grin curved his mouth. “And a stirring sight it was.”

Elle gasped. Oh my God! He’d seen her totally nude. And he wasn’t even the slightest bit repentant. “A gentleman would have averted his gaze.”

His eyes darkened and his voice grew rough as he replied, “A bleedin’ saint couldn’t’ve looked away.”

The raw sensuality in his tone triggered an entirely unwanted rush of heat through her body. But he turned away as though he hadn’t just admitted to a shocking impropriety. Before leaving the room, he noted casually, “No more dallying.”

And then he was gone.

Fighting through frustration, she finished dressing then checked to ensure her remaining earring and a matching bracelet were still tucked safely away before sweeping up her cloak around her shoulders. There seemed little reason to pull the hood up to conceal her face, but she did so anyway.

The front room of the inn was already filling with patrons but Max was nowhere in sight. Stepping outside, she was a bit relieved to see the carriage there waiting even though she was fairly certain the man wouldn’t have truly left without her.

As the groom assisted her into the vehicle, she saw that once again, the cad had taken the front-facing seat. She made no attempt at hiding her displeasure, mumbling about his blatant lack of courtesy. Once she was settled and glanced up, it was to see Max watching her. His jaw was hard as stone but his mouth held a sinful curve.

“Ye can always join me over here.” His voice was rich and raspy.

She did her best to ignore how attractive he looked in that moment—raw and elegant and totally unpredictable.

“I’m quite sure that’s not a good idea,” she retorted despite the rush of warmth through her blood at the memory of how he’d held her between his thighs. “No doubt you’d end up doing something entirely improper.”

His eyes gleamed and the flash of his teeth sent a quiver of awareness straight through her core. “Ye got that right, luv,” he agreed in a thick murmur. “So many things.”

The suggestion in his voice was unmistakable.

Though she wanted desperately to say something clever and cutting, the wild fluttering in her low belly stole her breath and her wits. Instead, she turned her head to look out the window in a deliberate show of ignoring him.

His responding chuckle turned the flutter into a whirlwind.

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