Fortunately, he was well-mannered enough not to stare.
Miss Adler was certainly no great beauty to be lusted after, no matter how objectively pleasing her small but perfectly formed tits happened to be.
Not that glancing at the same would cause lust. Nor would he ever engage in such in the first place.
People, even those more powerful than he, did not maintain their status long if they yielded to an emotion so reckless. One of the benefits of having older brothers who collected and bequeathed you a veritable trove of erotic materials upon your bar mitzvah was the advancement of abilities with one’s own hand. Mechanics and know-how were key to pleasure, not the identity of one’s partner.
“Do you maintain this yourself?” Miss Adler asked, interrupting his thoughts, as she gazed up at the ceiling of the glasshouse, now almost completely covered in snow. He and Lopez would need to clear it in the morning, as even partial sun was better than none.
“Yes,” he said as she moved his space, inspecting his roses. “Mostly.”
“Does that mean you merely futz around from time to time? Or do you take the lead?” Her hips swished as she turned back to him then reached out and stroked one of his leaves.
Despite all his training and sense, Roger’s body tightened with desire. Ridiculous. The woman was plain. And rude. And critical. And obnoxious.
Already, she’d implied that there was something wrong with his children, his household, and even him. As if forgetting a blessing—which he typically could only recite in his head due to the company—erased all the good he did for the entire community.
She was supposed to be intelligent.
Wrong. That’s what she was. Completely wrong.
Worse than the Ricardos and Strausses and Friedlands and Ellenbergs and their ilk.
Not to mention, now causing an irritating delay.
If it weren’t for her, he’d be officially betrothed to Miss Teres. Not forced to decline a dinner party with several members of parliament, given by one of the least tedious of his former schoolmates to boot.
Mercy, these were going to be a long six weeks.
Patience. He needed to call upon his patience, and with that, he could make her bloom. He frowned. That sounded wrong. He shook his head a little. He would manage her. Properly.
He cleared his throat. “I do most tasks, including planting, pruning, feeding, and rotating, but I occasionally need to delegate. Roses are very delicate to maintain.”
“I’ve heard,” she said, running a finger along one of his pots. “It would be a shame for your hard, careful work to be ruined by someone else’s reckless actions.”
Ah. Someone was still angry about the “accident.” That explained the lashing out at him. Childish as that might be. Perhaps someone else should learn patience. Highly unlikely at her age, and thus he’d have to provide maturity for both of them.
“I apologized for what happened to your belongings,” he said, keeping his voice mild.
“Yes, you did.” She leaned over another plant, her hand hovering threateningly. Glancing at him, she raised her brows. “Verysincerely.”
He’d not glower. He’d not.
She glanced at him again, almost certainly attempting to trick him into an improper reaction. For what purpose, that was another question. Especially as her ability to wound him was rather limited. Perhaps she merely sought to provoke him for her own perverse amusement.
Not a particularly clever or original sort of humor. Though considering her background…
“I’m just commenting,” she added, pulling her hand away and turning to walk down another row.
Quick as he could, Roger moved to her side. She picked up his shears and spun them rather deftly in her uninjured, allegedly nondominant hand.
“What are you doing, Miss Adler?” he asked, eyeing the weapon.
“Iwascoming to remind you that you’d promised me a workspace as well as supplies. And to let you know that I shall have a list for you tomorrow. But now that I’m here… I suppose I’m exploring.” She raised the shears to eye level, stared at them for a moment, then placed them back down. In the low lamplight, glints of gold from her hair glowed. “Do you have a problem with that?”
“With what? I don’t renege on my promises. I told you before, you’re permitted to do anything you’d like while you’re here.”
“Truly?” She narrowed her rather sharp, blue-gray eyes at him. As if she could hear all the commentary running through his head. Unnerving, to say the least.
