Page 8 of Kismet

Across the small space between them, she met his gaze with a sultry smile and his heartbeat thundered in his ears. Eyes gleaming with confidence, the tip of her tongue slid out to lick her upper lip in a quick stroke, leaving it glistening in the moonlight. It wasn’t just an invitation; it was a goddamned command performance. White-hot need lashed through him and he swallowed hard. For the first time, he understood completely why her name was uttered with such fascination by other men.

Her skill at seduction was extraordinary. But she wasn’t dealing with a weak-willed Englishman she could manipulate to her own ends. He wasn’t one of her infatuated admirers she could control. The dramatic presentation she’d just shown him illustrated that she fully expected him to fall in line like every other man she’d ever been with. But for the first time, Allegra Synnford had met her match. With a nonchalance he didn’t feel, he clasped his hands behind his back and arched an eyebrow at her.

“An exceptional performance, chérie. I confess it’s quite possible I’ll be receiving the better end of the bargain.”

In a split second, her expression went flat and lifeless, but the way she held herself rigid revealed her anger. “For anything even resembling that performance, monsieur, you would need to give me your horse, not his seed, and I confess I no longer have interest in either.”

She whirled around and stalked toward the doorway leading back into the drawing room. Despite his surprise, his quick reflexes allowed him to reach her in two strides. His arm snaked around her waist and he dragged her backward into the shadows with him.

“Let me go,” she snapped with hushed fury.

“And if I gave you the horse, chérie?” He couldn’t believe he’d just offered her Abyad for a single night in her bed. He had to be mad to offer her such a proposal even if his entire body ached for a physical release. That she could stir his desire so easily infuriated him. Well, he was damned if he’d let the tempting witch get the best of him.

“I believe I made myself perfectly clear that I have no intention of conducting any business with you, monsieur.” She struggled against his hold, and he deftly twisted her around to face him, while holding her tight against his chest.

“Surely, you’re not afraid, Allegra.”

“Of you? Not at all,” she responded with a vehement shake of her head and glared up at him.

“You should be, ma belle.”

“And why is that, monsieur?” The sneer in her voice almost covered her trepidation, but not quite.

“Because I’m not like your other lovers,” he murmured. As her gaze locked with his, he smiled. “I’m the one man you won’t be able to control.”