AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m not the sort of man you should claim as a friend, Lady Masterson. Whether I taught you to properly gamble or not. Regrettably, this is the only item I can return to you.”
“Very well.” Her eyes flitted down to the piece of paper, but she didn’t touch it. “Then I propose a wager.”
“A wager?”
“Yes. What if I play you for Beechwood Court? Would that be acceptable?”
No one in the last ten years had challenged Leo to a game of cards. Georgina had absolutely no chance of beating him. But she also wasn’t the sort of woman who backed down easily.
“Interesting. But what do you intend to wager? Your husband is rather short on funds these days, and I’m not sure you have time to beg a stake from your father. New York is rather far away.”
Her features froze at the mention of Jacob Rutherford. Her father was the last person Georgina would ever go to for assistance.
“Do you have gems sewn into the hem of your gown? A purse of gold?”
Georgina’s lips tightened, her gaze never leaving his as she slid her marker back in his direction. “I havethis.”
Leo’s heart thudded in his chest. “But I’ve only just given it back and, as you’ve mentioned, it can’t possibly be legal.”
“I swear to honor the terms.” She looked him directly in the eye. “Isn’t that what you wish me to say,Leo?”
The sound of his name on her lips made his entire body throb. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
Georgina lifted one brow. “Isn’t this how you imagined the game to proceed? Had you not predicted the likelihood ofthisoutcome, you would have tossed my marker into the fire or even delivered it to me. But you didn’t. You knew I would challenge you for Beechwood Court and made sure I had something to wager. Myself.” She glared at him. “Am I correct so far?”
Damn, she was clever.
The night he’d first seen her, Leo had recognized her intelligence. She had stared at him so intently as he’d launched into an explanation of probability. Georgina had never once looked away from him, only listened as if Leo were the most important person in the world.
No one had ever looked at him in such a way.
Damn it.All the more reason to bed her and put her out of his mind. Georgina made Leo want things he couldn’t possibly have. “You are correct.” He cleared his throat.
“You want to bed me.”
Leo slid back in his seat. She was so bloody forthright about everything. At times it was unsettling. “I do.” There was no point in denying it.
Georgina downed the rest of her drink. “Much like everything else, you fail to state your intentions outright but instead resort to subterfuge. I’d no idea that keeping me company when I came to Elysium, asking about my life in New York, laughing over my poor jokes—”
“Not all of them were terrible.”
“Was only a means to an end. Very well. I suppose I’m yet another shiny bauble Leo Murphy, bastard club owner, wishes to collect.” She sounded so incredibly angry. “Do you accept my challenge?” She slid her empty glass toward him.
Georgina’s assumption of his character, though somewhat correct, annoyed him to no end.
Ignoring her empty glass, Leo pushed back from the desk and made his way over to her. She stiffened at his approach but didn’t move away.
Spring.Leo inhaled the air around her, filling his nostrils with the scent that was unique only to Georgina. Wild things bursting forth to bloom. Lush gardens and freshly mown grass. Savage greenery. He wanted to bury himself in her.
“I accept,” he said.
“Of course you do; this is the exact outcome you wanted.” She tilted her chin up at him. “Because, as you’ve taken great pains to remind me, you are not a gentleman. Just a duke’s bastard and definitely not my friend. Certainly not anything else.”
Leo’s mouth tightened.
“Let us set the terms for our wager. When I win—” She pushed back another curl springing free from the messy chignon at the base of her neck.
He followed the movement, tamping down the urge to devour her. “Ifyou win,” he growled out.
