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“I really don’t think such artifice is required for—”
“Picture me in a low-cut evening gown with my bosom thrust up by my corset,” she said with a wicked little smile.
Whatever you do, don’t picture that.
She advanced. Raven retreated until his back hit the heated marble of the fireplace.
The blaze in Indy’s eyes was far hotter.
She wriggled her shoulders and thrust out her chest. “I should practice playing the helpless female, fluttering my lashes, exposing my décolletage, and saying flattering things. Insinuating myself into a man’s confidence, all the while asking probing questions.”
Exposing. Insinuating. Probing.
These were not things he wanted Indy to be doing.
Or things he wanted to do to Indy.
He cleared his throat. “You possess more feminine wiles than you may be aware of and you really don’t need to practice. In fact, what you should do is get some sleep so that you’re well-rested for tomorrow’s adventures.”
“I think I do need practice.” She moved closer, widening her eyes and... damn it... fluttering her long, black eyelashes. “Now I’m going to give you a searing glance that is supposed to communicate that I’m picturing you entirely naked. Which should elicit a reciprocal imagining on your part.”
She gave him a searing glance.
“Did it work?” she asked.
He gulped, unable to form words. He was still imagining her completely naked, wearing only the Wish Diamond around her neck, nestled between her sumptuous breasts. He’d also imagined grabbing her by the waist, flinging her over his shoulder, and carrying her to the velvet-curtained bed, which suddenly seemed to occupy most of the room.
Bed. Indy.
Bad combination.
“I’ll take your silence and labored breathing as a yes,” she said triumphantly.
“Why don’t you take yourself back to your room,” he managed to say.
“I’m not finished practicing yet. I must move slowly, sensuously. Nothing too brusque or bold. A coy glance, like this. I’ve seen how courtesans behave. I’d show a little bit of flesh. Not too much. Just enough to tantalize.” She slipped her sleeve off her shoulder.
She shimmied her shoulders and the other sleeve slid down as well, exposing her chemise and the upper curves of her breasts.
He dragged in a breath. “That’s enough, Indy.”
“I won’t go too far, don’t worry. Only to the... edge.” Her gown slipped lower, her breasts nearly exposed now, the fabric caught on her nipples. She shivered, her nipples stiffening.
He couldn’t take his eyes away from her.
“You’re still upset with me for leaving without telling you where I was going. You’re punishing me,” he said. “Showing me that you’re in control.”
“Am I? Does this feel like a punishment?”
If the sight of her breasts straining over her low-cut corset was a punishment, then he’d been a very bad rogue and he’d pay penance for the rest of his life.
He licked his lips. “Indy, I don’t think you require lessons in seduction. You’re a natural. You could teach a master class.”
“Then perhaps you should wear the diamond instead.” She unclasped the necklace and draped it around his neck.
She was so near now that he could smell her perfume. Raven’s entire body lit like a lamp wick touched by a flame.
“It... doesn’t fit around your neck,” she said, biting her full lower lip.
