Free Her Wanton Wager by Grace Callaway Page A

naked wenches. "You'll stoop to anything to get your way, won't you?"
    He was hardly the epitome of morality. Yet he'd never forced himself on an innocent. The fact that he'd come close to losing his head battered at his pride. To add to the humiliation, now he had to wonder if he'd imagined the magnetism between them. A figment of his own lustful fantasies? He could have sworn that she'd felt something too ...
    Don't be a idiot. Take command of the situation. Turn it to your advantage.
    "As you claimed, you have no trouble resisting my advances," he drawled.
    "Of course I don't!"
    "Then why not agree to the wager and win your brother's freedom?"
    "You need ask?" she said in incredulous tones. "I cannot trust you, sir, and today's incident only proves that fact."
    "I stopped, didn't I?"
    "Only after I slapped you!"
    "Do you honestly believe that a slap could deter me from what I wanted?" He cast a pointed look around the shop. "We are standing here alone. The two of us in a locked room with no key in sight."
    A furrow appeared between her fine, curving brows.
    "I ceased because I gave you my word, Miss Fines," he said. "To my mind, today's event demonstrated that you can trust me."
    "That's just .... ridiculous." Yet she didn't sound quite so convicted as she had before.
    "Think of it. If you had agreed to the wager, you could have chalked up this meeting as a victory," he said, shrugging.
    She bit her lip.
    Now dangle the bait, Hunt.
    He approached her, catching her hand before she could pull away. Deftly, he began to fasten up her glove. She quivered as his fingers brushed the supple underside of her arm; her breasts rose on a shaky breath. And if that didn't tell him enough, she swayed subtly toward him like a flower to the sun.
    He released her and took a deliberate step back. "I think it isn't me in whom you lack trust, Miss Fines, but yourself."
    She frowned. "That's absurd."
    "Is it?" He lifted a brow. "The truth is you're afraid you'll succumb to my charm."
    "Your charm ? Hah. I have another term for that."
    "In fact," he said, tapping his chin, "you probably couldn't even handle a kiss from me."
    Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not an idiot, Mr. Hunt. I know what you're doing."
    "Then you'd see this is a simple test. To decide which one of us is right." He paused. "Unless one of us is a ... coward?"
    Her brows came together. Aye, he had her mark, alright. Miss Persephone Fines possessed a competitive streak—'twas not in her nature to back down.
    After a few seconds, she said between her teeth, "'Tis to be one kiss only. No ... touching or anything else of the sort. And it ends when I say it ends."
    "Agreed."
    "And after this, I want your word that you'll leave me alone. You'll stop pestering me about this idiotic wager."
    Clever girl. But he wouldn't have to pester her. He planned to hook her curiosity with a single kiss; after this, she would come to him .
    "Again, agreed." He gave her a meaningful look. "Shall we?"
    In answer, she shut her eyes and pushed out her lips.
    Adorable as that gesture was, this time he would not lose control. It was no easy feat to seduce a woman with a mere kiss and one that involved no touching—and, he guessed, no tongue—at that. To lure a skittish miss without scaring her off. But he was up to the task.
    He lowered his mouth to hers. At the contact, he felt a tremble of awareness pass through her and, damn, if he didn't feel a jolt himself. Her lips were as soft and full as they looked; she tasted of honey and lemon drops and a unique tart-sweetness that was hers alone. Flames ignited from their single point of connection, spreading through his veins. He could feel her responding to the fire, too. On a tremulous sigh, her lips parted, and if he wanted to, he could slip inside, show her the kiss that burned in his dreams ...
    He lifted his head. Managed to master his breath and the hot swell of desire.
    Her eyelashes fluttered open to reveal dazed, sapphire eyes.
    "That was edifying, to