Free The Study of Seduction: Sinful Suitors 2 by Sabrina Jeffries Page A

imagine losing her at as young an age as Lady Jane had lost hers.
    Edwin smiled softly at the girl. “I’m sure she didn’t love them half as much as that smile of yours. It would brighten any sickroom.”
    He clearly meant it, and that only thickened the lump in Clarissa’s throat. Whenever Edwin showed the kindly side he generally kept deeply buried, it made her question her assumptions about him.
    Until he spoke again. “Ah, I see Miss Trevor over there. Forgive me, but I must speak to her.” Then he was off again, striding across the garden.
    What was this, a race? As usual, the devious fellow was accomplishing his task with the least amount of time and bother, which was
not
what she meant for him to do at all. She followed at a distance, rather eager to see what he would come up with as a compliment for the intrepid young woman.
    Without even a preamble, he said, “Miss Trevor, I couldn’t help noticing that you have an excellent sense of humor.”
    “Why, thank you, my lord. So do you.” Miss Trevor cast a speculative glance past him to Clarissa, who smiled and then turned and pretended to be admiring a plant. A rather ugly one. With spikes. Which she wished she could use on Miss Trevor.
    Heavens, where had
that
come from?
    Well, perhaps Miss Trevor would suit.
    Oh, yes, that must be where. But only because Clarissa hated to see Edwin marry someone so obviously wrong for him. Not because she was jealous of any woman who actually garnered Edwin’s interest. Not. One. Bit.
    “As soon as we can be alone, I mean to claim my reward.”
    She jumped, then scowled at Edwin. “Good Lord, don’t surprise me like that. I thought you were still talking to Miss Trevor.”
    “No need. I complimented her already.”
    Clarissa looked over to see Miss Trevor now wandering over to Lady Anne, probably to discuss the very abrupt Lord Blakeborough. She lowered her voice. “That was
not
the point of the exercise. You were supposed to engage in polite chitchat and bury the compliment in it.”
    There was a decided glint of humor in his eyes. “You didn’t say that. You said to offer four genuine compliments. So I did.”
    “But—”
    “Are you reneging on your offer of a reward?” he asked with a lift of his eyebrow.
    He
would
see it that way. “Of course not,” she mumbled.
    “Good. Because I’ve decided what I want. Later, when we get a chance to be alone, I want to kiss the inside of your bare arm.”
    Her stomach flipped over. “That’s a very odd request.”
    “You said ‘anything.’”
    “But . . . but why
that
?”
    “You didn’t say I had to explain. You didn’t put any parameters on the reward. If you wanted a different outcome, you should have been more specific. You only demanded that I give—”
    “Fine,” she said, to forestall his litany of logic. “If that is what you wish, you may kiss the inside of my arm. Once.”
    His gaze burned into hers. “Your
bare
arm,” he corrected her.
    She gave an exasperated breath. “Yes, of course. My
bare
arm.”
    “Excellent.”
    As he marched back into the museum, she told herself that a kiss on her arm was nothing. It wasn’t like a kiss on the mouth. It was hardly even intimate.
    So why was her pulse leaping like a flying fish in anticipation?

Six
    Edwin couldn’t help noticing Clarissa’s uncharacteristic silence on their way home. Generally, she chattered to her mother about each event they attended, describing who was wearing what, the drollest comments she’d heard, the latest gossip she’d gleaned in the retiring room. And he let her and her mother natter on, content just to slip into his own thoughts.
    But her mother wasn’t with them, so the ride felt more intimate than usual, even with his tiger on the perch behind them. Night was falling, and her body slid against him every time they made a turn.
    Sometimes he made the turn purposely sharp for that very reason. Not for nothing did he have an extensive knowledge of physics and how