Page 30 of Seduced By the Rakish Duke

“I see I’ve shocked you with this simple truth.”

Her pupils were dilated, her breath was coming out in short bursts, and her cheeks were red. God, she was magnificent when she was worked up.

“Remember, Jenny, men are…”

“Simple creatures,” she finished.

David leaned back on the sofa and stretched out his legs. “Correct. You want them to think they are winning. When you speak your mind, eloquently and perfectly self-aware I’m sure”—he raised his hand to stop her from interrupting—“you are essentially challenging them. I’m afraid most men don’t like that.”

Jenny sighed in defeat. “So where does that leave me? I tried being quiet—it is not my thing.”

The image of a not-so-quiet Jenny underneath him flashed through his mind.

Keep it together, man.

David smiled. “No. No need to be mute. But how you talk to a man can be the difference between motivating him to a duel and motivating him to intimacy.”

Jenny tilted her head to the side, the light once again highlighting her soft features. She looked ethereal in this light.

David raised his hand to trail his thumb over his bottom lip and watched her eyes track the movement. He rolled his lips between his teeth to stop from smiling. He was doing that too much around her.

“Talk slowly, draw certain words out to keep our attention.”

He demonstrated by drawing out the word ‘attention.’

“Change your tone, play with how you say things, keep it interesting. You want them hanging on your every word. Speak in such a way”—he lowered his voice, causing her to lean in—“that they have to lean in to hear you. When you capture their attention, use your body to keep it.”

He lifted his fingers to his neck. “You can play with the buttons on your dress. It’s an innocent gesture, but it draws the eye.”

He pulled at the cravat at his neck, and her eyes followed his fingers.

“Jenny?”

“Hmm?” Her eyes were fixed on his throat.

He had intended to point out that she was no longer sitting there listening, rather she was leaning in, staring at his throat, but the words wouldn’t form. Instead, he found himself leaning in as well.

He sat back on the sofa, and her face fell. “Why did you sit back?”

David played dumb. “I proved my point. I had you hook, line and sinker. Hanging on my every word.”

“But I thought you were going to kiss me… and once again you toyed with me.”

David turned his body to face hers. “I don’t take what’s not freely given. If you want something, you’ll need to ask for it.”

She might be outspoken in some areas, but he knew when it came to intimacy, she was not.

“So kiss me then.”

David sat up. “What?”

She sat straighter. “So. Kiss. Me. Then. You say men like confidence. Well, here’s me being?—”

Her words were swallowed by David’s mouth. Her sweet, delicious mouth which had challenged him at every turn was sweeter than he had imagined.

His tongue pushed between her lips and tangled with hers. She moaned into his mouth, and the vibration ran through him and awakened something he thought he had lost long ago.

Alarm bells rang in his head, but for once, he ignored them. He reached up and cupped her chin, tilting her head to allow him to plunge his tongue deeper into her mouth. His body pressed hers into the sofa.

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