Page 47 of A Rogue's Rules for Seduction
She snorted. “Father played against some of his friends, and Simon. But it wasunseemlyfor a girl to learn the strategies required to win.” She swallowed a mouthful of whisky as she examined the pieces on the board. “I used to watch from the side of the room.”
“When you were supposed to be doing your needlework.”
A laugh flew from her. “The stitches were beyond my abilities, yet IknewI could excel at chess—if given the chance. What was it Lady Catherine de Bourgh said about playing the pianoforte?”
“‘If I had ever learnt, I should have been a great proficient.’”He smiled, and she smiled in return.
“I read books on chess and played myself, but I couldn’t ever figure out how I could beat him when the board was laid out this way.” She had the black pieces, while her invisible father had the white pieces.
Dom leaned against the back of her chair. The lineof his jaw flexed intriguingly as he drank his liquor. “The hell if I know. Never learned how to play.”
“I’d wager you would be ruthless but effective.” She glanced up at him, then waved toward the chair across from her. “You could help me now.”
“Did you miss the part where I said I never learned?” He looked appalled. “Blokes like me are only good for lifting heavy things, not daintily maneuvering chess pieces.”
“Said the man who went to Oxford,” she added wryly.
“If blue blood doesn’t get you into university, money buys your way.”
“I know for a fact that you’re not simply a brute.” She remembered what Kieran said about his time at Oxford, and her heart squeezed.
He lifted one brow. “Wasn’t that what you liked about me, back then?”
A flush crept into her face. “I was shortsighted and utterly lacking in seeing beyond my own nose. People can change.” When he hesitated, she said, “I’ll tell you everything you need to know. Just think how you’ll be able to beat the aristos at their own game,” she added, cajoling.
He gave a knowing smirk, clearly aware of her manipulations, then lowered himself into the other chair, his legs long and heavily muscled as he crossed them. Once settled, he gestured for her to begin her lesson.
Quickly, she ran through the basic rules ofchess. “It’s all strategy and thinking several moves ahead, and yet no matter how far in advance I plan, I can’t seem to find the weakness here. And everything I’ve tried costs me too many men.” Annoyed, she waved toward the chess pieces, taunting her from their places on the board.
He finished his drink and set his glass on a small table beside his chair before slipping on his spectacles. Leaning forward, he braced his elbows on his knees and propped his chin on his interlaced hands as he scrutinized the game.
A bolt of unmitigated lust tore through her. He was such a fascinating interplay of contrasts—powerfully built, cerebral, strapping, thoughtful—her body was in a riot. Every aspect of him enticed her. But she couldn’t, wouldn’t, act on this unwanted desire. Not if she wanted to keep herself safe.
Even so, she was half-dizzy with the urge to straddle him as he sat in his chair, have his hands grip her thighs as she took his mouth and rubbed against him. He could even leave his spectacles on as she feasted on him.
“A sacrifice might be the way to win,” he said, completely unaware of the shameless direction of her thoughts.
“What’s that?” She blinked through a haze of desire.
Dom pointed to the king. “He’s partially surrounded by his own men, keeping him defended and hard to reach. But if you could trick your opponent into completely encircling the king, he’d be choked and couldn’t move if attacked.”
He demonstrated by moving several of the pieces, black and white, until the white king had a protective barrier of other chessmen around it.
“That... might work.” Thoughts of stripping Dom fled—well, they didn’tentirelydisappear—as she also leaned forward and considered his proposed strategy. “I have to admit, the idea of besting my father because he’s too preoccupied with defending himself is awfully delicious.”
“Though I don’t know which of the pieces could breach the defenses,” Dom added, his brow creasing.
“The knight could do it.” She held up the horse-headed chess piece. “If I maneuvered him into just the right place, I could take the king.”
She demonstrated her idea, until there was only one move between her and checkmate.
“And now it’s done.” Dom’s smile was slow to develop, but when it fully bloomed, it dazzled her.
“I’d been racking my brain for years, trying to solve this.” She gave a disbelieving laugh. “Thank you, Dom.”
He looked puzzled. “For what?”
“Between the two of us, we finally found a way to beat my father.”
