Seduction in Mind Read Free Page A

wouldn't it? But as I see it, you and Ranelagh are very much alike." At Alex's instant pique, she added, "Honestly, darling, you have to admit, men have been flinging themselves at you with similar abandon ever since you left the schoolroom. Not that you've taken up with many of them, but they've certainly tried. So, do you think you simply dislike Ranelagh's audacity? Or would you prefer he beg?"
    "I would prefer not having met him. I don't like feeling this way… as though I were simultaneously breathless with longing and in peril."
    "Then refuse him."
    "I intend to. I'm probably making too much of a casual meeting anyway. Ranelagh, no doubt, propositions women every day."
    "No doubt. Are you feeling better now that you've reconciled sense and sensibility?"
    Alex laughed quietly. "Marginally, at least. He
is
spectacularly male, unfortunately."
    "And you've been avoiding men since Leon insisted you marry him not long ago."
    "Which is the problem, I tell myself. Ranelagh's handsomeness is only incidental to my frustrated sexual urges."
    "Certainly frustration
could be
a consideration," Rosalind said kindly.
    "At the moment, I should be entirely too busy to be frustrated," Alex returned. "Both Leighton and Alma-Tadema have appealed to my goodwill, and in a weak moment I agreed to pose for them—when my schedule is already overcommitted." She glanced at the clock. "Which reminds me, I must be at Alma-Tadema's by six. Larry's working on a painting in which evening shadows are required."
    "A painting that will garner all the usual praise of both his skills and your beauty. At times, I envy you your freedom. Sidney would never let me be so modern, even though everyone is nominally discreet."
    "You're not as insistent as I, darling."
    "Nor independently wealthy."
    Alex grinned. "I won't argue the advantages of my fortune. I'm well aware I'm allowed liberties that only wealth bestows. And there are advantages as well to being an artist. One's eccentricities are looked upon with a certain tolerance."
    "And it pleases you to pose nude."
    "On occasion. If I like the artist and the work. I paint nudes as well. What artist wouldn't?" She rose with a smile. "Thank you for letting me talk. I'm feeling quite in control of my feelings once again. And Larry always has all the latest gossip. My evening should be amusing."
    ----
Chapter Three

     
    "You're boring the hell out of me," Eddie grumbled, reaching for the brandy bottle at his elbow.
    Sam looked up from his putt. "Go to the Marlborough Club yourself."
    "I might." Refilling his glass, the earl lifted it in salute. "As soon as I finish this bottle."
    "After you finish that bottle, you'll be passed out on my couch," the viscount said, watching the ball roll into the cup on the putting green he'd had installed in his conservatory.
    "You don't miss a night out as a rule," Eddie remonstrated. "Did the merry widow's refusal incapacitate you?"
    "
Au contraire
," Ranelagh replied, positioning another ball with his golf club. "I'm feeling first rate. And I expect she's in high mettle as well."
    "She turned you down, Sam."
    "But she didn't want to." He softly swung his club, striking the ball with exquisite restraint.
    "And you can tell."
    The viscount half smiled. "I could feel it."
    "So sure…"
    "Yes."
    "And you're saving yourself for her now?"
    "Dammit, Eddie, if you want to go, go. I don't feel like fucking anyone right now, and I drank enough last night to last me a week."
    "Since when haven't you felt like fucking someone?" his friend asked, his gaze measured.
    "What the hell are you insinuating?"
    "That you fancy the voluptuous Miss Ionides with more than your usual casual disregard."
    "After meeting her for ten minutes?" Ranelagh snorted. "You're drunk."
    "And you're putting golf balls at seven o'clock when you're never even home at seven."
    Sam tossed his club aside. "Let's go."
    "Are you going out like that?"
    The viscount offered his friend a narrowed glance. "None of the girls at