“You have created quite a lengthy list.”
“You needn’t do all these things, but some measure would go a long way toward earning her gratitude and affection.”
“If I were to court you as you’re advising, you would be bored out of your senses.”
“We are not talking about me,” Kate replied, voicing the same argument she had made several times before. “Stop being so provoking, Lord Valmere. You could also strive to be a little romantic.”
“Command and I will obey.”
She gave a dubious laugh. “You, obey my commands? That will never happen. Besides, this is supposed to be a courtship, not a naval battle.”
“What else am I to do?”
“Well, try to observe the proprieties whenever possible. For example, you dance very well, but—”
“What is this, a compliment? From you?”
Kate ignored the interruption. “But you ought not hold her too close in a waltz. I have already warned you to minimize the damage your privateering will cause. You cannot come across as a rake, either.”
Deverill’s expression turned contemplative. “I’ll wager some ladies are attracted to wickedness. Seduction may work as well as attentiveness.”
“Perhaps, but you will likely have to win over her family and the arbiters of society. If you seem bent on seduction, you might attract the lady but her family will rush to shield her. But again, none of that is as important as sharing a more personal side of yourself.”
For a moment, Deverill’s thick lashes lowered to veil his eyes. Then he pushed away from the door frame and sauntered toward her. “How is this for sharing my feelings? Yesterday you left me in a painfully aroused state.”
Kate lifted an eyebrow. “So I am to blame? You are the one who kissed me. I was doing my best to stop you.”
“Hardly your best. Do you know what I did last night when I was lying alone in my bed, unable to sleep? I brought myself to pleasure with my hand. And I was thinking of you the whole time. In fact, I dreamed about you the entire night. Quite lustful dreams, I might add.”
His explicit talk took her aback. But then Deverill had a notorious record for knocking her off balance.
“You will just have to control your lustful urges,” Kate retorted.
“What about your urges?”
“I don’t have urges.”
“I’ll wager you do.”
Deverill stood before her, gazing down at her. “I think you are underestimating how large a role physical appeal plays in a courtship. In my experience, a woman wants to be wanted.”
He wanted her, an underlying note in his voice implied. The notion was soothing to her vanity but made her pulse race.
When she had no quick riposte, Deverill sat on the bench beside her and gave her his blandest smile. Kate watched him warily. She didn’t trust that look, yet she stifled the urge to leap up and retreat across the folly, determined to hold her ground.
“You are more desirable than any of the candidates on your list,” he murmured.
“Thank you, but I am not interested in you in the least.”
It was the wrong thing to say, judging from the intrigued spark in his eyes. No doubt he felt challenged by her resistance.
“Now that is a falsehood if I ever heard one,” he said slowly. “Yesterday on your sofa was vivid proof.”
“A momentary aberration that I already regret.”
“Was it an aberration?”
“Yes. Not every woman lusts for you.”