Chemistry of Magic: Unexpected Magic Book Five (Unexpected Magic #5)(14)
He would say many things to worm his way into her bed, but he honestly meant these.
She tilted her hat down so he couldn’t see the color rise in her cheeks, but now that he knew he could make her blush, he was relentless. Even if he could only touch her with words, it added spice to the long ride ahead.
“I did not wish to be snatched by just any man,” she replied as a footman opened the carriage door. “But as far as I am aware, no man has ever shown interest in snatching me.”
Dare leaned under her hat to kiss her cheek before tucking her valise back in its hiding place and climbing into his bed. He despised being treated as an invalid, but he decided to accept the notion of a rolling bed as long as there was any chance that his bride might join him. He waited until she was inside the carriage with the door closed before removing his gloves and pulling at her hat pins.
“Then I declare every man in London to be deaf, dumb, and blind. You are so far beyond exquisite that perhaps your beauty blinded them.” He flung her hat to the far seat with his gloves.
Instead of berating him, she sat still for a moment. He feared he’d gone too far and that she would switch to sitting at his feet rather than be near him.
Finally, she spoke without looking up. “Is flattery your idea of seduction?”
Ah, she remembered what he’d told her last night—he wanted a real marriage, or at least the bed part.
Dare leaned back against the pillows and admired his polished boot toes while he considered the question. “Actually, I don’t think so. I flatter my mother and sisters outrageously, and I’m pretty certain it’s not to seduce them. They’re pretty, and they go to great lengths to look so, and they deserve recognition of their efforts.”
She turned her head so he could see her large purple eyes and pink cheeks. “I have a modiste who tells me what is fashionable. The only effort I make is to braid my hair when my maid is unavailable. I will tell Madame Durand that you appreciate her efforts, thank you.”
Dare laughed, then coughed. She instantly rummaged for the horehound, and he took one without argument. They were nasty but effective, and he wanted to talk since there was little else they could do. He took a sip of the mineral water she offered when the cough calmed down.
“Thank you.” He returned the container to her. “I am apparently out of practice in flattery as well as seduction. One does not have to flatter glass beakers to get what one wants.”
She smiled with more assurance at that bit of nonsense. “Precisely. I am not very good at expressing admiration for a gentleman’s hand with horses or the quality of his boot polish or whatever it is that ladies say to suitors to flatter them. But I’ll happily admire your extensive collection of glassware. Do you have someone in particular who creates it for you?”
“Come here and let me whisper sweet beakers in your ear.” He held up his arm and reached for her shoulders.
She glanced warily at his arm, then shifted ever so slightly closer so that he might rest it on the useless cape covering her bodice. He reached around and found the bow and pulled the ribbon. “It’s a hot summer day. You don’t need this.”
“My shoulders will be nearly bare without the pelerine,” she protested. “And my neck is much too long for the style otherwise.”
“Tell that to your modiste, not to the husband who wishes to admire your beautiful shoulders and neck.” He removed the purple monstrosity and flung it to join the hat.
The ruffled neckline of her gown hid her bosom, although he was already aware she wasn’t voluptuous. That scarcely mattered when he was nearly drooling over lovely, supple shoulders the palest shade of alabaster. Her skin was so fine, he could see the pale blue vein in her throat. He traced his finger along it, enjoying the texture of her silken, lavender-scented skin.
She instantly stiffened. He waited, his finger lingering just over her pulse. “I cannot believe I am so fortunate as to have a wife as beautiful as you. I’m not sure what I’ve done to deserve it.”
She gave an exaggerated sigh and shifted away again. “My beauty or lack thereof is irrelevant. I am far more interested in the source of your glassware.”
“And here I thought I was single-minded! Do you find me repulsive?” he asked with curiosity. Ladies generally did not dismiss his attentions. Gauging from the heat in her cheeks, he was reasonably certain that she might be minimally interested.
She sent him what he assumed to be a shocked glance. “Repulsive? Why would I find you repulsive? Because of your cough? That hardly reflects on who you are. From all I’ve ascertained, you are a generous gentleman who takes care of his family, and an intelligent man who knows about laboratories and chemicals, even if you do tend to blow them up. If I’d found you repulsive, I would not have presented my proposition.”
Dare angled himself to better study her. Her attitude of cool elegance appeared a little more vibrant than usual, and she actually seemed to be regarding him with attentiveness. “You find my intelligence attractive? I do not believe you live in the same world as the rest of us, my dear.”
He shrugged out of his coat as he spoke. “I’m fairly certain you’re no otherworldly angel or you wouldn’t be sitting in the same carriage with me. Have you no curiosity about fleshly pursuits? Have you never kissed in the shrubbery with an admirer, if only to see what it is like?”