“Why would it have anything to do with you?”
“It’s a lovely dress.” His smile took on a wicked edge. “I can see right through it.”
Oh, dear. She hadn’t thought of that, because it wasn’t something she’d ever thought to check. She wore black trousers and a black T-shirt to work in the cafe, and she made sure they were clean when she dressed, but she’d never thought about whether her dresses were see-through or not. Her cheeks heated, the spark of her temper igniting, and her instinct was to quell it and force it down.
But, since she’d decided to give him a taste of the passion he said he wanted, for the first time in a long time Anna let it burn. She met his gaze, held it, let him see her annoyance.
“Then perhaps you shouldn’t be looking.” she told him.
The smile on his face slowly changed, losing its practiced wickedness, and then he gave a genuine-sounding laugh. “You’re quite a contrary beast, aren’t you, Anna?”
Contrary. Yes, she’d been told that many times, but usually in far more unflattering terms, such as oppositional and demanding, and difficult. And most often accompanied by a cold stare that made her feel small and stupid, as if there was something wrong with her. But the Duke wasn’t looking at her as if there was something wrong with her. He was looking at her as if he found her being contrary utterly delightful. And that didn’t make her feel either small or stupid. It made her feel good. It was an unfamiliar feeling and she didn’t quite know how to deal with it, so she only shrugged.
“I’m not a beast and can you please not look at me like that?”
“Anna…” he drawled, as if tasting the sound of it and finding it delicious, ignoring her last comment. “You have a beautiful name,” His gaze dropped slowly down the line of her figure, taking in every inch of her, a trail of sparks scorching her right through. “Fiery and strong too,”
There was no doubt that he thought those were good things and that he liked them very much. It was clear in the heat in his eyes as they met hers. That unfamiliar feeling in her chest, a kind of warmth, spread outwards, but she still didn’t know how to deal with it, so she tried hard to ignore it.
“I’m nothing of the kind,” she said coolly. “You wanted to discuss the wedding?”
“Straight to the point, aren’t we?”
“I have some things I need to get back to.” she told him.
Which was a lie. She had nothing at all to get back to. He gave her a very direct look, which she met head-on, challenging him to call her out on it. And for a second she thought he might, but he only gestured to the long, low, black leather couch that stood near the desk.
“Please, take a seat.”
Anna moved over to the couch and sat, smoothing her dress over her knees.
“Would you care for coffee or tea?” he asked, all politeness. “Or maybe even something a little more exciting? Champagne perhaps to toast our engagement?”
She blinked in surprise. “Engagement?”
“Well, I can hardly marry you without an engagement,” he said as if it were self-evident. “That wouldn’t be proper at all.”
“I didn’t think you cared about propriety.”
“Perhaps I’ve changed my mind.” He gave her a look from beneath his thick black lashes. “Perhaps I do care about it after all, especially now I’ve decided to settle down.”
Anna found the conversation oddly discomforting, though she didn’t know why. “But you’re not really settling down, are you?” she pointed out. “You’re paying me to be a wife and to have your child.”
His mouth curved in one of those sensual smiles that she was starting to see were quite practiced. “Yes, when you put it like that, it is rather cold and clinical. Perhaps that’s why I’d like an engagement and a proper wedding. In a church. Perhaps I’d like people to think that it’s real.”
She stared at him, trying to read the expression on his beautiful face. Trying to understand why he wanted all these things. Because they hadn’t been in the contract she’d signed. Why do you even care? What does it matter to you? That was a good point. She didn’t care if he wanted an engagement, or if he wanted a wedding in a church. Those things had no particular meaning for her. She was never going to have them anyway, since a real family and marriage wasn’t on the cards. So why the thought of them made something inside her ache a little she had no idea.
“Fine,” she said levelly, trying to sound disinterested. “It doesn’t matter to me.”
He frowned. “You’re very biddable all of a sudden, Anna. Why is that?”
A little shock went through her that he’d noticed. Then again, those eyes of his seemed to miss nothing. She smoothed her dress again, not wanting to admit that the thought of an engagement and wedding made her uneasy, because she couldn’t explain it even to herself, let alone him.
“Because you’re clearly going to do whatever you want to do. Me arguing with you isn’t going to change your mind.”
He lifted a brow. “Do you want an engagement and wedding?”
“Surely it doesn’t matter what I want?”
“Why would it not?”
She glared at him. “Stop answering questions with questions.”
That much warmer, more genuine smile flickered around his mouth again. “You’re not at all afraid of me, are you?”
“Why would I be afraid of you?”
“Now who’s answering questions with questions?”
She felt breathless all of a sudden, that smile touching something deep inside her. Something hot that she’d covered in a cold, hard shell.
“No,” she said. “I’m not afraid of you.”
And his smile widened, as if that was something he liked, too. “You should be, you know. I’m very rich and very powerful.” His voice deepened, taking on a sensual edge. “And I’m also extremely notorious when it comes to women.”
Yes, he was. She’d read everything about him that she could lay her hands on. Research, of course. It wasn’t at all because she found him unexpectedly fascinating.