She had immediately dispatched with his thin pretense of complimenting the statue, but Emrys didn't mind. He'd intended his remark as a compliment, after all, and it would have disappointed him to learn that it had gone over her head. Not with her, though; she was too intelligent for anything to go over her head. She knew it, too: few things more frustrating than wasting genius on those ill-equipped to appreciate it. Emrys was nothing if not appreciative. He had an urge to ask about her late husband, sensing that her review of him might be less favorable than the one she'd given Emrys, but he held back. He wasn't sure how she would react to that line of questioning, for one. Whatever her feelings about the other man, be they sentimentality or hatred, he didn't particularly want them dredged up and laid between the two of them no matter how curious he was. That, and if she caught on to the notion that he was inclined to compare himself to her late husband, even as a passing thought, it might give her ideas about his intentions. He couldn't have that — not until he'd decided precisely what his intentions were.
That mischievous smile was beguiling, and Emrys drew closer to where she was standing, though remained at a respectable distance. He wasn't entirely sure how alone they really were here, and he wouldn't forget that her family owned these gardens. The last thing he wanted to do was get himself embroiled in a scandal, or a foolish duel over someone's honor. How ridiculous would that be, to be challenged to a duel over the honor of a woman he'd already brought to climax half a dozen times? Men could be so intentionally ignorant when they were determined to be brutes, but Emrys wouldn't play their victim.
"My dear lady," he said with a teasing smile. He put his hands in the pockets of his jacket to resist the urge to reach out and touch her wrist, but he let his eyes wander over her figure in an entirely unsubtle way. "You of all people know the strength of my restraint."
That mischievous smile was beguiling, and Emrys drew closer to where she was standing, though remained at a respectable distance. He wasn't entirely sure how alone they really were here, and he wouldn't forget that her family owned these gardens. The last thing he wanted to do was get himself embroiled in a scandal, or a foolish duel over someone's honor. How ridiculous would that be, to be challenged to a duel over the honor of a woman he'd already brought to climax half a dozen times? Men could be so intentionally ignorant when they were determined to be brutes, but Emrys wouldn't play their victim.
"My dear lady," he said with a teasing smile. He put his hands in the pockets of his jacket to resist the urge to reach out and touch her wrist, but he let his eyes wander over her figure in an entirely unsubtle way. "You of all people know the strength of my restraint."
Lou made this! <3