“I’d call you tempting and more,” Devon said with refreshing promptness. “Your eyes shimmer rich and green. Your hair is the color of the morning sky just as the sun touches it, red and gold at the same time. And the rest of you—” His gaze traveled over her until her cheeks burned. “The rest of you is—”

“That’s enough of that,” she said hastily. “You’re full of moonlight and shadows, you are.”

“I don’t know anything about moonlight and shadows. I only know you are a gorgeous, lush armful.”

“In this?” She looked down at her faded gown with incredulity. “You’d call this gorgeous or lush?”

His gaze touched on her gown, lingering on her breasts. “Oh yes. If you want to go unnoticed, you’ll have to bind those breasts of yours.”

She choked.

He grinned. “And add some padding of some sort in some other areas.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but please let me up—”

“I was talking about padding. Perhaps if you bundled yourself about the hips until you looked plumper, then you wouldn’t have to deal with louts such as myself attempting to kiss you at every turn.”

She caught the humor sparkling in his eyes, and it disarmed her a bit more.

“Furthermore,” he continued as if he’d never paused, “you will need to hide those eyes of yours and perhaps wear a turban, if you want men like me to stop noticing you.”

“Hmph. I’ll remember that the next time I run into you or any other of Strathmore’s lecherous cronies. Now, if you’ll let me go, I have things to do.”

His eyes twinkled. “And if I refuse?”

“Then I will have to deal with you myself.”

“Oh ho! A woman of spirit. I like that.”

“Oh ho,” she returned sharply, “a man who does not value his appendages.”

That comment was meant to wither him on the vine. Instead he chuckled, the sound rich and deep. “Sweet, I value my appendage, although it should be your job to admire it.”

“I have no wish for such a job, thank you very much.”

“Oh, but if you did, it would then be my job to wield that appendage in such a way as to rouse that admiration to a vocal level.” Devon leaned forward and murmured in her ear, “You have a delicious moan, my sweet. I heard it when we kissed.”

Her cheeks burned. “The only vocal rousing you’re going to get from me is a scream for help.”

A bit of the humor left his gaze, and he said with apparent seriousness, “I would give my life trying to earn that moan yet again. Would you deny me that?”