Charles slid off the bed and onto his feet with the grace of a cat. He took advantage of her disconcertment by picking up one of her hands and raising it to his lips.

“If you're trying to seduce me,” she said plainly, “it won't work.”

He grinned, the very devil in his smile. “I'm not trying to seduce you, dearest Eleanor. I would never attempt such a gargantuan task. After all, you are noble; you are upright; you are made of stern stuff.”

Put that way, Ellie rather thought she sounded like a tree trunk. “Your point being?” she ground out.

“Why, it is simple, Ellie. I think you should seduce me.”

Chapter 11

She smacked his chest with the heels of her hands, knocking him back onto the bed. “Are you insane?” she screeched.

Charles only smiled. “I assure you that you did not need to resort to force to get me into your bed, dear wife.”

“This is nothing but a game to you!”

“No, Ellie. This is marriage.”

“You don't know what marriage is.”

“By your own admission, you don't know, either.” He reached out for her hand. “I suggest we learn together.”

Ellie snatched hers away. “Don't touch me. I can't think when you touch me.”

“A most encouraging fact,” he murmured.

She shot him a scathing look. “I am not going to try to seduce you.”

“It wouldn't be that difficult. And it is always rewarding to succeed at one's endeavors.”

“It would be exceedingly difficult,” she spat back at him. “I shouldn't be able to summon enough desire to make a good go of it.”

“Ouch. A well-placed blow, my lady, but clearly false.”

Ellie wanted to hiss a stinging retort, but she couldn't think of anything clever to say. Trouble was, she knew her words were false, too. The man had only to look at her and her knees grew weak. When he actually reached out and touched her, she could barely stand.

“Ellie,” he said softly, “come to bed.”

“I'm going to have to ask you to leave,” she said primly.

“Don't you even want to give my plan a try? It doesn't seem fair for you to dismiss my ideas out of hand.”

“Fair? Fair! Are you insane?”

“Sometimes I wonder,” he muttered.

“See? You know as well as I that this is madness.”

Charles swore under his breath and grumbled something about her having better ears than a rabbit. Ellie took advantage of his relative silence to stay on the offensive and say, “What could I possibly have to gain by seducing you?”

“I would tell you,” he drawled, “but I'm not certain your tender ears are ready for it.”

Ellie turned redder than her hair and tried to say, “You know that wasn't what I meant.” But her teeth were so tightly clenched that it came out more like a hiss.

“Ah, my serpentine wife,” Charles sighed.

“I am losing my temper, my lord.”

“Really? I hadn't noticed.”