“Perhaps I simply wish to treat my fianceé to a new dress.”
Nothing with Rían was that simple. I may not have known him for very long, but it didn’t take a genius to realize he always had an agenda.
He nodded his chin toward the forgotten garment draped over my arm. “Are you going to try that on?”
I threw it at him. “Youtry it on.”
“If you insist.” With a flick of his wrist, he was no longer Lady Marissa. I watched in rapt horror as he unbuttoned his shirt and folded it over a free stool.
I pressed my back against the invisible wall, desperate to escape the heat from his bare skin. “What are you doing?”
“The dress will look silly if I put it on over my clothes.”
He wasn’t going to strip bare. This was another game.
He slid his leather belt free from the buckle. Unfastened the button on his trousers.
“Please stop.” My words were a breathless plea.
He glanced up with a knowing grin. “Do you want me to try on the dress or not?”
I clutched it to my chest. My hands ached to run down the ridges of his abdomen. To trace the thin trail of dark hair from his belly button to where his trousers slipped low on his hips. “I . . . I . . . I will try it on,” I rasped.
His clothes were back on aflicklater. “Would you like help? Undressing women is one of my favorite pastimes.”
I knew he expected me to say no. To snap and tell him to go away. I was sick of being on the receiving end of his teasing and taunting. Of biting my tongue instead of biting back.
I leaned over him, bracing my hands on the arms of the chair, and said with remarkable steadiness, “Since you’re here, you may as well be useful.”
Blue eyes darted to mine. “I take it back.ThisAveen is my favorite. What should I call her?”
“Call me whatever you want,” I said with a coy smile, feeling more powerful than I ever had in my entire life.
Rían’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Hello, ‘whatever you want.’” He traced a solitary finger along the swell of my breast. “Shall I undress you?”
“You are ridiculous.”
“No, I’m Rían.” That finger moved to the hollow at my throat. “And you didn’t answer my question.”
How far was I willing to push him?
How far was I willing to push myself?
Iwantedto say yes.
No I didn’t.
Rían was the worst.
He didn’t care about me. Not really. He was a man. Men only cared about themselves. He wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for our bargain.
I couldn’t give in.
I wouldn’t.
“No.” I jerked upright, clutching my hands over my breast, feeling my heart thundering under my skin.
Uncertainty flickered in his eyes. “What happened?”