Читать книгу Heiress's Defiance - Lynn Harris Raye - Страница 2

‘We are not friends, Lucilla. You do not care about my childhood, nor I yours.

‘You care about what I am doing to your precious company and I care about returning the Chatsfield name to its former glory. We are not on opposite sides, no matter how you wish to view it. And we don’t need to engage in polite banter in order to pretend we like each other.’

Her eyes had narrowed considerably. And her colour was high. The flush over her breasts was intriguing. He wanted to slip her gown off her shoulder and press his mouth just above her heart.

‘With an attitude like that, no wonder you don’t have any friends. You refuse to let anyone get close enough to be a friend.’

He snorted. ‘And do you really want to be my friend, Lucilla? Or is there something more to this query?’

She tilted her chin up. ‘No, I don’t want to be your friend. But I was trying to be polite. I thought maybe life would be easier if we at least pretended to like one another.’

He took a step closer to her, watched the thrum of her pulse kick up in her neck. He had to admire that she did not back away. She stood her ground, though she had to tilt her head back to look up at him, since he towered over her.

‘I am quite willing to pretend, Lucilla mou. I find myself utterly intrigued by the cut of that gown and the mystery of what lies beneath. If you wish, we can leave together and pretend to like each other in my bed.’