"I am quite certain you are right but unfortunately I have very little control over my inner speculations."
"Perhaps you can be taught some measure of control," Julian suggested.
"I doubt it." She smiled at him suddenly and the warmth of that smile made Julian blink. "Tell me," Sophy continued impishly, "was my guess accurate?"
"The business I attended to before leaving London last week is none of your affair."
"Ah, I see the way of it now. I am to have no privacy for my speculations but you are to have all the solitude you wish for your own. That hardly seems fair, my lord. In any event, if my errant thoughts are going to upset you so much, don't you think it would be better if I kept them to myself?"
Julian leaned forward without any warning and caught her chin in his fingers. It occurred to him that her skin was very soft. "Are you teasing me, Sophy?"
She made no move to pull free of his hand. "I confess I am, my lord. You are so magnificently arrogant, you see, that the temptation is sometimes irresistible."
"I understand irresistible temptation," he told her. "I am about to be overcome by it, myself."
Julian eased over onto the seat beside her and wrapped his hands around her small waist. He lifted her onto his thighs with one smooth motion and watched with cool satisfaction as her eyes widened in alarm.
"Ravenwood," she gasped.
"That brings me to another matter on my list of clarified demands," he murmured. "I think that when I am about to kiss you, I would like you to use my given name. You may call me Julian." He was suddenly very conscious of her firm, rounded little bottom pressing against him. The folds of her skirt clung to his breeches.
She steadied herself with her hands on his shoulders. "Need I remind you so soon that you gave me your word of honor you would not… would not force yourself on me?"
She was trembling. He could feel the small shivers going through her and it annoyed him. "Don't be an idiot, Sophy. I have no intention of forcing myself on you, as you call it. I am merely going to kiss you. There was nothing in our bargain about kissing."
"My lord, you promised—"
He wrapped one hand around her nape and held her carefully still while he covered her mouth with his own. Her lips parted on more words of protest just as he made contact. The result was that the kiss began on a far more intimate level than Julian had planned. He could taste the damp warmth of her instantly and it sent an unexpected flare of desire through him. The inside of her mouth was soft and wet and faintly spicy.
Sophy flinched and then moaned softly as his hands tightened on her. She started to pull away but when he refused to allow the small retreat she went quiet in his arms.
Sensing her cautious acquiescence, Julian took his time and gently deepened the kiss. Lord, she felt good. He had not realized she would be so sweet, so warm. There was enough feminine strength in her to make him vividly aware of his own superior strength and that realization had a startlingly arousing effect on him. He felt himself growing hard almost at once.
"Now say my name," he ordered softly against her mouth.
"Julian." The single word was shaky but audible.
He stroked his palm down her arm and nuzzled her throat. "Again."
"J—Julian. Please stop. This has gone far enough. You gave me your word."
"Am I forcing myself on you?" he asked whimsically, dropping the lightest of kisses just below her ear. His hand slid down her arm to rest intimately on the curve of her knee. Julian suddenly wanted nothing more than to ease her thighs apart and explore Sophy far more thoroughly. If the heat and honey between her legs were anything like that promised by her mouth, he would be well satisfied with his choice of wife. "Tell me, Sophy, do you call this force?"
"I don't know."
Julian laughed softly. She sounded so wretchedly unsure. "Allow me to tell you that this is not what is meant by the expression forcing myself on you."
"What is it, then?"
"I am making love to you. It's perfectly permissible between husband and wife, you know."
"You are not making love to me," she countered very seriously.
Startled, Julian raised his head to meet her eyes. "I'm not?"
"Of course not. How could you be making love to me? You do not love me."
"Call it seduction, then," he retorted. "A man has a right to seduce his own wife, surely. I gave you my word not to force myself on you but I never promised not to attempt to seduce you." There would be no need to honor the stupid agreement, he thought with satisfaction. She showed every sign of responding to him already.
Sophy leaned away from him, a deep anger lighting her turquoise eyes. "As far as I am concerned, seduction is but another form of forcing yourself on a woman. It is a man's way of concealing the truth of his motives."
Julian was stunned at the vehemence in her voice. "You have had experience of it, then?" he countered coldly.
"The results of a seduction are the same for a woman as the use of force, are they not?"
She scrambled awkwardly off his thighs, the wool skirts of her traveling dress twisting awkwardly around her in the process. The broken feather in her bonnet drooped further until it hung over one wary eye. She reached up and snatched it out of the way, leaving a broken feather shaft behind.
Julian shot out his hand and snagged her wrist. "Answer me, Sophy. Have you had experience of seduction?"
"It is a little late to ask me now, is it not? You ought to have made your inquiries into the matter before you offered for me."
And he knew quite suddenly that she had never lain in a man's arms. He could see the answer he wanted in her eyes. But he felt compelled to make her admit the truth. She had to learn that he would tolerate no evasions, half-truths, or any of the myriad other shapes a woman's lies could take.
"You will answer me, Sophy."
"If I do, will you answer all my questions about your past amours?"
"Of course not."
"Oh, you are so grossly unfair, my lord."
"I am your husband."
"And that gives you a right to be unfair?"
"It gives me a right and a duty to do what is best for you. Discussing my past liaisons with you would serve no good purpose and we both know it."
"I am not so certain. I think it would provide me with greater insight into your character."
He gave a crack of laughter at that. "I think you have enough insight as it is. Too much at times. Now tell me about your experience with the fine art of seduction, Sophy. Did some country squire attempt to tumble you in the woods?"
"If he had, what would you do about it?"
"See that he paid for it," Julian said simply.
Her mouth fell open. "You would conduct a duel because of a past indiscretion?"
"We stray from the topic, Sophy." His fingers closed more firmly around her wrist. He could feel the small, delicate bones there and took care not to tighten his hold too far.
Her eyes fell away from his. "You need not worry about avenging my lost honor, my lord. I assure you I have led an extremely quiet and unexciting existence. A somewhat boring existence, to be precise."
"I rather thought so." He released her hand and relaxed back against the cushion. "Now tell me why you equate seduction with force?"
"This is hardly a proper conversation for us to be conducting," she said in muffled tones.
"I have the impression you and I will have many such improper conversations. There are times, my dear, when you are a most improper young woman." He reached up and plucked the broken feather shaft from her bonnet.
She glanced at the shaft with an expression of resignation. "You should have considered my improper tendencies before you insisted on offering for me."