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I hadn’t realized I made a face until I relaxed at her assurance Alisdair wasn’t cheating on me, then scowled again full force atorgies.
“Why have you brought me here?” I snapped at Eadaoin. Emiana’s lips parted, and her true voice came out. “Explain yourself.”
She patted my hand. My lip curled at the servant for daring to touch me. “You said you wanted to learn how to tempt our lord without falling in love with him.” She flicked from companion to companion. “Who else to ask but the experts?”
Understanding dawned, and chased away the ghost of Emiana. “Eadaoin, you’re a genius.”
She grinned, whiskers twitching. “Ladies,” she called, clapping. “Work your magic.”
Eadaoin trumpeted the horn for war, and they descended on me. Six pair of hands led me around the indoor garden to a standing mirror.
“First, we have to get rid of these clothes.” She tore my dress off faster than Alisdair did. “Honestly, Lady Ana, Aeris terrifies me too, but you are allowed to choose your own wardrobe.”
I would’ve responded if my jaw wasn’t firmly clamped in the hand of the fox girl. She wiped off my subtle lip stain, and replaced it with a deep, plumish purple that I never would’ve had the bravery to try even if I was born a princess.
My elegant gown was torn to shreds. In its place, they covered my body with a forest-green gown that was tighter and thinner with a neckline plunging to my belly button. My nailswere painted. My braids were unwound, leaving my hair falling in soft waves around my shoulders, and then, the lesson started.
“No, no, no,” cried Honora, the fox woman. “You have to drop your hip, then roll. Drop, then roll, and twist.” She demonstrated—wining her body in a slow, sultry dance that made me blush to see.
“Um, I don’t think my body was meant to move that way.” No, I knew I wasn’t. Both my and Emiana’s memories confirmed, neither of us knew how to dance. “Is there possible a beginner’s seduction dance?”
Honora laughed. “You are adorable, Lady Ana. I’m so glad nothing they said about you is true.”
I was afraid to ask what they said.
“Now, don’t overthink.” She grasped my hips. “Loosen up. Move with me.” Honora worked my hips like a puppet while the others conjured instruments and played a tune.
“Alisdair likes this?” I asked, finding my rhythm. I twisted, wined, and twirled, beginning to join in on the laughs and smiles.
“Oh, yes.” Honora shared a grin with the other companions. “Helovesit.”
I nodded, steeling myself. “Well then, teach me everything you know.”
THAT NIGHT, I WASTEDanother head start and waited for Alisdair in our bedroom.
He stalked inside slow and cautiously as usual, searching for a trap, and found me perched on the end of the mattress—draped in a thin, silk robe.
I strained to keep the sultry smile on my face while my teeth chattered. “Good evening, husband. Make yourself comfortable.” I patted the sheets. “Tonight, seduction is—”
“No,” he sliced in. “I’m not enduring another one of your mad episodes. Get on your knees.”
I clenched my teeth tight, penning in a vicious reply. Insults were hardly in line with the romantic atmosphere I was attempting to create. “If you had let me finish, you would’ve heard me say that seduction is my honor tonight. Just sit back and relax, Alisdair, while I tempt you.”
“Is that so?” His brow climbed higher than the corner of his mouth. “You mean to seduce me? Before or after you run screeching from the room?”
You can’t kill him. You can’t kill him. You literally can’t kill him.“Before,” I returned, holding on to my smile. “Now, are you going to lie down, or would you prefer to talk yourself out of a treat?”
“I’ll never deny a treat from you, little bird.” Slowly, he peeled off his clothes and climbed into bed.
My heart thundered as he reclined against the headboard, draping his arm over the pillows. He gestured for me to proceed, and my lips tightened. Only Shadowsoul could make a finger flick sarcastic.
Shaking my head, I refocused on my goal.The only way home is to make this beast give his love and heart to me. I do this for my freedom, so I cannot fail.
I cleared my throat. “Tonight, I tempt and seduce you, my husband, with...” I let my robe fall to the floor. “...a dance.”
The tight, see-through, lace shift dress revealed itself in all its glory, so did a bulge rising from the middle of the bed, and his legs.
I hid a grin. I’d never tell a soul, let alone myself, how much it thrilled me that I had such an effect on a cold and terrible man.
