Page 12 of Seduction of a Widow

“I would know if you were merely cheating the rules of the current game. That is not my worry.”

She arched a brow. “Then what? You would allow me to cheat so long as you believed yourself in control of the situation?” Amusement laced her words.

“I believe in being permissive.”

“But there are limits?”

“I would hate to think that you were changing the nature of the game entirely,” he replied, unruffled.

“I think we are no longer speaking of Ombre.”

“Nae,” he murmured. “We are not.”

“I think you are being presumptuous.”

“I think you would be insulted if I were not.”

Her lips twitched as though she were suppressing a grin. “Just attend to this current game. Ombre, remember?”

“Aye.”

He began to shuffle, aware that she watched his hands. What was it about a woman watching a man’s hands that seemed erotic? Or was it just the fact she was watching his hands and he hoped she was envisioning what he wanted to do to her with his hands?

Her gaze shifted past him and a shadow fell across the table a bare instant before he recognized the familiar scent of lilacs. Evan silently cursed but kept his eyes on the cards. A slim arm draped over his shoulder.

Lady Isabel Dunn sat in the seat to his left and slid her hand across his shoulder and down his arm before she said, “What a surprise to see you here, Mr. MacLaren.” She turned to Leslie. “Lady Carr, if I am not mistaken.”

Leslie angled her head in acknowledgement. “Forgive me, but have we met?”

“We have not. But I saw you at Mrs. Landon’s party last year.”

Evan wanted to wring Isabel’s pretty neck. Instead, he said, “Lady Carr, meet Lady Isabel Dunn.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Leslie said, but Evan had the sense she wasn’t that pleased. The woman was a fine judge of character.

Evan finished dealing and picked up his cards in hopes Isabel would leave. “I did not know you and Dunn were friends of Baroness Trent,” he said to her.

“Oh, yes, Dunn knew her husband from their university days.” Her eyes shifted to the cards. A slow smile lifted her mouth and Evan realized his mistake. “Ombre,” she said. “For two players.” She lifted her eyes to his face. “How…intimate.”

Evan caught the narrowing of Leslie’s eyes.

She gave Isabel a cool smile. “Care to join us?”

He winced inwardly. Lady Carr couldn’t turn away from a challenge, and Isabel might as well have slapped her across the face with a white glove. He understood little about women, but the need to answer a challenge, he understood. The challenge wasn’t over him—at least not on Leslie’s part. Isabel…well, she probably wanted him more than she would admit. She hated losing. He suspected the same could be said for Lady Carr, only it was likely Lady Carr hated losing to a person of flawed character, and Isabel was certainly flawed.

“Three handed Ombre it is, then.” Evan gathered up the dealt cards and began to shuffle again.

Isabel looked at him from beneath her lashes. She knew how to use that womanly smile to perfection. Six months ago, he would have fallen for it—had fallen for it.

“What are the stakes?” Isabel asked.

Evan faltered in dealing. She didn’t mean…

She turned her gaze onto Leslie. “I hear you are an adventurous woman, Lady Carr.”

“Isabel,” he growled.

She laughed. “Come now, Evan, a woman who plays two handed Ombre with a gentleman expects a certain level of excitement.”