Page 28 of The Language of Love

“She’s very er?” Mr. Parker asked, his voice teasing. “How does one go about being er, I wonder?”

“You know exactly what I mean,” she shot back tartly, mortified at how flushed her face felt.

Mr. Parker laughed, the sound low and disturbingly sensual. “Yes, I know what you mean: libidinous.”

The shocking word made her feel woozy.

“She certainly made no bones about what she wanted from me,” he confessed.

They both looked at the woman in question.

The wealthy, lovely widow kept a string of lovers, which she jokingly referred to as her hunters. “It’s always best to keep a stable full of mounts if one is a slapping rider,” Lady Keating was fond of saying.

The men surrounding Lady Keating laughed at something she said, and she leaned in close enough to rub her prodigious bosom against one handsome young man.

The man in question preened. Those around him scowled jealously.

Annis’s own bosom was anything but prodigious. She chewed her lip as she studied her unfashionably high neckline. She’d considered altering the garment to give it more of a à la mode bodice, but she hadn’t had the time.

When she looked up, she discovered that Mr. Parker was staring at her, a faint smile curving his lips.

“You aren’t interested in what Lady Keating has to offer?” she asked, stunning herself with the daring question.

He gave another of his sensual chuckles. “Not at the moment.” His eyelids lowered, his darkened gaze moving over her like a physical touch. “I have other… interests.”

Annis stared, unable to look away.

“You’re staring, Miss Bowman. Do I have something on my face?”

She jerked her gaze away until she faced the crowded dance floor. He was an unnervingman, but she couldn’t make herself walk away from him.

When he was content to smirk in silence, Annis asked, “How are you finding England after so long in India? Does the weather feel chilly? It must have been vastly different where you lived. Do you have family here? Will you be visiting them?”

His hazel eyes glinted with amusement. “Hmm, let’s see—that was a lot of questions. Here are your answers, in order: Interesting. Yes. Yes. Yes. And no.”

Annis laughed. “I deserved that. I’ll only ask them one at a time from now on.”

“From now on,” he repeated, flashing her another devastating smile. “I like the sound of that.”

“You do?”

“Yes, it implies we shall further our acquaintance.” His warm look made heat pool low in her belly.

“Are you flirting with me, Mr. Parker?”

“If you have to ask, then I must not be doing a good job, Miss Bowman.”

“You are doing well enough,” she assured him. She cast a glance in her aunt’s direction to make certain she wasn’t needed.

“Does your family keep you busy?” he asked.

So, he was observant as well as clever.

The last thing Annis wanted to talk about with this fascinating man was her family. “Will you tell me about India?”

“Of course. What do you wish to know?”

“Whatever you wish to tell me.”