Page 61
“But…” he continued, and Victoria threw her hands up.
“I had a feeling there would be a catch. You always have an ulterior motive. You never do anything if you do not benefit from it.”
He smiled impishly. “Oh, my dear wife, it seems that you’re finally learning to appreciate my resourcefulness.”
“That is not resourcefulness; that is…” She looked around the room in panic, her mind working tirelessly, searching for the right word. “Blackmail!”
He shrugged. “Whatever you want to call it.”
“What do you want?” Victoria asked on a weary breath.
William smiled then, his eyes glinting with mischief. “A goodnight kiss.”
“You’re mad,” she breathed, although her cheeks grew increasingly hot.
“Just one kiss before bed is all I ask.”
“That’s not going to happen.” Victoria turned away, wrapping her arms around herself, her hands stroked up and down her arms, tracing away the chills.
“Listen.” William stepped closer. She could feel his heat even from a distance. “Putting our arguments aside, I have thought quite a bit about our arrangement and I feel like we need change.”
“Why?” She turned back to him, surprised to see him closer than she’d anticipated.
“Because when two people strike a deal, each of them should be getting something out of it.”
“And?”
“You are getting back your reputable standing in society. And all I want is a chance to prove to you that our marriage can work.”
Victoria paused, her mind a jumble. “Forcing me to kiss you won’t help you in this endeavor.”
“I am not forcing,” he said with a shrug. “Negotiating.”
Victoria let out a chuckle. “I admire your insistence on arguing the meanings of words. You should write your own dictionary and sell it to rogues.”
To her surprise, he wasn’t offended in the least. He just laughed, his hand on his chest, a boyish grin on his lips. Damn, he was charming.
“One kiss?” Victoria asked, finally giving in.
“Just one.”
“A peck,” she clarified.
He raised his arms in a shrug. “If that’s what you wish.”
“That’s the amount of intimacy there will be between us for the rest of my stay here.”
“That’s it,” he conceded.
“And there will be no more renegotiating the terms.”
He nodded. “Agreed.”
“Fine.” She expelled a deep breath, tired of the back and forth, ready to finish this conversation and leave the proximity of her naked husband. “But can I have my chair back? It is my favorite reading spot, and since you got what you wanted, a huge renegotiation on my part, I think it is only fair I get something else in return.”
He grinned. “See? You’re learning already! Now, isn’t it a better arrangement for us?”
Victoria just shook her head. How in the world had they come to this? One minute they were arguing, and the next she was agreeing to kiss him goodnight every night. He was indeed a master manipulator. “My chair?” she asked, not willing to relent on this one thing.
