The Bachelor Bargain (Secrets, Scandals, and Spies) by Michaels, Maddison (short books to read TXT) 📕

him she knew money would placate him. Whereas she doubted Sebastian Colver would be placated by anything unless he chose to be. And if he controlled their rental space, what was to stop him from becoming more involved in the gazette if he so chose?

“I have no intention of interfering in your publication,” he drawled.

She blinked. “Were my thoughts that obvious?”

He winked at her. “Written all over your face, my dear.”

“You’re not the first to tell me so.” Demelza was right, she really did need to work on that flaw. “But forgive me if I’m slightly dubious of your assurance you won’t interfere, when you yourself the other day confirmed you liked to play an active role in your investments. Have you not heard the phrase Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes? Beware—”

“Of Greeks bringing gifts… Yes, I’m aware of the phrase.”

“You speak Latin?” The man couldn’t have surprised her more.

“My mother was a governess. Well, at least she was before she was thrown out into the streets, pregnant with me.” He shrugged. “She taught me what she could in between working fourteen hours a day at the cotton factory, and then darning socks and garments into the wee hours of the morning, all in an effort to keep us from starving.”

Without thinking of the consequences, she reached out her gloved hand and placed it on top of his. “I’m so sorry that happened to her. To both of you…”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he replied, making no move to remove her hand from his. “I had a different start in life than you. Clearly.” He laughed slightly. “But rest assured, you have nothing to fear, as I am not Greek.”

They continued to stare at each other, and Livie could feel the heat radiating from his hand into her own. Quickly, she snatched her hand back and cleared her throat. Goodness, the carriage compartment suddenly felt stifling. She glanced out the window until she got her bearings—they were probably only five minutes to her residence. Thankfully. She didn’t know how much longer she could take being in such close confines with the man. He was playing havoc with her senses.

“Where is this warehouse, then?” She would have to let Etta and their printer know of the change in plans. “And how much is the rent on the property?”

“’Tis only a few blocks from my offices, hence safely within my territory, so there will be no unwarranted attention or trouble for you. And I shall lease it to you at half the rate Mr. Mooney was charging, yet it will be double the space.”

“Half the rate?” She narrowed her eyes at him as thoughts of what he was up to engulfed her. “And what is expected of me, to obtain half the rate?”

“I never should have made the suggestion of you providing me with some female companionship, should I?” He grinned. “I doubt you will ever forget it.”

Livie pursed her lips at him. “It is the first, and I imagine last, proposition of its kind I shall receive. So yes, I will never forget it.”

“Well, you can relax, my lady. I will charge you half, as to charge you full would be cutting into my own profits in the endeavor, which makes little sense.” Leaning across the small space, Sebastian took her hand in his and gently began to caress the top of her glove with his thumb. “You must trust me, at least a little, if we are to be successful partners in this endeavor.”

She licked her suddenly dry lips. “So you will sign the contract then?”

With his free hand, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded-up piece of paper. “I already have.”

It appeared to be the contract she’d left him the other day. “The contract for the gazette? And you’re carrying it around with you?”

“What can I say?” He shrugged one shoulder. “You’re very persuasive and my money was on you getting the Dragon Duchess’s agreement, though I did think it might take another day or two. Nevertheless, I brought it along with me, just in case. Nice to see my instincts are still guiding me well.”

He held it out to her, but as she went to take it, he pulled it back.

“I do have one last stipulation though,” he murmured, his thumb continuing to stroke along the top of her glove, sending jolts of energy through her arm.

She knew she should stop him from touching her. It was highly scandalous, but it also felt so good, she simply didn’t want him to stop. “What is this last condition then?”

“That we seal the deal with a kiss.”

Chapter Eleven

He wants to kiss me?

The very thought made her legs as wobbly as Cook’s strawberry pudding. It was just as well she was sitting, or she would have melted into a puddle at his feet.

The feelings he was eliciting in her were so foreign and unexpected that she had to grip ahold of her cane resting on the seat beside her as she struggled to maintain an air of nonchalance. “Do you seal all your deals, then, with a kiss? I imagine some of the gentlemen might find such a request awkward.”

A wry grin spread over his face, and she thought he was one of the most attractive men she’d ever met.

“You’re rather sassy for a duke’s daughter,” he replied. “And no, you are the first with whom I’ve suggested such a condition.”

Of course, most ladies would probably be deterred by the scar running like a jagged wire across the lower half of his face, but to Livie it was a testament to his strength and determination.

She, more than anyone, knew to look beyond the surface of others, and this man was dangerously magnificent. His eyes hadn’t left her own, and she could see the spark of a challenge within them as he sat a mere foot away, his thumb still caressing her hand. There was simply no chance of her thinking clearly