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pattern of her arousal on the cloth. He flicked a finger
    over one hard tip, heard her gasp.
    “The binding appears to be sufficient. Let’s start with the clean shirt, shall we?”
    Had she noticed the tremendous swell of his cock in his breeches? He turned her to
    face the mirror and dropped the shirt over her head. When she emerged, her face was
    flushed. Gideon helped settle the voluminous shirt over her body, allowing his hands to
    brush her skin at every opportunity.
    He picked up the cravat and draped it around her neck. He stood behind her, his
    gaze meeting hers in the mirror. “A man’s cravat says a lot about how he views himself
    in the world.”
    She snorted. “It is but a twist of linen and a pin. How can it be so important?”
    “Because its arrangement, and the care and thought which goes into it, are meant
    for other men to admire and aspire to.” He slid his fingers down the long strip of linen,
    his knuckles shaping the slight swell of her breasts. She followed the movement of his
    hands in the mirror and shifted restlessly.
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    Antonia’s Bargain
    “I do not wish to look like a dandy or a fop.”
    “You wish to look like a girl dressed up in her brother’s clothes?”
    “No, of course not.”
    He held her gaze in the mirror. “Then let me show you.”
    He slowly folded the wide length of linen into a neat series of pleats which he
    gathered at her throat.
    “How do you do that so efficiently?”
    He smiled at her. “Practice, I suppose. Hand me the diamond pin to your right.” He
    secured the snowy folds of the cravat and adjusted the high points of her shirt collar
    around them. “There you see? Much neater.”
    Antonia studied her reflection, turning her head from side to side. “Will you teach
    me how to do this for myself?”
    He pulled out one of the bureau drawers and showed her the rows of folded
    cravats. “Be my guest. You may ruin as many as you like.”
    She carefully unpinned the cravat, her face a study of concentration as she
    considered the folds he had made. While she worked, Gideon ordered some food and
    more wine. Before meeting her in the lobby, he’d spent a strenuous hour in bed with his
    latest inamorata in an effort to drain off his lust and make him fit to deal with Antonia.
    Despite his efforts, he was semi-erect and eager. It was a strange, if unnerving sensation
    after his year of near abstinence, to experience such intense sexual tension.
    Under his father’s watchful gaze, he would have to make an effort to peruse the
    latest female offerings of the ton as if he truly wished to marry again. If Antonia was
    more experienced, he might have asked her to pretend to be his potential bride. But
    under her calm exterior, he sensed she was truly afraid. Forcing her to masquerade as
    his latest flirt might destroy her courageous attempt to move beyond her fear. Most
    women bored him. He hated the way they fluttered around him, their willingness to be
    weak, their need to be emotional about everything.
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    Kate Pearce
    Of course, there were always exceptions. Madame Desiree was one and his sister-in-law Eden another. Neither of them balked at demanding what they wanted from a
    man and both of them enjoyed taking sex to its limits. He truly believed Antonia was
    capable of being as passionate and inventive in bed as he was. In some ways it was a
    shame that he was set against marriage. The pleasure of teaching her to enjoy and
    explore her own sensuous nature was too good to ignore and too important to rush. He
    smiled. Perhaps she might even teach him something.
    “Oh bother! I thought I had it then.”
    Antonia flung another crumpled cravat to the floor to join the others she had
    already ruined.
    “If you wish to act like a man, perhaps you should strive to improve your choice of
    curse words.”
    She glanced up to find Gideon watching her, a slight smile on his lips. He leaned
    against the mantelpiece, displaying his long languid frame to