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explode.
    “So
blunt.”
    “Do
you need flowery words, Rossa ?”
Andros asked. “Like you needed all of this?” He waved a hand around the room,
but she shook her head.
    “I thought
this would be nice,” she said. “Let the tension simmer a little before we give
into it.”
    “So
we are going to give into it?”
    “Of
course we are, and I never need flowery words. I can’t stand men who lie and
bullshit. Honesty is always my motto. I’d much rather you tell me as it is.”
    He
splayed his hands wide. “Then that is how it is. I want you. I wanted you the
moment I turned around and saw you in the club. You are very sexy, unbelievably
beautiful.”
    “You
want to take me home with you? Tonight?”
    Want? He smiled, the
anticipation clawing at him. There was no want about it. He would have her. Still, perhaps before he
ran in dick first he should find out exactly how she felt, what she expected.
That would be the smart thing to do and now was the time to do it. If he left
it any longer…
      “I do,” he stated, “and now, Lyra, it is time
that you tell me exactly what it is that you want.”

 
    Chapter Five
     
    Lyra
ran her finger along the edge of her wine glass. She’d never tasted wine quite
like it, so rich and fruity. It was like a little taste of Andros’ world and
already she wanted more. Wanted him.
    And he wants you.
    She
smiled inwardly at that thought, and couldn’t stop her mind from skipping ahead
to imagine exactly how that might unravel. But she hadn’t made all her moves
yet, and she’d promised herself, hadn’t she?
    Honesty.
    Play
it straight and see if he plays with.
    So show time. Only she was
nervous, more so than she had expected. After all, so much rested on the next
few moments. Not just her family’s plans but hers also. So really, taking that
into consideration, was it any wonder that her stomach was flipping, and her
head spinning?
    It
all came down to this moment, and Lyra knew too that by taking the step she
planned that she was risking everything they were trying to achieve. But also
that it was unavoidable. For her this was the only way she could achieve her
mission.
    The
only way to get what she wanted.
    “My
words have made you thoughtful,” Andros said.
    Lyra
smiled across at him, cheering a little inside as his gaze dropped to her
mouth. She licked her lips, not to tempt him more, but because they were
suddenly dry. His fist clenched on the table, and she shivered.
    “They
have.”
    “Tell
me.”
    It
was a command rather than a question. Despite the fact Lyra would have liked to
wait just a few more moments, until her stomach settled at least, she knew she
could not. Andros had indulged her with this dinner, but she suspected that
indulgence was all but used up. So it was time. Deep breath.
    “I
was thinking,” she said slowly, “about a book I recently read.”
    He
laughed. The sound filled the space around them making Lyra’s stomach muscles
clench. How was it possible that even his laugh was attractive?
    “Politics,
books, there is more to you than meets the eye, I suspect. Though I cannot help
but think I must be losing my touch if you’re thinking about books.”
    “I
doubt that.”
    “Hmmm…well
come,” he said. “It relates in some way, no? So tell me about this book.”
    This
was it. Lyra’s heart thudded so hard she was sure Andros must be able to hear
it, to feel the nerves rolling off her.
    Show time.
    “Did
you know,” she began, her words far steadier than she’d expected them to be.
“That in the Regency period women who were genteel and poor would offer
themselves up as mistresses to men in the aristocracy?”
    Silence
for a moment, and when Andros spoke his accent was marked, thicker. “I did not
know that.”
    She
shrugged, just a small movement, before casting him a look from under her
lashes. It was one she’d practiced in the mirror, worked on to make perfect,
and it had the desired effect. His eyes narrowed, his nostrils