Page 65 of One Night with a Prince

Her eyes narrowed. If Lord Stokely really was as attracted to her as he seemed, some mild flirting might gain her more information than hours of searching.

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“Am I to judge from your silence that my assessment is correct?” Lord Stokely asked, eyes gleaming. She forced a teasing smile to her lips. “I came here with Byrne. What makes you think I’d transfer my affections to you?”

“Perhaps because you like variety?” He bent his head to nibble her ear. Strangely, the motion left her cold. “Or perhaps because Lady Kingsley has arrived. She was still in the card room keeping Byrne company when I left.”

Christabel fought to contain her jealousy. Even if the man spoke the truth, it didn’t mean that Byrne was welcoming the woman’s attentions. “As long as Byrne comes tomy bed in the end, I don’t care who keeps him company in the card room.”

“Fortunately,he doesn’t care who keepsyou company in my study,” Lord Stokely murmured in her ear.

“Byrne and I have shared many a woman. He won’t be bothered if you indulge yourself with me, I assure you.”

He was probably right, blast him. But that didn’t stop her from recoiling when the man slid his arm about her waist and pulled her into an embrace.

As he seized her mouth in a kiss, panic broke loose in her chest. It was one thing to flirt with the man to uncover his secrets, but quite another to let him seduce her. And would he even give her a choice? They were alone—if he wanted to, Lord Stokely could do as he pleased. She tried to break the kiss, but he grabbed her chin to hold her still while he thrust his tongue against her closed lips. Just as she lifted her hands to shove against his chest, a knock came at the door.

“Christabel, are you in there?” Byrne called out.

Lord Stokely drew back with a curse. “I should have locked the damned door.”

Relief swamping her, she called out, “Yes, Byrne, I’m here.”

Byrne strode in, then halted, his eyes narrowing as he spotted her and Lord Stokely in an embrace. Lord Stokely didn’t even bother to release her. “As it turns out, Byrne, the widow wasn’t sleeping after all.”

“I see that,” Byrne said tersely. “Ready to retire, my sweet?” He offered her his arm. Only then did the baron release her. But as she hurried to Byrne’s side, thanking God for her narrow escape, Lord Stokely said, “Care to amend your wager, Byrne?”

Byrne stared at the man with a steely gaze. “In what way?”

Christabel seized Byrne’s arm as Lord Stokely ran his lustful gaze down her body. “If you win the wager, I’ll pay you a thousand pounds. IfI win, however, then Lady Haversham spends the last night in my bed.”

“I can hardly amend the wager’s terms in such a manner without the lady’s consent,” he said in a faintlyGenerated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlbored tone.

“Lady Haversham?” Lord Stokely turned to Christabel. “Do you agree?”

Christabel was staring at Byrne in amazement. She meant so little to him that he would agree to her being offered as a prize?

Her temper flared. “I’ll consider it,” she said on impulse, though she didn’t mean a word. Honestly, Byrne could be so unfeeling, it drove her mad.

“Give me your answer tomorrow then—” Lord Stokely began.

“No need,” Byrne broke in. “I don’t agree to the terms.”

The murderous look in his eyes gave Christabel pause.

“But Lady Haversham said—”

“I don’t care what she said. My wager is for a thousand pounds, nothing else.”

Lord Stokely’s eyes narrowed. “You’d rather pay a thousand pounds than share Lady Haversham?”

Byrne shrugged. “I can afford it.”

He was back to sounding bored, but his hand now held hers in a killer grip, and he was clearly on the verge of strangling Lord Stokely.

A thrill shot through her. What had happened to Byrne’s famous lack of jealousy?

“Well then,” Lord Stokely said snidely, “I wish you joy of her. The bitch must have a gold-plated honeypot to have you wanting to keep her to yourself.”