The Untamed Earl(35)
Owen’s voice was resigned. “Very well. I’ll ensure I don’t bring up horses. Or at least show no affinity toward them.”
“That’s probably best.” Alex nodded.
“As for you, you’re already a proficient flirt and a skilled dancer. I’m not certain what else to show you,” he said with a laugh.
Alex took a deep breath. This next part was especially daring. But daring was the order of the day. “I have an idea.”
He turned his head toward her. “What’s that?”
She squeezed her hands together. “It’s a question, really.”
“Yes?” he prodded.
Alex chewed on her bottom lip. She couldn’t even look at him when she said it. “What should I do if a gentleman becomes too forward?”
“We already went over this—”
“No,” she said, her ears burning. “I mean too forward.”
He eyed her cautiously.
“What if he attempts to kiss me?” she finally blurted.
Owen’s eyes rounded. “Slap him,” he said, his voice taking on a threatening, angry tone she’d never heard before.
She smoothed a curl away from her forehead. “What if that doesn’t work?”
“Knee him between the legs. Then come find me. I’ll handle the wretch for you.” His voice was thunderous.
A thrill rushed down Alex’s spine. His offer was positively tempting, but she needed to follow through with this line of questioning. She had a plan. A daring one. “What if he succeeds?” she ventured, smoothing her gloved hand down the front of her lavender gown. “In kissing me, I mean.”
Owen’s head snapped up. His face had hardened into a mask of stone. “Has that happened before?”
“No, of course not, but then again, I haven’t been flirting before. What if I’m superbly effective? I want to ensure that I’m prepared for success.”
Owen’s hand clenched into a fist. “If some overly eager blighter tries to get you alone, say no. He won’t kiss you in public.”
“Are you quite sure?” Alex prodded.
“Entirely. I’ll call him out myself since your brother is still not of age.”
Another thrill shot down her spine. Lord Owen Monroe calling out an overly eager suitor on her behalf? Who would ever imagine? Well, besides her.
Alex cleared her throat. “There is one man whom I’d quite like to kiss me, but—”
“Who?” The word shot out like a crack against the nearest wall.
Alex stumbled over her words. Perhaps she shouldn’t have said that. “He’s the—I mean to say—He’s—”
“Forgive me,” Owen replied. “You’re speaking of the chap from whom you’re hoping for an offer, of course.”
All Alex could do was nod. “Yes, but if another man, a man I don’t want to kiss me, tries to do so, I’d like to be prepared.”
His eyes narrowed on her. “Prepared how?”
“I think I should practice, if you’d be so kind.” She did her best to maintain a straight face.
Owen scowled. “Practice? What do you mean?”
Alex twined her fingers together and rocked back and forth. “I mean that you should try to kiss me and I’ll practice my reaction.”
Owen’s blue eyes widened once more but just as quickly reverted to their normal size. “I’m not certain—”
She crossed her arms over her chest matter-of-factly. The only way this would work was if she pretended it was all merely part of the lessons. She needed to act as if it were nothing out of the ordinary whatsoever. “Honestly, Owen. You cannot teach me how to flirt and then leave me to fend off a possibly lecherous suitor on my own with no training whatsoever.” She tapped her slippered foot on the parquet floor.
He scratched his head, but she could tell by the dawning look of acceptance on his face that he was coming around to her way of thinking. Excellent.
“Very well.” He sighed. “I’ll try to kiss you and you can sidestep me and slap me with your fan. Of course, this should be done only in the most extreme set of circumstances, and again, I highly recommend you do not go anywhere alone with anyone who might make such an untoward advance.”
“I understand completely,” she assured him, trying to quell the nerves that had raced through her chest ever since he’d uttered the words “I’ll try to kiss you.”
Owen straightened his cravat and squared his shoulders. Then he faced her, puffing up his chest and waggling his eyebrows in a comical manner. “You look so ravishing this evening, Lady Alexandra. Your beauty has enchanted me, and I fear I’m overcome with my passions.”