Of all the stolen kisses Anna had been made to suffer since becoming a governess, Greyley’s was different. It wasn’t apologetic or furtive, but forthright and passionate. It stormed the frigid barriers she’d erected about herself and shattered her illusion of control, burning a way past her shocked defenses before she could do more than gasp.

Anna responded immediately, though not in the way she should have. Instead of doubling her hands into fists, she found herself clutching Greyley’s lapels, pulling him closer. As he deepened the kiss, his mouth searing across hers, she moaned softly, the sound delicious and wanton, urging her on.

And why not? the heated part of her wondered. Why not taste just this one, tiny bit of pleasure? She deserved it. The part of her that lusted after the feel of raw silk, that reveled in the glitter of a diamond pin, that unabashedly desired finery and pleasure and fun—it wound its way through her, heightening her senses, and completely silencing the other, more logical part that mumbled a warning of some sort, the incoherent thought lost as Greyley’s tongue slid across Anna’s lower lip. The erotic gesture sent a shudder of delight straight to her toes.

One of the brass buttons that adorned his waistcoat brushed the bared skin at her throat. The cold metal chilled her reactions, and Anna broke the embrace. Here she was, kissing a man as if she—and it was Greyley, which made it all the worse. “Heavens!” she heard herself say. The room was awhirl with color and silence, her mouth and cheeks tingled as if they’d both been assaulted by the earl’s talented lips.

“Heaven, indeed,” Greyley murmured. His gaze was fastened on her mouth, a disturbing glint in his dark gaze. “Congratulations, Thraxton. You are indeed as fiery as you look.”

Anna thought she could hear a dismissal in his tone and she stiffened, her heart lurching. By God, she wouldn’t be made a fool of—not this time. “Fiery? I only wish I could say the same of you,” she managed to puff out. “I’ve been better kissed by the footman.”

The statement shocked her as much as it did Greyley. His brows snapped down. “Been kissing the footman, have you? I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Anna didn’t know about that—she was certainly surprised at the information, especially as they didn’t even have a footman. She ran her fingers over her bottom lip and tried to clear her mind. When had Greyley learned to kiss in such an expert manner?

She burned to realize what he must think of her wanton response. She’d never allowed anyone such liberties before. It must be because he was Sara’s brother. Anna had known Greyley for years, and though their discourse had never been easy, they had always managed to ignore the heated discord that echoed between them. Until now. “I don’t know why that happened—”

“I do,” he said. “I know exactly why it happened.”

To Anna’s unease, a touch of humor lit his gaze. “What?”

“You provoked me.”

“I did no such thing!” she sputtered, anger burning away the last remaining vestige of desire. “How like a man to say such a thing.”

“And then you provoked me once more when you compared my embrace to that of your footman’s.” A faint hint of a grin touched his mouth. “I’m tempted to kiss you again just to prove you wrong.”

If Greyley was attractive even when he was ordering her about, he was devastating when he teased. She took an instinctive step back. “Don’t you dare.”

“I would indeed dare if I didn’t think your grandfather would burst into the room and demand I marry you.”

Good God, not content to insult her by calling her a governess in that superior tone of voice, now he dared suggest that she might try and trick him into marriage. It was almost more than Anna could stand. “Don’t worry about my grandfather. He is much more freethinking than that. Furthermore, I have no wish to marry you. Not now. Not ever. Perhaps this happened just to show us why we shouldn’t be under the same roof. I can never work for—”

“You have no choice.”

“What do you mean I have no choice? Of course I have a choice!”

“Thraxton, calm down and hear me out. I came here to conduct a business arrangement. Nothing more. I have no designs on your virtue.”

“Good,” she said, telling herself that the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach was not disappointment, but rather relief. Despite her irritation, she had to marvel at his air of assurance. Anna suspected that part of Greyley’s arrogance came from getting everything he wanted. He was one of those people who forced circumstances and people to his path. It was high time he realized that real life was much harsher than the charmed existence he’d led so far.

She plastered a polite expression on her face, folded her hands neatly in front of her, and said, “Lord Greyley, there is no need to continue this conversation. Lord Allencott is expecting me to—”

“I know, you told me yesterday. I am willing to pay twice what he has offered.”

The arrogant ass didn’t even bother to ask how much Allencott had agreed to pay. Fortunately, Anna had worked with enough spoiled children that she found dealing with a pompous earl less than a challenge. “Lord Allencott was going to pay me two hundred pounds for three months’ service.”

“Then four hundred pounds it is. I will send a carriage for you in the morning. It is imperative that the children—”

“You cannot be serious,” Anna said, struggling for breath. “You would pay four hundred pounds for only three months’ service? Just like that?”

“Ah. I see your point.”

He should. She’d lied about Allencott’s wages; he’d agreed to pay her only a hundred pounds, and at the time she’d thought it a fortune. “Lord Greyley, I’m certain you’ll find another governess who will—”

“Three months will not be nearly enough. I’ll need you for at least a year.”

She slowly counted to ten. “Greyley, you don’t understand. I cannot—”

“It is you who do not comprehend the situation. These children are not your normal terrors. No governess, no matter how talented, could change the comportment of these unruly whelps in such a short time.”

Anna gave him a wintry smile. “Lord Greyley, I have never failed to improve the behavior of my charges.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Miss Thraxton. But then I knew you would. Five hundred pounds, but no more.”

Five…hundred…pounds. Anna swallowed. “For three months?”

“Of course,” he said impatiently. “That is far more than I’ve paid any governess. I’m certain it’s more than you’ve ever earned.”

Sweet heavens, it was a fortune. If she could last under Greyley’s roof for just two quarters, she’d have enough money to see Grandpapa established in the style in which he was accustomed, at least for a while. Several years, in fact. The thought was so tantalizing that she forgot to voice whatever protests she might have.

In typical Greyley fashion, he took her silence for agreement and turned toward the door. “I’ll see you in the morning, Miss Thraxton. The carriage will be here at nine.”

Anna blinked. “Wait! As much as I wish it otherwise, I am honor-bound to fulfill my duties to Lord Allencott.”

“Stop fretting. I’ve already taken care of the matter.”

Foreboding filled her. “I beg your pardon?”

His self-satisfied expression was dangerously near being a smirk. “I ran into Allencott yesterday and I told him you would not be accepting his offer.”

“You…you didn’t.” Anna closed her eyes and pressed her fingers over them. “Please tell me you are teasing.”

“Of course I’m not teasing. I went looking for him after the Dandridges’ soirée. I told him you would be taking employment at Greyley House.”

“You—you—” Anna’s temples throbbed wildly and she was assailed with an almost uncontrollable urge to hurl a vase at Greyley’s thick head.

“Allencott was most understanding. After all, my situation is much more urgent than his. He has two children, I have five.” He looked blessedly pleased with himself, full of masculine logic and stubborn pride.

“Lord Greyley, if you run roughshod over your charges the way you have been attempting to run over me, then it is no wonder they are in an uproar.”

“Roughshod?” Greyley’s brows lowered. “I was assisting you. It was a damnable nuisance having to track down Allencott. Then I had to sit and talk to him for almost half an hour, and the man is an unbearable bore. I can think of at least twenty other things I would have rather been doing.” Greyley’s dark gaze ran over her once again. “Make that twenty-one.”

“Oh, just stop it,” Anna snapped, though her body heated in instant response. She supposed she didn’t have any choice—thanks to the purchase of that silly gown, she was horribly short on funds, and by now Allencott would have found another governess. Anna closed her lips over the irate comment she would like to make and silently conjugated four Latin verbs, a trick she’d learned when dealing with especially recalcitrant children. She was in the middle of conjugating amo when her breathing returned to normal and she was able to say with some equanimity, “Greyley, let us understand one another. If I accept this position, there are certain rules that must be followed.”

“Such as?”

“Never again will you speak for me. I should have been the one to contact Lord Allencott, not you. I have a professional reputation to maintain.”

“It’s not as if he was upset. Besides, he knows he cannot compete with me.”

“Neither can the sun, yet still does it shine.”

The earl’s face darkened. “It isn’t a matter of vanity; it is a matter of necessity. As much as I hate to admit it, Miss Thraxton, I am a desperate man. You are the best governess in London. I want you and no one else.”

He stood, tall and broad-shouldered, filling the tiny parlor until it looked like a closet. And Anna had to admit that it was mollifying to hear the words “the best” coming from such discriminating lips.

Actually, now that Anna looked, the earl possessed a very attractive mouth—it was firm and masculine. And she already knew how those lips felt against hers. The memory sent a hot tingle through her.

Greyley sighed. “Look, Thraxton, I didn’t mean to set your back up in my dealings with Allencott. If you’re worried that he might noise it about that you are untrustworthy because you’re reneging on your agreement, don’t bother. As compensation for his loss, I invited him to hunt at Greyley this fall. He’s always wanted to come, but frankly, I’ve never been able to stand his company. He very happily agreed to the exchange.”

Anna stiffened. “You traded me for a week of hunting?”

“I wouldn’t say it like that.”

“How would you say it?”

He shifted, the floor beneath his feet creaking. “It doesn’t matter how I’d say it—I was attempting to protect your interests and—”

“I don’t need your protection. Not now, not ever.”

Anthony almost winced at the frigid tones that fell from Thraxton’s lips. Crystalline clear, each word clinked onto his ears like icicles. Perhaps he had overstepped his bounds a bit, though it hadn’t seemed like it at the time.

Indeed, Thraxton should have been thanking him, not regarding him as if he were some sort of aberration to humanity. But then she’d always had a tendency to see the worst in everything he did, he decided. It was just like her to make a huge fuss over nothing. He’d conveniently forgotten that part of her personality in his zeal to obtain her services. “You are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.”

A proper woman would have taken offense, but not Thraxton. She curtsied. “Thank you, kind sir.”

“That wasn’t a compliment,” he answered bluntly. She was unlike any woman he knew, full of health and vigor. From her height to her incredible coloring, there was nothing ladylike about her. Take her gown, for instance. Even though the cut of the garment was modest—almost severe in detail—on Anna Thraxton it became a siren’s gown. The thin material draped over her perfect figure, molding to the contours of her full, round breasts, and clinging in a most disconcerting way to her slender waist and hips. Even the color, a soft innocuous blue, did nothing to blend her into her surroundings. Instead, the color contrasted with the creamy hues of her skin and enhanced the rich auburn of her hair. Anthony found himself comparing her coloring to Charlotte’s gentle prettiness and decided that surely such vivid looks might tire a man. Still…it was hard to find fault with Thraxton’s looks. If it weren’t for her nose, she would be stunningly beautiful.

Anthony tried to focus on that proud nose, but his gaze kept drifting down to her mouth where her lovely lips parted in a cool smile, revealing even white teeth.

“Lord Greyley, you may be able to waltz into half the households in London and get your way with such high-handed tactics, but this isn’t one of them. You have reminded me what a fool I would be to even attempt to work for you. I have changed my mind—you will have to find someone else to serve as governess to your wards.” She turned and walked to the door.

Just as her hand closed over the knob, he heard himself say, “One thousand pounds.”

She froze, then turned and looked at him with raised brows. “Each quarter?”

“Yes, damn it,” he growled. “And that’s my final offer.”

Heaven help him, but he’d lost his mind. It was a fortune. No, it was more than a fortune. But he would be damned if he would lose her now. He needed her. No, he silently corrected himself—the children needed her.

Her fingers loosened on the doorknob and Anthony could see that she was tempted. He added softly, “A thousand pounds each quarter for a year. Think of what you could do with such a sum.”

She didn’t say anything for a long time. Finally, she took her hand from the door. “I could buy a nice, snug house in the country and keep it warm day and night for Grandpapa.” Her fingers brushed her skirts in a distracted way and she said softly, as if musing aloud, “I could purchase some new gowns, too.”

“More than a few,” he answered, a little surprised she even cared about such fripperies. Still, he would use whatever appealed to her. “Shall I send a carriage in the morning?”

After a long moment, she nodded. “Very well.”

Anthony’s shoulders relaxed, and he suddenly realized that he’d been holding his breath. “Excellent. I’ll—”

“I have other requirements. With so many children, I will need an assistant.”

“That seems reasonable.”

“A well-lit nursery and plenty of funds for the purchase of whatever materials I think necessary.”

“Anything else?”

“I assume the children already have ponies of their own?”

“Of course,” he replied, offended. They were in his care, after all. She should have known he would see to the necessities, if not more.

“Then that should do.” She gestured toward the door. “If you don’t mind, I have a lot of preparations to see to before tomorrow.”

He nodded, but made no move to leave. Instead he watched her, his gaze appraising her from head to toe.

Thraxton crossed her arms over her breasts. “What?”

“It just dawned on me that my sister is likely to hear that I’ve hired you to serve as governess.”

“Not from me. I do not often correspond with Sara.” Of all the losses Anna had suffered on giving up her station, the loss of Sara had been the most bitter. Oh, Sara refused to admit that anything had changed, which was why Anna was so determined not to become a burden. She still wrote, but much less frequently, and she made it a point not to be available whenever Sara was in town.

Greyley shrugged. “Be that as it may, it would be improper of me to forget what is due your station.”

Her silver eyes hardened. “I’m well aware of my station, Lord Greyley.”

“So am I. You are my sister’s friend and a Thraxton. Therefore, you might want to bring a few gowns with you.” He waved his hand vaguely. “For dinner and such.”

Anna’s chest tightened. It was the one thing she did not want to happen. She had learned the hard way what happened when she forgot the responsibilities due to someone in her position. “Lord Greyley, while I appreciate your kindness, I am not arriving at your house as a guest. I am coming as a paid employee, and I will thank you to remember that.”

His gaze glinted darkly. “Afraid I’ll attempt to kiss you again?”

“Of course not,” she said, her cheeks heating. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“You don’t know what I would dare. And where you are concerned, it appears that I don’t either.” He turned to the door. “I will leave you to make your arrangements. The carriage will be here in the morning.”

Moments later, the earl’s carriage could be heard rumbling down the street. Anna reached blindly for the arm of the nearest chair and sank into the lumpy seat.

Sweet heavens, what had she agreed to? For the next three or four months or longer, she would be in close proximity to the one man in all England who had the ability to make her forget herself and her station. It was madness. Especially after…She stood, pushing the unwanted memories away. There was no use in reliving the past. It could not be undone.

Whatever she did, she would be damned if she’d let her unruly feelings get in the way of plain, ordinary common sense. Propriety must be addressed on all occasions, which left no room for any other emotion, not even simple friendship. Even that, she knew, could be fatal.

Meanwhile, she had plenty to keep her occupied. If she was successful in this venture, she stood to make a nice profit, one that she and Grandpapa desperately needed, and her reputation as a governess would indeed be set. All she had to do was calm the children and bring some order to Greyley’s nursery. Yet simple as that sounded, Anna knew she’d just accepted the most difficult challenge of her life. Sighing, she went in search of Grandpapa.