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Frowning, Simon moved to the bed and stripped down to his smalls Then he crawled between the sheets With lowered lids, he studied her, ad why it was that he found her so unappealing It was, to his knowledge, the only time in his life that he had found external attractiveness incapable of distracting fro that Lysette rivaled Maria in loveliness, it was a startling realization to come to

The women were similar in many ways, and that only emphasized their differences Maria had a solid core within her, a spine of steel that was created by her unwavering determination Lysette seemed sometimes as if she was uncertain of her life’s path He could not understand why she appeared to relish her role one moment, and then despise it the next

His instincts were cla told hiht in Lysette’s world She was a hired killer, and her icy disposition supported her chosen profession Yet her apathy for others was sometimes belied by brief flashes of confusion and remorse He suspected she was a bit touched, and it was difficult to feel both sympathy and dislike toward the same woman

"How did you come to work for Talleyrand?" he asked

She ju"

"Obviously not"

"I do not work for Talleyrand"

"Who then?"

"That is none of your business," she said smartly

"Oh, I think it is," he drawled

Her gaze narrowed as she looked at him "Whom do you work for?" she countered

"I work for no one I am a mercenary"

"Hmm"

"Are you?" he prodded, when she said no ain looking a bit lost Her clothes were finely crafted and expensive, her un life in far better circumstances than these He knehy Maria had turned to a life of crime, but why had Lysette?

"Why don’t you find a rich husband and enjoy yourself draining his coffers?" he asked

Her nose wrinkled "How boring"

"Well, that would depend on the husband, would it not?"

"Regardless, that does not sound appealing to me"

"Perhaps life as a mistress would suit you better?"

"I do not likehi ed "Why not? There is nothing else for me to do"

"Go to sleep"

"Do you prefer the company of women?"

She stared at him a moment Then her eyes widened "No! Mon Dieu I prefer the company of books, but in lieu of that, men are my second choice Most especially in the "

He smiled at her horror

"Why don’t you think about Cartland?" she suggested, "And leave me in peace"

His humor fled "You think he will find Mitchell?"

"I think it would be ie a nuent ofall the major roads in and out of London" Her beautiful features lost all traces of huht of this as merely a family affair"

"Of course not," heas rapidly as it had come Such was the way of their relations--one inally attractive, the next he could not abide her "And what of this man who rides with Cartland? Depardue? Do you think about him?"

"As little as possible"

There was soe that had entered her voice "He is your rival, is he not?"

Her lips whitened, then, "No He is not If he succeeds, it does not reflect negatively on me"

"So why not allow hiht on your soul?"

"I do what I must," she said with a trace of defensiveness "You do not like that I can set aside my emotions to accomplish the tasks set beforeout his breath, Si in the manner that you and I do does not mean we have to be heartless What would be the point of living if we have no heart?"

He heard the book slam shut "Do not seek to lecture me!" she snapped "You have no notion of what my life has been like"

"So tell me," he said easily

"Why do you care?"

"I told you, there is nothing else to do"

"Do you want to have sex?"

His head shot up in surprise She stared back with both brows raised

"With you?" he asked, incredulous

"Who else is here?" she retorted

To his chagrin, Siless tumble, he had no real desire to tumble Lysette However, damned if he wouldn’t rise to the occasion "I suppose we could"

Her eyes widened at his obvious reluctance Then she laughed, a sweet, lilting sound that he found enchanting Who knew such a cold creature could have such a warrinning

Sie the task," he bit out

Lysette looked pointedly at the general area of his cock "It does not look that way to me"

"Never cast aspersions on ayou raw"

A shadow passed over her features She sed hard and looked away

His irritation fled Sitting up, he said, "I was jesting"

"Of course"

Scrubbing a hand over his jaw, Simon cursed inwardly He did not understand the woman at all She was too mutable "Perhaps we should restrain our conversations to safer subjects?"

She looked at hiht"

He waited for her to say so; then finally he took the lead "I intend to capture Cartland and bring hiether with Mitchell Then you can see for yourself the differences between the two If I know Cartland at all, he hopes to eliminate Mitchell before his secret is revealed"

"If there is such a secret to tell"