The Seduction of Sebastian St. James by Rachel van Dyken Page A

with.
    Jeering, he plucked a glass of wine from the passing servant. Yes this would be enjoyable indeed. All he needed was a plan, and someone desperate and loyal enough to help him carry it out.

 
    Chapter Six
     
    Sebastian couldn’t help but grin when he watched Emma. Her lips in a tight smile, her eyes crinkled, but not in a full enjoyment. She was miserable, her smile was forced. Why it amused him, he couldn’t say, except he knew exactly how she felt. It was something akin to being a new toy. When the ton caught wind of a girl in town for the marriage mart, they just had to see what she was like.
    Fortunately for Emma, she would take remarkably well. With that pile of beautiful hair and gorgeous pout…It would be criminal for her to spend life without someone to share it with.
    A young miss with curly brown hair wearing a white dress passed in front of Emma and giggled. Sebastian noted the irritated expression on Emma’s face. The poor girl looked like she was ready to throw a punch at the first debutante who crossed her, which, on second thought, might be quite entertaining if he allowed it.
    Shaking the thought from his head, he motioned for her to follow him outside. Normally women only accompanied him to darkened balconies when he was promising a different type of entertainment, but the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. A point that actually bothered him. But what he wanted most in the world at this moment was to enjoy the Season’s first ball with Miss Emma Gates and to wipe the silly cynical frown off her face.
    He held a finger to his lips, motioning her to be quiet as they stepped onto the outside balcony.
    It took some persuading, but eventually he convinced her it would be in her best interest to crouch closer to the ground so she was nearly sitting on the cold hard marble. None too enthusiastic, she finally relented, rolling her eyes as she leaned in, throwing him a skeptical look. Satisfied, he reached into his pockets and withdrew a few grapes.
    “You took me away from that fabulous good time to eat grapes? On the dirty ground? In the dark?”
    Her voice held an abnormal amount of irritation, amusing him all the more.
    “Why, of course. I thought to myself anything would be more fun than that!” He pointed back in the general direction of the doors and grimaced. “But to answer your previous question, no. We are not going to eat grapes on the ground in the dark. Nor am I going to compromise you. Oh, wipe that scowl off your face, or I’ll have to reevaluate my decision to do so. And you know that won’t do any favors for either of us.” He braced himself against the railing and grinned. “We’re going to throw them.”
    “Throw what?”
    He shrugged. “The grapes, of course.”
    “At?”
    “Well, we could throw them at trees, but I had people in mind. Moving targets are so much more fun, wouldn’t you agree?”
    Emma bit her lip as if contemplating what would be the wisest course of action. Then without pausing any further, she grabbed some grapes from his hand. “If I hit anyone in the head, I get five points.”
    “A body hit is one point.”
    “And if you miss, you get a point taken away,” she whispered, crouching closer to the edge of the balcony.
    Sebastian couldn’t hold back his grin if he tried. He was living up to his reputation tonight. He hadn’t smiled this much with a woman in years. “Winner gets a kiss.” He hoped the sudden tension between them was from anticipation not repulsion. One never knew where women were concerned. Many of them being the most unpredictable and annoying creatures ever created.
    “But…” He could almost see the wheels turning in her brain. “That means either way, one of us gets a kiss from the other.”
    “Glad you see it my way. Shall we?” he urged, holding a grape in front of her face.
    Emma rolled her eyes, snatching the grape out of his hand. Without warning, she took a shot, but missed the man in front of her by a large