"And yet here you are," he said, gesturing at her revealing outfit and the private room. "Dressed like this. Offering yourself so openly. If you truly believed seduction wouldn't work, you wouldn't have gone this far."
Louisa was quiet for a moment. Then she let out a soft, almost self-deprecating laugh.
"You're right," she admitted. "I thought I could control the situation. I thought I could use my body and my status to draw you in, to make you lower your guard. But you… you turned it around on me so easily. It's almost impressive."
She stared at him like a puzzle.
"So tell me…" she said, her voice low and laced with challenge, "do you even want to play this game with me? Or am I just making a fool out of myself here?"
Julian shrugged lightly.
"Depends on what you need, Aunty," he replied. "And besides…"
His gaze drifted down her body once more.
"You really haven't turned around as I asked you to. So it seems you don't want to play the game that you just suggested."
