Quote-Tastic(7): "Suddenly You" by Lisa Kleypas

This meme is about sharing your favorite quotes and the books they come from!

It is Hosted by Anna at Herding Cats and Burning Soup.

This week I chose a scene from a book that I read some time ago, but I still remember it[it says a LOT!]. Today I present you Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas:

“Mr. Devlin, you have repeatedly avoided my questions about your meeting with Madam Bradshaw, and put me off with mockery and evasion. However, it is only fair, in light of my hospitality, that you finally explain what was said between you and her, and why she engineered that ridiculous meeting on the evening of my birthday. I warn you, not one morsel of apricot jam pudding will be set on your plate until you do.”

His eyes gleamed with sudden enjoyment. “You’re a cruel woman, to use my sweet tooth against me.”

“Tell me,” she said inexorably.

He took his time, leisurely sampling a bite of the roast beef and downing it with a swallow of red wine. “Mrs. Bradshaw did not believe you would be satisfied with a man of lesser intelligence than your own. She claimed that her only available men were too callow and dull-witted to suit you.”

“Why should that have mattered?” Amanda asked. “I’ve never heard that the sexual act requires any particular intelligence. From what I’ve observed, many stupid people are easily able to produce children.”

For some reason, that remark caused Devlin to laugh until he nearly choked. Amanda waited impatiently for him to regain his self-possession, but every time he glanced at her inquiring expression, it set off another spasm of laughter. Finally he downed half a glass of wine and stared at her with slightly watering eyes, a flush of color edging his cheekbones and the strong bridge of his nose.

“True,” he said, his deep voice enriched with lingering amusement. “But the question betrays your lack of experience, peaches. The fact is, sexual satisfaction is often more difficult for women to achieve than it is for men. It requires a certain amount of skill, care, and yes, even intelligence.”

As the subject for suppertime conversation, it was so far outside the bounds of propriety that Amanda turned red to her hairline. She glanced at the doorway, making certain that they were completely alone before she spoke again. “And it was Mrs. Bradshaw’s opinion that you possessed the necessary qualities to, er, please me…whereas her employees did not?”

“Apparently.” He had set his silverware down, watching the progression of emotions on her face with keen interest.

To read more about the series and the author visit Lisa Kelypas on her website.