“I always mean what I say, my lady. It’s my implication that you cannot grasp.” He uncrossed his strong arms and gripped the edge of the desk he perched upon. “You are lovely. You’re charming, and if our circumstances were different, I’d likely enjoy a meal with you, bask in your wit, but as it is your beauty and charm are like gnats that I must swat away from my eyes to keep my vision clear. Your qualities are wasted on me. They do not matter, because your purpose and power exceed them.”
