wish you’d stop toying with me.’
His shoulders moved with the restlessness that vibrated through his whole being. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had to work this hard to get a woman to acknowledge her interest in him. ‘Fine. Do you deny that there’s something powerful and undeniable happening between us?’
‘I don’t want—’
‘If you really don’t want to be here, say the word and I’ll let you leave.’ That wasn’t strictly true. First he’d use his infinite skills to convince her to stay. Arrogance didn’t come into his awareness that he was attractive to most women, and, despite her mixed signals, this woman was as attracted to him as he was to her.
She might need a little more work than usual—and the thought wasn’t unpleasing—but he was more than up to the task.
He watched her debate with herself for an endless minute. Then she turned towards the window.
Narciso forced himself to remain still, despite his every cell screeching at him to grab her. Picking up a control device, he pushed the button that allowed the glass windows to turn from opaque to transparent.
Macau City lay spread before them in a cascade of lights, glittering water and awe-inspiring ancient Portuguese, Chinese and modern architecture.
Since he’d started doing business here, his fascination with the city had grown along with his bank balance.
But right now his fascination with her was much more paramount.
‘Tell me you’ll stay.’ His voice emerged rougher than normal.
The thought that he wanted her badly, alarm bells or no alarm bells, made him frown. He’d trained himself not to want anything he absolutely could not have. It was why he calculated his every decision with scalpel-like precision.
That way he avoided disappointment. Avoided...heartache...
She turned from the window, arms crossed at that tiny waist. Her response took a minute, two at a stretch, but they were the longest minutes of Narciso’s life.
‘I’ll stay...for a little while.’
He swallowed and nodded. Suddenly, his fingers itched to remove the pins in her hair, to see its silky dark gold abundance cascade over her shoulders.
‘Take your hair down,’ he instructed. The time for playing was over.
Her eyes widened. ‘Why?’
‘Because I want to see it. And because you’re staying.’
Her fingers touched the knot at the back of her head. Anticipation spiked through him only to be doused in disappointment when she lowered her hand.
‘I prefer to keep it up.’
‘If you’re trying to keep me hyped up with interest, trust me, it’s working.’
‘I’m not, I mean... My hair is no big deal.’
‘It is to me. I have a weakness for long hair.’
Her head tilted to one side, exposing a creamy neck he longed to explore. ‘If I take my hair down, will you take your mask off?’
As much as he wanted to rip his mask off, something told him to delay the urge. ‘No,’ he replied. ‘My house, my rules.’
‘That’s not fair, is it?’
‘If life was fair you’d be naked and underneath me by now.’
A blush splashed up her exquisite throat and stung her cheeks. Molten lust rushed into his groin and spread through his body. Feeling restricted and seriously on edge, he shrugged off his tuxedo jacket and flung it over the long sofa. Next came the bow tie. He left that dangling to tackle the top buttons of his shirt and looked up to find her gaze riveted on him.
Good, he was not alone in this. Sexual desire pulsed from her in drenching waves. Which made the reticence in her eyes all the more intriguing.
Enough!
In three strides, he stood in front of her. She made a high, surprised noise as he tugged her close. Without giving her a chance to protest further, he swooped down and took her lips with his.
She tasted glorious. Like a shot of premium tequila on a sultry night. Like warm sunshine and decadent, sticky desserts. Like jumping off the highest peak of an icy mountain with nothing beneath him but air and infinite possibilities.
Narciso’s lids slid shut against the drugging sensation of her lips.
Madre di Dio! He was hard. Harder than he’d ever been. And he’d only been kissing her a few seconds.
She made another sound in her throat and her lips parted. Her tongue darted out to meet his and he plunged in, desperate for more, desperate to discover her every secret.
He deepened the kiss and groaned as her hands slid up his biceps to entwine around his shoulders. In a curiously innocent move, she tentatively caressed his nape before boldly spiking her fingers into his hair.
The scrape of her fingers against his scalp made him shudder with escalating arousal. Raising his head, he gazed down into eyes darkened with desire. ‘Amante, you already know what pleases me.’
Shock clouded her expression, as if what she’d achieved had stunned her.
Without giving her a chance to speak, he took her luscious mouth again. The highly potent sound of their kisses echoed in the room as they devoured each other.
Pulling her even closer, he finally touched the pulse that had taunted him all evening. It sang beneath his touch, racing with her excitement.
She inhaled deeply, and her breasts smashed against his chest. He cupped one, glorying in the weight and perfect fit of it as his thumb brushed across one rigid nub.
She jerked and her teeth sank into her bottom lip. With a rough sound, she pulled away.
Narciso continued to play with her nipple as they stared at each other. Her mouth, wet and slightly swollen, parted as she sucked in panicked breaths.
‘You like the way I make you feel?’ He brought his other hand up from her waist and cupped her other breast, attending to the equally stiff and aching peak. ‘I promise I will make you feel even better. Now take your hair down and show me how gorgeous you really are.’
* * *
The words pulled Ruby from the drugged stupor she was drowning in. Reality didn’t rush in, it trickled in slowly.
Blinking eyelids heavy with desire, she tried to focus on something other than his arrestingly gorgeous face—the part not covered by his mask.
First, she noticed the stunning chandelier. Then a repeat of that bold dragon motif from downstairs on the wall behind his shoulder. Reality rushed in faster. Stunningly designed black velvet sofas, including an authentic French chaise longue perfect for reclining in...
Then her focus drew in
