eyes.
‘Somewhere along the line, I seem to have made a bad impression on you. Normally I wouldn’t care but...’ He stepped closer, until the warmth of her agitated exhalations rushed over his chin. Her scent hit his nostrils and he nearly moaned at the seductive allure of it.
‘But...?’ she demanded huskily.
‘But I find myself wanting to alter that impression.’
‘You want me to think you’re a good guy?’
Laughing, he slid his hand around her trim waist. ‘No. Good is taking things a touch too far, amante. I haven’t been good since...’ he blunted that knife of memory again ‘...for ever.’
Her darkened eyes dropped to his mouth again and Narciso barely stopped himself from groaning. But he couldn’t stop his hands from tightening on her waist. In contrast to her lush hips, her waist was so tiny, his hands spanned it easily.
‘Then what do you want from me?’
Before he could succinctly elaborate, the lift doors slid open. The double doors leading into his suite beckoned. Beyond that the bedroom where he intended to make her his.
He grasped her wrist and tugged her after him. Using the smartwatch to activate the smaller panel, he pressed his thumb against the infrared scanner and pushed the doors open. He didn’t bother to shut it because the doors were automatic. Security was exemplary at all Q Virtus events, especially the private suites. He had the whole floor to himself and no one would disturb them unless he wanted them to.
And he had no desire for any interruptions—
He noticed she’d stopped dead and turned to find her staring at him.
‘You’ve brought me to your suite,’ she blurted.
The pulse pounding at her throat could’ve been excitement. Or more likely it was the trepidation he’d seen earlier.
‘Very observant of you.’
‘Know this now—I won’t be indulging in anything...illicit with you.’
‘Since we haven’t established exactly what it is we’ll be doing I think we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves.’
‘I 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.
