Her eyelids lowered and she grabbed the lapels of her coat.
Faint alarm bells rang at the back of his mind. Going against a habit of a lifetime, he forced himself to ignore it as she raised those delicate lids to lock gazes with him.
Her sapphire-blue eyes held a combination of boldness and shyness that hugely intrigued him. She wanted something but wasn’t quite sure how to get it.
He had every intention of showing her how to get exactly what she wanted once he got her to his suite upstairs. He might even tempt her into using the velvet ropes that held back his emperor-size bed’s drapes...
Desire slammed into him with a force he hadn’t experienced in years...if ever. The strength of it struck him dumb for a few seconds before he realised she was speaking.
‘...knew about the club, of course, and that my hostessing gig was for two days. I didn’t know I’d be staying here for the duration.’
‘Ah, one small piece of advice. Always read the small print.’
Her delicious mouth pursed. He had the sudden, clamouring urge to find out if it tasted as succulent as it looked. Her narrowed-eyed glare stopped him. Barely.
‘I always do. I can’t say the same for other people though. Especially people who have the small print pointed out to them and still wilfully ignore it.’
The alarm bells grew louder. ‘That’s decidedly...pointed. Care to elaborate?’
She opened her mouth, then shut it again. ‘I’m cold. Can we leave?’
‘That’s an excellent idea.’ He walked her to the door of the ice bar and helped her out of her coat.
The sight of her hardened nipples—an effect of the sub-zero temperature—fried a few million brain cells. That clawing hunger gutted him further, making him fight to remember whether he was coming or going.
Going. Definitely. Up to his allocated suite with this woman who sparked a reaction within him that left him reeling, and wanting more. He hadn’t wanted anything this badly for a long time. Not since his eleventh birthday...
He shut off his thoughts and walked her to the lift, absurdly pleased when she didn’t protest. Perhaps she’d accepted the inevitable.
They were meant to be together. Here in this place where the events of earlier this evening with Giacomo had nearly soured his experience.
She would take away the bitterness for a while. Take away his unsettling hollowness when he’d held the old man’s financial demise in his grasp but hadn’t taken it.
All would be better in the morning.
For tonight, he intended to seek the most delicious oblivion.
‘Should I bother to ask where you’re taking me now?’
His smile felt tight and his body on edge. ‘No. Don’t bother. What you should ask is how many ways will I make you like what’s coming next.’ He activated the electronic panel. When the chrome panel slid back to reveal the row of buttons he selected the fiftieth floor for his penthouse suite.
‘If you’re planning to throw a few more millions away, then I’d rather not watch.’ Again there was that censorious note in her voice that strummed his instincts.
From experience he knew women always had hidden agendas, be it the urge to make themselves indispensable in his life the moment he so much as smiled their way or to take advantage of his power and influence—as well as his body—for as long as possible.
But the woman in front of him was exhibiting none of those traits. And yet there was something... Narciso didn’t like the mixed signals he was receiving from her.
‘Have we met before?’ he demanded abruptly, although he was sure he would have remembered. She had an unforgettable body, and that mouth... He was absolutely certain he would have remembered that mouth.
‘Met? No, of course not. Besides, I don’t know who you are, remember?’
‘If you don’t know who I am then how do you know we haven’t met before?’
Her eyes shifted away from his. ‘I...don’t know. I just think a man like you...I’d have remembered...that’s all.’
He smiled at her flustered response, deciding he definitely liked her flustered. ‘I like that you think I’m unforgettable. I aim to make that thought a permanent reality for you.’
‘Trust me, you already have,’ she quipped.
Narciso got the distinct impression it wasn’t a compliment.
He stepped forward. She stepped back. Her eyes widened when she realised she was trapped against the wall of the lift. His pulse thundered when her gaze darted to his mouth and then back to his 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
