‘You’re afraid,’ he observed shrewdly. ‘Why?’
‘Because it’s absurd?’
‘Or because you imagine you can protest this chemistry away?’
She wanted to hate him for hitting the nail on the head. But he’d already seen what she’d tried to hide—that she was attracted to him. Perhaps dangerously so. But the fact that he wanted to act on it didn’t mean she had to give in.
Did it?
No.
‘Today, tomorrow or a month from now, my answer will still be the same,’ she said, glad for the firmness of her voice. Not so much for the dismay and disappointment echoing in her chest. ‘I’m not interested.’
His gaze remained pinned, mildly disbelieving and faintly mocking, on her face. ‘Prove it,’ he taunted after a stretch of time that jangled her every nerve.
Welcome irritation stiffened her spine. ‘I don’t need to prove anything.’
‘Not even to yourself?’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘If you’re so confident this is no big deal to you, that you’re not afraid of the power of it, then where’s the harm? Haven’t you wanted to put me in my place a time or two? Perhaps even a little payback for mankind in general?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ she snapped, even though a part of her wished she did. Even though a part of her wanted someone to pay for her hurt. ‘I don’t hate all men just because of the crimes of one.’
She knew she’d fallen into his trap the moment the words left her lips.
‘I’m glad to hear it,’ he said, smiling as if he knew every single chaotic dance unravelling inside her. ‘Here’s your chance, Alexis. Are you going to take it or run away?’
It was the smile that made her see red. That triggered a throw-caution-to-the-wind switch she feared she’d regret later. But in that moment, nothing could’ve stopped her from taking that step. From wrapping one arm around his waist and the other over his nape to urge his head down to hers. Nothing could’ve stemmed the wild need that drove her onto her toes, bringing his tantalising lips within kissing distance.
At the searing contact, she moaned, her senses already clamouring for more.
With that deep grunt she was growing shockingly addicted to, Christos tugged her closer until they were plastered together from chest to thigh.
Their exploration wasn’t tentative. It was a culmination of the dance that had begun in his penthouse and matured in the time in between. Rabid for his taste, she boldly stroked his tongue, then ran hers over his bottom lip, while her nails dug into his warm skin. Pleasure and feminine power exploded through her as she felt his erection swell. And when his hand cupped one breast, teasing her nipple, Alexis cried out.
He swallowed the sound, deepening the kiss for another minute before, forced apart by the need for oxygen, his lips trailed to her jaw and neck, tonguing her pulse before trailing hot kisses onto her collarbone.
She hazily grew aware of her spaghetti strap being lowered, of the cool breeze washing over her chest. Then his mouth was covering one nipple, drawing the needy peak into his mouth.
‘Christos!’
‘Hmm,’ he growled against her flesh after an age of tormenting her. ‘You respond so beautifully,’ he said, right before he delivered the same exquisite torture to its twin.
Alexis buried her fingers in his hair, every sense tuned into the magic he was weaving, to the cavernous need demanding satiation. Dear God, this was madness. But not one she wanted to stop. Not in that moment.
‘Please,’ she found herself whimpering, against every shred of common sense she possessed. Straining for more even as the weight of her need terrified her.
‘Yes,’ he groaned, laving her expertly for another minute before lifting his head.
For the longest minute, they stared at one another, their breathing choppy. Alexis blushed when he slowly drew up her straps, the sensual glide of his tongue across his lower lip almost making her moan out loud. ‘Now tell me this is a bad idea,’ he rasped, the wash of colour across his sharp cheekbones making him even more alluring. His eyes blazed with an arousal he did nothing to hide and even the steady rise and fall of his chest was mesmerising.
‘In my experience, mixing business with pleasure only has one unfortunate outcome.’
From languorous arousal, his face instantly hardened into an austere mask. ‘Don’t judge me by another man’s standards. Have I ever lied to you?’
‘No,’ she answered truthfully. ‘But—’