‘No. Aren’t you twisting the rules?’
‘No. I can quote them verbatim for you later. Right now I want you to come over here and kiss me.’
Her breath shortened. ‘What if I don’t want to?’
His gaze darkened. ‘Then I’ll return to the concert, find your reedy rock star and decorate the VIP lounge with him.’
A roar went up a few miles away. The throb of the rock concert echoed superbly the blood surging through her veins as Marco continued to watch her.
‘I hope you won’t expect me to bail you out of jail.’
He shrugged. ‘I live in hope for a lot of things, querida. At this moment I’m hoping you’ll stop arguing and crawl into my lap. Would it help if I said that not a day went by these past three weeks when you didn’t feature in my thoughts?’ He lifted a winged brow.
‘Maybe that helps. A little …’
Without warning he reached across the table and scooped her up. Settling her in his lap, he freed her hair and sighed in pleasure as the heavy tresses spilled into his hands. Then he lowered her until her back rested on the upraised lounger.
Despite her bikini’s relative modesty, Sasha had never felt more exposed in her life. Especially when Marco took his time to trail his fierce gaze over her, missing nothing as he scoured her body, and followed more slowly with one long, lazy finger.
‘You’re doing it again.’ Her voice was smoky with lust, her flesh alight wherever he touched.
‘What?’ he murmured, his eyes resting at the apex of her thighs.
Beneath her bottom the hard ridge of his erection pressed into her flesh, its heat making her skin tighten in feverish anticipation.
‘The thing with your eyes. And your hands. And your body.’
‘If you want me to stop you’ll have to kiss me.’
‘Maybe I don’t want you to stop. Maybe this is what I’ll allow before I decide this is a very bad idea.’
His finger paused on her belly. ‘You think this is a bad idea?’
A thread of uncertainty wheedled through her desire. ‘My last involvement left a lot of bruises.’
He tensed. ‘Derek physically hurt you?’
‘No, but he influenced a lot of people against me. You included.’
He shook his head. ‘I make up my own mind. If you truly don’t want this, say the word and I’ll stop.’
The thought of denying herself made her heart lurch painfully.
Her body moved closer of its own volition. He hissed out a breath, the skin around his mouth tightening as he visibly reined in control. ‘If you intend to stop that’s not a great idea, querida.’
Sasha had had enough. Marco had spent far too much of his life controlling everything. For once she yearned to see him lose his cool, to crack the shell of tightly reined-in emotion. She wriggled again.
His gaze connected with hers. The dark hunger in its depths made her breath catch. Giving in to the urge, she slipped her hand over his nape and urged his
head down.
He took control of her lips in a kiss so driven, so desperate, she cried out against his mouth. He fisted one hand in her hair to hold her still, his other hand sliding over her bottom to drag her closer.
Sasha went willingly, her body a fluid vessel of rampant desire that craved only him. Every single doubt that crowded in her brain drowned under ever-increasing waves of sensation.
She might be risking everything to experience a few hours of pleasure, but Sasha could no more push Marco away than she could voluntarily stop breathing. She would deal with regret in the morning.
Losing herself in the kiss, she boldly thrust her tongue against his. His body jerked, making a tiny fizz of pleasure steal through her.