The Virgin's Debt to Pay

He was incensed at her effect on him, and at his growing obsession with her.

As if finally becoming aware of his intense scrutiny, she shifted slightly and Luc looked at her face to see long dark lashes fluttering against her cheeks for a moment before her eyes opened sleepily. He watched as she slowly registered where she was, and who was in front of her.

Her cheeks flushed and those huge eyes widened until all he could see was dark, golden green. He wanted to slip right into those pools and lose himself...

A tumult raged inside him as she looked up and blinked innocently, as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. He might have almost believed for a second that she hadn’t planned this little set-up.

‘Well, well, well, what do we have here?’ He looked her over slowly and thoroughly, fresh heat flooding his veins when he saw the thrust of her breasts against the shirt. It made his voice harsh. ‘You would have been much more comfortable and made it easier for both of us if you’d stripped naked and waited in my bed.’

CHAPTER FOUR

NESSA LOOKED UP at Luc Barbier, who was towering over her with a dark scowl on his face and stubble on his jaw. For a blessed foggy moment, just before the adrenalin kicked in, his words hung harmlessly in the air between them.

His hair was tousled, as if he’d been running a hand through it, and he was wearing a white shirt, open at the neck, revealing a glimpse of dark skin. Awareness sizzled to life, infusing her with an urgency she felt only around him.

And then his words registered. It was like an electric shock or a slap across the face. Nessa was wide awake, and she scrambled off the window seat to stand on wobbly legs.

Her hair was coming loose from where it had been piled messily on her head to keep it out of the way. She was thoroughly rumpled, she smelled of cleaning products and he really thought...? Bile rose in her throat.

‘How dare you insinuate such a thing?’ Her voice was scratchy from sleep and she was burningly aware—even as she said that—of how bad this looked. She cursed herself for allowing her weariness to get the better of her.

Luc’s head reared back, arms folded across his chest. ‘I walk into my bedroom and find a woman, pretending to be asleep, waiting for me...like I said, they’re usually in my bed and wearing a lot less but the message is essentially the same. They’re here for one thing.’

Nessa was speechless at his sheer arrogance. Eventually she managed to get out, through waves of indignation and far more disturbing physical reactions, ‘Well, I hate to burst your ego bubble but that was the last thing on my mind. I was cleaning your room, then I sat down for a minute and I fell asleep. I apologise for that. But I did not come here to...to...’

He raised a brow. ‘To seduce me?’

Before she could respond to that, he continued as if she hadn’t spoken. ‘I might as well tell you now that kinky role-play doesn’t really do it for me. I’m a traditionalist that way. When I make love it’s intense, thorough and without the need for embellishment.’

A flash of heat went up Nessa’s spine to imagine just how intense his lovemaking would be. Little beads of sweat broke out between her breasts and in the small of her back. Anger rose too. Anger that it was him who was firing up all her nerve-endings.

‘I am not here to make love with anyone. My only crime was to fall asleep on the job and if you’ll excuse me now I’ll leave you in peace.’

She went to step away and out of his orbit but he caught her arm after muttering something that sounded very French and rude under his breath. His hand encircled her whole upper arm and his fingers were brushing the side of her breast. Nessa’s pulse rocketed, and in the dim lights of the room—night had fallen outside...just how long had she been asleep?—all she could see were the forbiddingly gorgeous lines of Luc’s face.

‘Peace?’ He almost spat the word out. ‘I’ve had precious little peace since your brother absconded with one million euros and then his temptress of a sister turns up to play sidekick. Just what is your agenda, Nessa? What game are you playing here? Because I warn you now that you will get burned if you think you can play with me and get away with it.’

His dark intensity was totally intimidating, but somehow Nessa managed to pull her arm free and step away. Shakily she said, ‘I’m not playing any games. I wouldn’t know how. I really didn’t come here

with some nefarious intention to seduce you.’

She bit her lip to stop a semi-hysterical giggle from emerging. She wouldn’t know how to seduce her way out of a paper bag, never mind a man like Luc Barbier. The very notion was ridiculous.

His mouth thinned. ‘You really expect me to believe that you fell asleep like Sleeping Beauty in the fairy tale, waiting for her prince?’

Heat rushed into her cheeks—she had been mooning about his suite like some lovelorn teenager earlier. It wasn’t like her at all. ‘I don’t believe in fairy tales,’ she said stiffly. ‘And don’t worry, I know you’re no prince.’

He put two hands on her arms now, swinging her around to face him properly. His eyes had turned to cold steel. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘I...’ Words got stuck in Nessa’s throat. She couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything but Luc’s face above hers. The sensual lines were mesmerising. ‘I didn’t mean anything.’

Except she had, she realised. She’d just articulated it badly. This man was no prince, he was a marauding sultan, or a king. Uncultivated and suave all at once. Infinitely hard but also soft, as when he’d put a hand to his horse.

His mouth twisted. ‘I might never be a prince, but you’re in no position to look down on me, the sister of a common thief who thought she could seduce her way to paying back her brother’s debt. Like I said, you could have saved a lot of conversation if you’d been waiting in my bed naked instead of playing out this elaborate charade of innocence.’

Nessa’s hand had lifted and connected with Luc’s cheek before she even realised what she’d done. Shock coursed through her system as the sting registered on her hand and Luc’s face turned from the blow. All her anger drained away instantly.

He turned back slowly, face even darker now, a livid handprint showing on his cheek. Horrified, Nessa used his name for the first time. ‘Luc, I’m so sorry. But I didn’t mean it like that, and Paddy’s not a common thief. He’s really not—’