For a moment, he breathed in the scent of flowers and sunshine. He felt comforted. He felt safe, even protected. But that was ridiculous. He’d never been protected by anyone. So how could he feel so safe in the arms of this woman who was a foot shorter and half his body weight, who had no money in her bank account and no power of her own?
Except that was a lie. Rose had incredible power, a strength he’d never seen before. She made him betray himself from within. She tempted him beyond measure. Not just with her body or beauty or strength.
She made him feel…like he was home.
With an intake of breath, he closed his eyes.
“You once said everything and everyone could be bought,” she said.
His eyes flew open. “Yes.”
“So why not just pay Lars off, allow him to keep Laetitia’s fortune?”
“Reward him for what he’s done to her?” he demanded fiercely. “Allow him to profit for nearly killing her?”
Her eyes met his. “It would be the easiest thing to do.”
“I do not care about easiest. I care about right. He will not receive a single euro from me. Ever,” he bit out.
“Just as I thought,” she said with a tremulous smile. “A man of principle. But there’s one small problem.”
“And that is?”
She took a deep breath. “What if Lars changes his mind about giving up everything for me?”
Xerxes reached out to stroke her cheek. “He won’t. A man would do anything to possess a woman like you,” he whispered. “He would betray his own soul.”
She held her breath.
He started to lean toward her. Then he stopped himself, clenching his hands to his fists.
Abruptly, he rose to his feet. “I should go.”
She grabbed his arm.
“Stay,” she said, looking up at him.
“If I stay,” he said in a low voice, “I will kiss you.”
“I know.”
He looked down at her harshly. “Do you know what you’re asking me?”
“Yes.” She looked up at him, her turquoise eyes full of light as she whispered, “I want you to kiss me.”
Chapter Eleven
ROSE heard his harsh intake of breath. It was all she could do to not to release his arm. Heat suffused her cheeks at her bold words.
But she’d said it. She’d actually said the thought that had been pounding in her heart all night as she lay alone in the large bed. The question that had built inside her all morning as she made breakfast.
She’d realized Xerxes would never go back on his word not to kiss her. If she wanted him, she would have to beg.
He turned to her now, cradling her face in his strong hands as he looked down at her with such hot intensity that she felt lost in it.
“If I kiss you,” he ground out, “it won’t stop at a kiss.”
Wouldn’t it? She hadn’t thought that far ahead. All she knew was that if he didn’t kiss her soon, she thought she would die.