Julius blew out a jagged breath. ‘That should never have happened.’
Her chin inched up, her eyes flashing at him. ‘You want me but you hate yourself for it, don’t you?’
‘I don’t want to complicate my life, or indeed yours.’
‘That wasn’t the message I was getting a few minutes ago when you had your mouth on my breast—’
‘Will you stop it, for God’s sake?’ Julius said. ‘This is not going to happen, okay?’
Her brown eyes shone with a victorious gleam. ‘It already did,’ she said, moving up so close he could feel her breasts against his chest. ‘You’re not going to get that wild animal back in its cage any time soon, are you, Julius?’
He looked down at the tempting curve of her sinful mouth. The mouth he had savaged, pillaged and supped on like a starving man. The luscious and deliciously ripe mouth that had offered to pleasure him. God strike him down for wanting her to. He put his hands on her hips to gently push her back from him but then his right hand felt a cube-shaped ridge against her hip. ‘What’s that in your pocket?’
Her expression faltered for a moment before she tried to move away. ‘What? Oh...nothing.’
Julius held her steady, his hands anchoring her so she had to face him. ‘Empty your pockets.’
Her eyes flickered with something that looked suspiciously like panic. ‘Why?’
‘Because I asked you to.’
‘Just because you asked me doesn’t mean I’ll—’
Julius held her left hip with one hand while he dug in her right pocket with the other. He pulled out the cufflinks Miranda had bought him for his last birthday, holding them right in front of Holly’s defiant face. ‘Want to tell me how they got in there?’
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip. Her eyes skittered away from his. ‘I—I can explain...’
He dropped his hands from her as if she was burning him. Which she was. Burning him. Exploiting him. Stealing from him while his back was turned. How could he have thought she might not be as bad as she acted? How could he have been so stupid as to feel affection for her? What an idiot he was. How could he have let her fool him into believing she was worthy of a second chance? She wasn’t just deceitful—she was dangerous. He was nuts to have let her get under his guard. She was a liar and a thief and he’d been too damn close to getting caught in her sugar-coated web.
‘I want you out of here by morning,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to hear your explanation. There isn’t an explanation you could give that would satisfy me.’
‘I was in your walk-in wardrobe earlier tonight.’
‘Doing what?’
‘Straightening your ties.’
Julius laughed. ‘What? You can’t do better than that?’
Her chin came up to a pugnacious height. ‘I got caught off-guard when Sophia came in unexpectedly. I panicked. I hid in your wardrobe as I thought it was you. I didn’t realise I’d put the cufflinks into my pocket until just now. I honestly don’t remember doing it. It must’ve been an impulse or...or something...’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Do you really think I’m that stupid?’
She bit her lower lip again. ‘I know it looks bad...’
‘Why were you in my room?’
She shrugged one of her shoulders. ‘I was having a look around.’
‘For what?’ he said. ‘Loose change?’
She gave him a gimlet glare. ‘I know you think I’m nothing but a petty thief but I didn’t take them on purpose. It was an...an accident.’
Julius gave another cynical laugh. ‘Yes, Officer,’ he said in a parody of her voice. ‘I was just walking past Mr Ravensdale’s wardrobe and the diamond cufflinks fell into my pocket by accident.’
Holly set her mouth. ‘I don’t care what you think. I know I didn’t steal them and that’s all that matters.’
‘Actually,’ Julius said. ‘It’s not all that matters. Your caseworker will ask me when she calls in the morning and I’ll have to tell her you’ve been stealing.’
Her eyes blazed as they met his. ‘Tell her. See if I care.’
She did care. Julius was sure of it. He came to stand in front of her, close enough to feel the heat of her body emanating towards his. He picked up a handful of her hair close to her scalp, making her feel each strand pulling as he brought her mouth close to his. He let his breath mingle with hers, teasing her with the promise of what was to come. ‘Here’s where your little game backfires, querida,’ he said. ‘You want me just as much as I want you. You weren’t expecting that, were you? You thought this would be a one-sided game but it’s not.’