“You can.” His gaze dropped to her lips, pressed together in determination. No kissing. Look up. “I can’t get out of here alone, I know that. I’m equally certain Nino is not who he seems and you’re going to get screwed.”
“Why do you care?”
Good question. He was still searching for an answer when her expression softened slightly and she tilted her head.
“If I agreed right now to help you…you would trust me?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“I could be lying to obtain my release.”
Staring into her eyes, heat simmering between their intimately aligned forms, his body began to react. There’s no way she didn’t feel the insistent pulse epicentered below his waist. But damn, the woman was good; her gaze never faltered.
He leaned his body further into hers, pressing his chest to hers. “We both know if you wanted to be released, all you’d have to do is scream.”
“You do not think I will?”
“You would’ve already.”
“You are much too…how do you American’s say? Cocky.”
Ben gave a slow smile, bent his knees slightly to align his hips with hers and pressed closer still. “Guilty as charged.”
Her gaze narrowed. “You walk dangerous ground.”
“You won’t hurt me, Eva.”
“Do not be so sure,” she warned.
A decidedly dangerous glint sparked in her eyes. What the hell was wrong with him that he was more turned on than ever? Her lips beckoned, recently moistened with a torturous swipe of her tongue. A slip of his gaze caught a rapid flutter beneath the tanned skin at the base of her throat.
His smile widened to a grin. “My gut tells me deep down you’ve got a good heart. You won’t let anything happen to me. Over the years, I’ve survived a number of close-calls by trusting my instincts.”
Another flicker in her eyes, only this time he couldn’t define it. Before he could sift though possible emotions in his mind, her lashes lowered and her attention focused on his mouth. Whether he closed the distance or she did, he didn’t know. Didn’t care. Rational thought deserted him the moment their lips met.
He released her arms to pull her closer, taking full advantage of having free hands for this kiss. As her tongue swept along the seam of his lips, her hips brushed against his, back and forth, and back again. It registered that she’d hooked her left leg behind his calf a split second before she pushed on his chest and swept his feet out from under him.
He tightened his hold, bringing her to the floor with him. Expecting a strike where it’d hurt most, he tensed for an onslaught of pain. Instead, she slid up along his body and covered his mouth with hers again, hands braced on the floor alongside his head. She put her whole body into the kiss. Surprise held him immobile for only a few seconds, then he kissed her back, lifting his head, using tongue and teeth. His palms swept down her back to squeeze her butt as he surged up against her.
A move to roll her underneath was hindered by her firmly planted hands and then completely halted when she straddled his hips. Despite the frustrating barrier of clothing between them, the intimate contact stimulated a low growl of approval. She pulled back a few inches and stared down into his eyes. One hand lifted to gently thread her fingers through his hair, brushing it back from his forehead. He swallowed hard as his chest tightened with her unexpected gesture of tenderness.
“Are you a man of your word, Benjamin Sanders?” she whispered with that throaty Italian accent of hers.
“Yes.”
She shifted her weight, slid her hand down between their bodies and cupped his erection. “Promise you will speak of what you heard to no one.”
With her warm breath caressing his lips, her sexy scent filling his nostrils, and her nimble fingers stroking his desire higher, he’d have promised her anything.
“My lips are sealed.”
A smile curved along her delicious mouth. “Thank you.”
She planted a quick kiss on his lips, then rocked back on her heels and rose to her feet. He pushed up onto his elbows as she slipped through the door and disappeared.
When it dawned on him that she hadn’t actually agreed to help him despite his promise, he dropped his head against the floor with a groan. God, he was so damn cheap.
****