He tilted his hand so it caught more light.
‘I’ve never seen a clip like that.’
‘It’s a brooch—I got them to convert it.’
‘Got who?’
‘The jeweller.’
Oh, no. Her instinct was right—and no way could she accept something so expensive. ‘Alex, I—’
He moved so close she could smell him—fresh and citrussy and so yummy she had to shut her mouth to stop herself drooling over him. His hands were firm on her head as he swept her hair back and pressed the clip into place.
He didn’t move away once it was done. His hands dropped but he stayed.
She looked up at him. His eyes were a vivid green and a small smile tweaked his lips—as if he knew how much she liked it. She shook her head but he spoke first, not giving her the chance to say no.
‘It looks better on you than it would on me.’
Alex marched five paces away from her—putting the stainless-steel bench between them. Breathing space—he needed it now. But he couldn’t stop staring. He’d seen many black evening dresses in his time. He’d seen them long, short, high cut, low cut, backless, strapless, sleeveless, braless, sequined, sparkly, matte, smooth, velvet, silk, satin. He’d seen them twirl and he’d seen them creased. He’d helped slide zips both up and down. And he’d seen many of them slither to the floor.
But he had never, ever seen a black dress like hers. It fitted so perfectly. Utterly emphasising her petite, hourglass frame—cupping her full breasts, hugging her deliciously narrow waist and sweeping over those curving hips. Her short bob was sleek and glossy and there was that lock that slipped from behind her ear and curled on her cheekbone and he’d just had to deal with it—because if he didn’t he’d spend the night tempted to swish it back with his teeth. His trawl of the jewellery stores had paid off. Now the clip sparkled, but not half as much as her eyes.
She was stunning.
‘We should get going.’ He didn’t recognise his own voice. Apparently he had laryngitis now.
Ten minutes later Alex looked for the fiftieth time from the road to her, his head clear of all the confusion that had fogged it for this past week. His focus was sharp—on one thing: getting close to Dani. The urge to conquer was all-consuming. Driving every other thought beyond the mountains and into the sea. Right now, having her was all that mattered and damn the stupid complications.
It was amazing how someone so small could inspire such a big reaction in him. Although she wasn’t that small—not where it counted.
‘You look beautiful.’ Such a useless cliché. And not nearly enough. But he was incapable of more.
‘Not as beautiful as you,’ she said.
She might think she was being flippant, but he knew she actually meant it. He’d seen the way she’d looked at him—the way her attention clung, the way her brown eyes darkened even more when he moved closer. And he was determined to move closer still. The frustration was immense. If it hadn’t been for them getting caught on camera he could have had her already—couldn’t he? Taken her on a date and ended up in bed. Surely she wouldn’t have resisted?
But in his bones he knew she would have. The look she’d given him as she’d left the lift? Terrified. Turned on, yes, but terrified too. Fortunately her head had been away from the camera because he wouldn’t have been crowned an online Don Juan if those in the blogosphere had seen her expression then. In his office she’d said it was nothing—a moment. Frankly he just didn’t believe that. Sarcasm was her favourite form of defence—it had taken him only minutes to learn that. So he wanted a real-life replay of the lift kiss to prove his point—that the spark didn’t get better than the one between them.
He steered the car with one hand, curled the other in a fist on his thigh. He wasn’t going to drink tonight—that would only inflame the heat coursing through his body. He was on the edge of control as it was. It would need only the smallest provocation to tip him over the edge. Alex had never been on an edge quite like this before and he didn’t like feeling so close to it now. And Dani was nothing but provocative.
‘Where is this thing anyway?’ She fidgeted—running her fingers over the edge of her dress. He really wanted her to stop because he was watching and all he wanted was for it to be his fingers feeling the transition from smooth silk to soft skin.
‘Sky City.’ The laryngitis was back.
She turned sharply towards him. ‘I can’t, Alex.’
Her voice was so panicked he nearly drove into the gutter.
‘I can’t go up in that lift.’ Her huge eyes were even bigger and so dark.
Oh, dear, he should have thought of that. But damned if he could be bothered climbing however many million flights of stairs it was to get to the top of the tower that overlooked the city. He was just going to have to help her through the thirty-second ordeal. And just like that he had a plan. ‘It’ll be OK. I’ll help you.’ It would be his pleasure to.
She said nothing more but he felt her tension mounting as they drew closer to the brightly lit building and turned into its basement car park.
He could see her breasts rising too quickly as they waited but she walked in, head high. She stood with her back against the wall of the lift. He followed her but didn’t turn to face the door, just stood bang in front of her—only an inch between them.
‘I’m getting a sense of déjà vu.’ He looked her over with deliberate boldness.
‘Don’t even think about it,’ she croaked.
Oh, yes, he totally wanted to distract her that way again. Press her against the wall and kiss her senseless so she wound herself round him again. Was that all it had been for her? A way of escaping her stress about riding in an elevator?
Her chest was still rising abnormally fast, but he saw her nipples had peaked now too. So he had her a little distracted.
‘You can’t stop me thinking, Dani.’ Unfortunately he couldn’t stop himself thinking, either—and he was thinking about it all the time.
She flicked a look up over his shoulders, lost colour as the door slid shut. He couldn’t stop her thoughts, either, but maybe he could get her even more distracted—to think about something other than her fear.
He lifted a finger, traced the full curve of her lips. She hadn’t plastered them in thick lipstick, but they did have a shine to them. Very pretty, very full, totally kissable. The colour returned to her cheeks in a sweep.
‘I told you not…’ Her feeble whisper died away as he stepped closer.
He ran his fingers up her cheekbone, turning his hand to brush the back of his fingers on her soft skin. She had a sweetheart-shaped face. Those big brown eyes dominated it. Her nose he’d barely noticed because of her drown-you-deep eyes and then there was the lush mouth beneath. But now, as he stood so close, he saw there were two freckles—one off to the left of the bridge of her nose, and one right near the tip. The tip of his finger circled them.
He was going to have to kiss them.
Yeah, she was sweetheart pretty all right, with a body soft and curvy and built to contrast with his hard one. And when she opened her mouth it was all sarcasm and sass. The combination had him caught tighter than a fly in a spider’s web—and he wanted her to suck him dry.
Wide-eyed, she gazed back at him, her breathing growing choppier—but he liked to think it wasn’t all about being shut up in a lift. Maybe she was reading his mind. If she was, then she knew she had far more to worry about than any stupid lift.
He heard the doors slide. They were there.
He took her hand in his, tightening his grip when she’d have pulled it away. ‘Time to have a ball, Dani.’
CHAPTER SIX
DANI was so hot she could barely breathe. All the people she’d met tonight must think she was an idiot. She’d hardly been able to talk. It had been full on introduction after introduction, conversation and speculation and adoration—of him. But he hadn’t left her side. Had turned to her when people asked questions, included her in the answering, not speaking for her but supporting her as she’d quietly replied.
He was doing it deliberately—touching her, looking at her like that—making it feel as if they were the only two in the room when in reality they were surrounded by hundreds. It was obvious everyone thought they were together. Not surprising given he was acting as if they were. And like a mythical beast it uncoiled between them, flexing the kind of strength no human had a hope of beating. It was the one thing that would reduce even the most sensitive, erudite, highly evolved person to the animal they really were—lust.
They moved together on the dance floor—his eyes glinted, teasing as he drew her closer then spun her away again. Oh, he would have all the fancy dance moves, wouldn’t he?
‘I need a drink,’ Dani begged, needing a breather from him more than anything.
He chuckled as if he knew and led her by the hand towards the bar, letting her have her little respite.
‘Alex.’