She’d been with men at the casino, but he believed her when she said it hadn’t gone farther than having them on her arm. He believed her, because her brown eyes shone with sincerity, transparence. And also because it made him grit his teeth so tightly he feared they might shatter when he thought of the alternative.
Eva turned her head and her brown eyes locked with his. Her mouth opened slightly and the tip of her tongue darted out, sliding across the full surface of her bottom lip. He felt it, felt it hit him hard in the gut, sending a rush of heat down to his groin.
He had no control over his body, not now. A cruel joke.
He’d had nothing but control over himself and his baser urges for more than a decade. He’d had beautiful clients, women he’d been forced into close proximity with before, and he’d never felt the rush of temptation.
The few times he had felt tempted, he’d turned away without so much as a pang of regret.
And those times had been with women who’d been trying to seduce him, women with a lot more experience than Eva had. And yet, he felt on edge now, more than he could remember being since he was a teenager. Since Marina.
He’d managed to cap his passion then, to wait in the interest of doing what was right, and with so much practice at doing it since, he ought to be able to do it now. Eva was under his protection, which meant that the dark, predatory feeling rushing through him had to stop.
What was it about her? Was it her body? Those perfect curves? Or was it the challenge that lit her eyes when she looked at him? Her lightning-quick wit, her misplaced bravado? She certainly wasn’t like any other woman he’d ever met.
Eva kept her eyes locked with his as she moved with Bastian. Her petite hand was rested on his shoulder. She flexed her slender fingers and Mak felt a kick in his stomach, as though she’d slid her hands over him.
He leaned against one of the heavy marble columns, never taking his eyes off her. And she kept her focus on him as well. She never looked at her partner. He took a kind of sick satisfaction in that that he had no business feeling. That he was the man who held her focus. That no matter how close Bastian held her, she was not with him. Not truly.
The song ended and Eva pulled away from Bastian. She said something to the other man, inclined her head and made her way off the dance floor. She paused for a moment, her eyes sweeping the crowd of people before locking with his again. She inhaled a sharp breath and moved toward the back door of the ballroom. Mak pushed off from the pillar and followed her, ignoring the hot pumping of his blood.
He was doing his job. He was keeping track of her. Nothing more.
She walked out of the room and went left, toward the exit of the castle. Mak wove through the crowd as quickly as possible, making it to the vacant corridor just in time to see Eva slip out the door that led outside.
He followed her, closing the door behind him. The garden was empty, light from the ballroom casting rectangular spots of light onto the grass. Eva was standing at the center of the lawn, just out of reach of the lights, her red dress visible in the dark.
“Where are you running off to?” he asked.
“Nowhere,” she said, turning to face him. Her expression, her eyes wide, her lips parted slightly, full and inviting, drew him in closer. “I just needed some air.”
“Dancing with Bastian had such a strong effect on you?” he asked, advancing further.
She turned her head, casting her face into shadow, her expression obscured. “No. It had no effect on me. As usual. But it was more disturbing this time since the date of my official engagement is set now. And he’s very likely the one I’ll be engaged to. If his bid is high enough. I’ve been too cowardly to ask what the price is on my head, or hand, as the case may be.”
“You want to feel attraction for him?”
“I want something. Anything. As it is, he might as well be my brother.”
Mak stopped right in front of her, noticed a shimmer in her dark eyes, pale moonlight reflected there, betraying the depth of her emotion. He put his hand on her face. Just to offer comfort, just for a moment. There was no harm in that.
The feel of her smooth skin beneath his palm sent a shock of desire through him. Strong. Foreign. Intense. It was almost enough to simply feel that need. To revel in it, the desire of a man for a woman. Almost.