She smiled. ‘I’m not talking about it,’ she pointed out. ‘You are. You’re the one who brought him up.’
He frowned. She was right. What was it about this girl?
‘Stop changing the subject,’ he said, his face flushing. ‘We were talking about your date. This guy, Cristiano. I don’t trust him.’
‘Why not? He’s a respectable businessman. And even if he wasn’t, I can look after myself.’
He allowed himself to breathe. ‘Yes you can. And that’s the only reason I’m not stopping you from going on this god-damned date tonight.’
She looked affronted. ‘Who do you think you are, my dad? I’m going on this date because I’ve decided to. What you think about it is completely irrelevant.’ Her tone wasn’t quite as angry as her words suggested.
‘If I didn’t want you to go, you wouldn’t.’ He was playing with her now. Enjoying her response, and the frisson of something dangerous between them. It lit him up, like a bonfire crackling in the night-time. He shouldn’t be doing this, but he couldn’t help himself.
‘How would you stop me?’ she breathed. Her eyes were sparkling, her lips full and open. She was a challenge waiting to be met.
‘I could use my charm.’
She shook her head. ‘It has no effect on me.’
He licked his lips, feeling the parched skin beneath his tongue. ‘There are other ways.’
‘What other ways?’ Her knees were touching his. He could feel the smoothness of her skin, the warmth of her body. It was tantalising.
‘I could stop you physically.’
He was aware of her gaze on his body. She was sizing him up, looking him up and down. It took everything he had not to start flexing his muscles.
She quirked an eyebrow. ‘Physically? How?’ Her toes brushed his. It shot a spike of excitement through his veins.
‘I could lock you in your bedroom.’
‘I’d climb out of the window. It’s nothing I haven’t done before. It’s amazing how agile you can be when the landlord comes calling for his rent.’ She was teasing him. He could tell it from the mischievous expression on her face.
‘Then I’d have to tie you up.’ He looked her straight in the eyes. He saw them widen at his suggestion, then her chest hitched with a deep breath. Her eyes, so excited before, became heavy-lidded. It took a moment for her to formulate a reply.
‘That might work,’ she said slowly. The words lingered in the air long after she closed her lips. The idea was like an invisible thread, weaving between them, pulling them together. He pictured her lying on her bed, half-naked, her body bound and trussed.
Jesus, what was going on here?
Her flush deepened, spreading down her neck and to her chest. His eyes followed its progress, lingering on the swell of her breasts. The fabric of her swimsuit was so thin he could see almost everything through it. Including the way her nipples hardened.
‘Would you like me to tie you up, Cesca?’ His voice was as gritty as an unmade road. He was playing with fire. She knew it and he knew it, yet Sam couldn’t help himself. He kept stretching out his fingers until they burned.
‘I’d like to see you try.’ There she was, feisty as hell, staring up at him through half-closed lids. ‘I’m not the sort to get caught very easily.’
‘I bet you’re not.’
She lifted the stray piece of hair, tucking it back into her topknot. The gesture pulled at her chest, making her breasts rise, coming tantalisingly close to escaping from her swimsuit. Sam couldn’t tear his gaze away.
‘I’m up here, you know.’
Finally he looked up, smirking. ‘Oh, I know exactly where you are.’
She tipped her head to the side. Her lips held the hint of a smile, but there was more to her expression than that. She was interested, fascinated, even. The way she was looking at him made Sam want to drag her straight up to the house and to his room.
‘And where’s that?’
‘Sitting opposite me, staring up at me, talking to me when you should be thinking about your date.’