His Ultimate Prize

Marco took his seat across from her and held out one glass of champagne, his gaze never leaving hers. What she glimpsed in the heated depths made her heart quicken.

‘Marco—’

‘Eat. We’ll talk when you’re done.’

How can I eat? she wanted to ask. Especially when his eyes followed her every move. But words refused to form on her lips. It was as if he’d cast some sort of spell on her. Maybe he was a vampire after all, she thought hysterically.

The thought should have lightened her mood, made it easier for her to cope, but all it did was cause a fevered shudder to race down her spine.

Clawing in a desperate breath, she set the plate aside. ‘Let’s talk now. You invited me to the concert, then ignored me to make out with your girlfriend. What else is there to talk about?’

‘Flavia’s not my girlfriend, and I wasn’t making out with her. She was congratulating me on the team’s win, just like a lot of people have done tonight.’

‘She was all over you. And you didn’t seem to mind.’

‘I was...preoccupied.’

She snorted. ‘Evidently.’

‘Para el amor de Dios! I was waiting in the VIP room for you! The Prime Minister turned up when I was about to come and meet you. I tried to get away as quickly as possible, only to find you were more interested in plastering yourself all over your favourite rock star. It was very evident you didn’t have a bra on, but tell me—were you even wearing panties under that dress?’

A harsh flush of anger tinged his cheekbones. This was the angriest she’d ever seen Marco. The reason why stopped her breath.

‘You were jealous?’

His jaw clenched. ‘Do you mean was that what I expected when I had the band flown over for you? No. Did I want to break every bone in his pathetically thin body? Sí. For starters.’

The air thickened around them.

A thousand different questions rushed into her mind. One emerged.

‘I’m not stupid, Marco, I know where this is going. But what about the consequences? The ones that made you avoid me for the past three weeks?’

He abandoned his glass and rested his hands on his knees, his eyes never leaving hers. ‘Seeing you in another man’s arms has simplified my decision. For the sake of my sanity, and to avoid murder charges, no more staying away,’ he rasped.

‘Right. Well, I’m happy for you and your sanity. But what about what I want?’

His eyes dropped to her lips. ‘If you know where this is going then you know how badly I want to kiss you. Come here.’

Her mouth, the subject of his very intense scrutiny, tingled so badly she had to curb the urge to bite it. ‘I meant what I said in London. I don’t want a relationship.’

A hard look passed through his eyes. ‘I don’t want a relationship either.’

‘What about your clause?’

‘I’m not a racing driver and I don’t work for the team so I’m exempt. Come here, Sasha.’

‘No. Aren’t you twisting the rules?’

‘No. I can quote them verbatim for you later. Right now I want you to come over here and kiss me.’

Her breath shortened. ‘What if I don’t want to?’

His gaze darkened. ‘Then I’ll return to the concert, find your reedy rock star and decorate the VIP lounge with him.’

A roar went up a few miles away. The throb of the rock concert echoed superbly the blood surging through her veins as Marco continued to watch her.

‘I hope you won’t expect me to bail you out of jail.’

He shrugged. ‘I live in hope for a lot of things, querida. At this moment I’m hoping you’ll stop arguing and crawl into my lap. Would it help if I said that not a day went by these past three weeks when you didn’t feature in my thoughts?’ He lifted a winged brow.

‘Maybe that helps. A little...’

Without warning he reached across the table and scooped her up. Settling her in his lap, he freed her hair and sighed in pleasure as the heavy tresses spilled into his hands. Then he lowered her until her back rested on the upraised lounger.

Despite her bikini’s relative modesty, Sasha had never felt more exposed in her life. Especially when Marco took his time to trail his fierce gaze over her, missing nothing as he scoured her body, and followed more slowly with one long, lazy finger.

‘You’re doing it again.’ Her voice was smoky with lust, her flesh alight wherever he touched.

‘What?’ he murmured, his eyes resting at the apex of her thighs.

Beneath her bottom the hard ridge of his erection pressed into her flesh, its heat making her skin tighten in feverish anticipation.

‘The thing with your eyes. And your hands. And your body.’