‘How dare I?’ Roman enquired lazily, easing onto one hip.
‘Don’t play the innocent with me,’ she flashed. ‘I know what you did.’
‘I should hope so. But now it’s time for us to go—’
‘Time for you to go,’ she said pointedly.
Ignoring this, he made her a mock bow. ‘May I thank you for this dance?’
‘If you want a scene?’
‘Not especially.’ He steadied her as she stumbled in her rush to get away from him. ‘Ready to go, Eva?’
With a huff, she stalked off, heading for the shadows at the side of the bar where she could lick her wounds in private. She was still reeling from the kiss. Her body would never forget the sensation. She would never forget how much she longed for more. The suggestive way Roman’s tongue had tangled with hers, the touch of his strong warm hands on her naked arms, and the incredible sensation when his body had tightened against her—
And worst of all, her pathetically needy response.
He’d played her like a damn violin in front of everyone.
It wasn’t even a proper kiss. It was designed to mock her—to pay her back for her behaviour towards Roman at her sister’s wedding, and later at the mine. It was nothing more than a power play.
Well, hooray for him. He’d won another game. But she wasn’t nearly finished yet.
‘Another dance?’ a husky voice behind her suggested dryly. ‘Or have I exhausted you, Eva?’
‘You’ve exhausted my patience,’ she said, spinning round.
‘And if I were the last man on earth...’ Leaning back against the bar, Roman smiled down at her, ‘You’d still want to go to bed with me. Wouldn’t you, Eva?’
‘You are—’
‘I know what I am,’ he cut across her roughly. ‘The question is, do you know who you are?’
‘You’re not even ashamed?’
He shrugged. ‘Why should I be? I enjoyed it and so did you.’
‘You think?’ she derided.
He enjoyed it?
‘I know,’ he argued, holding her angry stare.
This could have been so much easier to deal with if Roman hadn’t been so hot.
And had danger not proved quite so addictive.
‘If there are any more gaps in your education, Eva, I’d be only too pleased to fill them in.’
‘I bet you would.’
Her mind dropped below his belt. A pulse throbbed insistently between her legs. Her breath caught. Her heart thundered. She should run a mile. But did she want to? Roman’s eyes were delivering a challenge straight into hers, and there was a look in his eyes she’d never seen before. Incredible though it seemed, Roman Quisvada wanted to go to bed with her.
He wanted to have sex with her. And he wanted it now.
CHAPTER EIGHT
MAYBE SHE COULD have handled this encounter with Roman better if her experience hadn’t been confined to terrorising the local youths in Skavanga.
Maybe not, Eva amended as Roman led her away from the party. Couples were wandering past them arm in arm, their feet in the surf, their gazes fixed on each other, unaware of the silent drama being played out only yards away. A little farther on, Roman nudged her and put his finger over his lips as he drew her past shadowy forms resting on a grassy bank, forms that undulated like waves and sighed like the surf, so Eva couldn’t be sure if the sounds she could hear were those of heated passion, or just the sea sliding rhythmically over rock and sand.
The couple didn’t even notice them pass. She envied them their ability to lose themselves in each other. Would she ever know what that felt like? That seemed unlikely, since what came naturally to them was an insurmountable obstacle for her.
Roman sensed immediately that something was troubling her. ‘Problem, Eva?’
‘No,’ she lied, glad it was too dark for him to see how embarrassed she was. Eva Skavanga, embarrassed by a couple making love?
And terrified at the thought of penetrative sex with a man.
How humiliating would that be if Roman knew? And how would those fears play out when they reached the palazzo?
‘Watch the loose rocks here,’ Roman said, putting a firm hand under her arm. His grip was firm and strong, and, in spite of her turbulent thoughts, she trusted him. She glanced up, wishing she could confide in him, but she could never do that, not where such personal matters were concerned. In Skavanga she took control. She forged the path, but here she was glad of Roman’s guiding hand on her arm.