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The intensity of his hot gaze told her this was no joke.
A wickedly erotic image flashed through her mind of Callum pinning her up against the counter in his kitchen….
She’d be fully clothed, wearing her frilliest apron and a toque. While Callum stood between her parted legs, naked and virile. His fingers dipping into a pot of rich, dark chocolate mousse then offering them to her. She licked the mousse delicately from his fingertips…he moaned…his blue eyes blazed, promising to pleasure her from head to toe before the night was out….
Good grief. Where had that come from?
A flush seared her face, scorching all the way down her body to her most private places. Her voice cracking, she said, “No one gets turned on by that getup.”
“If you say so.”
His cheekbones stood out under tightly drawn skin. He looked dark and dangerous and unbelievably desirable.
“Sex on its own is never a good reason for marriage,” she told him fiercely, a warning to herself as much as him. The fantasy flash had disturbed her far more than she cared to admit.
“I can’t think of a better reason.”
Her breath died abruptly in her throat as he gazed at her with raw, unvarnished hunger.
Callum Ironstone wanted her.
For one wild moment she was tempted to flee. From him—and from her own riotous imaginings. She scanned across the restaurant, checking if the escape route was clear, and except for one waiter balancing a tray on his shoulder, it was.
She should run. Now.
If she stayed it might be too late to free herself from the power of his attraction. Callum posed a risk that she’d never anticipated.
Yet an overwhelming desire for an answer to the question she’d posed kept her in the chair, even as his hands caressed hers with slow deliberation.
He couldn’t be offering marriage to get her into his bed—he’d already done that. There had to be more to it than this incomprehensible desire that leaped between them. And he’d already made it clear, love had nothing to do with it.
Questions buzzed around inside her head, multiplying into further questions. But before she could utter them, he bent his head closer to hers. In the candlelight she could see all the way into the bright blue eyes, to the black flecks that lurked like hazardous rocks in a deceptively calm stretch of sea.
“I think we could make a fantastic team.”
“You and me? A team?” Was the man insane?
“Shh.” He laid his index finger against his lips. “Hear me out.”
Miranda found herself following that finger and staring at the beauty of the full lower lip that softened his strong features and gave an unexpected sensuality to the arrogantly handsome face.
His hand dropped back to rest on the tablecloth beside hers, and to her consternation Miranda was acutely aware of the inch of distance separating their fingers.
She hadn’t wanted him reducing her to a quivering mass just by the stroke of his fingers, had she?
“You have a gift—one that complements my strengths,” he was saying. “With your skills—”
“A gift? You mean cooking?” She jerked her head back in disbelief. “So you really do want to marry me for my cooking?”
“It’s more than that. You have an ability to make people feel not only nourished, but also cherished on a level I cannot reach.”
Warmth filled her at the unexpected compliment. Yet she realized it was true. She’d always cared for those close to her—her family were sure of her love. Nourish. Cherish. He’d articulated something that she’d only ever been dimly aware of in the back of her consciousness. “Thank you. That’s a nice thing to say.”
He shook his head. “Not nice. Absolutely true. And it’s a talent I can use.”
The warmth fizzled out.
“You would be able to take care of a side of my life I don’t have time to deal with.”
Of course. Everything was always about what he could use. What he could turn to profit. He must’ve been born with a calculator for a heart.
Miranda raised her glass and took a careful sip. Despite the rush of bubbles to the surface, the champagne tasted flat. A reflection of her state of mind, no doubt. She set the glass down. “You want to marry me so I can sort your business entertaining.”
