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Her cheeks flushed red. She’d got the sexual message in his words loud and clear, but she hit him with a blunt response. ‘You must be wearing steel-capped boots to feel so confident. And I’m going to sit this one out.’
He was nowhere near finished and caught hold of her arm. Momentum thrust her against him. She felt sensational, strong, lithe, and yet softly plump in all the right places. She was so tiny compared to him, but they fitted together perfectly.
‘You’re taking a lot for granted.’ She frowned, but made no attempt to move away.
‘I don’t see you rushing off,’ he countered softly.
‘Caveman.’
‘Nut freak.’
‘Nut freak?’ She stared into his eyes. Her lips were just a tempting distance away.
‘You’re quaint,’ he said, meeting her jade-green eyes head-on.
‘Quaint?’ she queried.
‘Old-fashioned.’
She appeared to consider this, and then said, ‘There’s nothing wrong with tradition. Someone has to take responsibility for keeping standards high.’
Yes. That was him. He stared at a mouth he could have feasted on until she fell asleep with exhaustion. ‘Talk to me,’ he murmured.
‘About what?’ she asked, her brow crinkling in enquiry.
He didn’t care. He just loved to watch her lips move as she goaded him. The thought of teasing those lips apart with his tongue to claim all the dark recesses of her mouth, along with everything else, fired him up until the hunger to take her was all-consuming. ‘That dance we talked about?’
‘You talked about.’ But she didn’t resist when he steered her towards a space that miraculously, as far as Callie was concerned, had opened for them on the packed dance floor.
When Luca pressed her close she gasped at the intensity of feeling. She was conscious that people were staring at them and whispering, which she guessed was only to be expected when she was dancing with the hottest man at the party. Why he’d chosen her to dance with, she had no idea. She hadn’t exactly made it easy for him. When he nuzzled her hair aside and kissed her neck, she didn’t care what his reasons were. She didn’t care about anything. The world and everyone in it simply dropped away.
CHAPTER FOUR
RISK VERSUS PLEASURE, Callie thought as she flicked a glance into Luca’s eyes. Even the briefest look sent heat surging through her. She could trust herself for one dance, she decided, which might have had something to do with the fact that when Luca took hold of her hand a thrill raced through her. When his other hand slipped into the hollow in the small of her back, she could think of nothing but closer contact. Fighting the urge, she kept a sensible distance between them. Other couples had made space for them, so there was no need to cling to him like a limpet.
Luca was really popular, she realised as they started to move to the music. They were attracting lots of interested glances and smiles. In fact, she would call it more of a buzz, so maybe the Prince was close by. She glanced around and realised that she wouldn’t know the Prince if she tripped over him. Everyone was probably wondering how she got so lucky, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing something. There was no chance to dwell on it. It was far more important to keep her wits about her. Dancing with Luca was a high-risk sport, she concluded as the sinuous melody bound them closer together. There was only thing more intimate they could do and be this close, and that was to make love—
She could put that out of her head right now! She was going to have one dance, and then she was going home. To pull away from Luca before the music ended would be rude. To fall into the trap of relaxing in his arms was stupid. Control would be her watchword. At least for now. Another, far more reckless side of Callie wanted to know why she couldn’t see this adventure out. She wasn’t Callie who scrubbed floors for a living now, but Callie from the lemon groves, who had a whole world of adventure tucked up inside her.
She made herself relax. Luca was right about dancing with him being easy. For some reason her feet seemed to know what to do. Her body moved instinctively with his. They could have been alone on the dance floor. She looked up to see him smiling a lazy, confident smile. He was good. He was very good. Luca might look rugged and tough, but when it came to seduction, he was smooth. So long as she was aware of it, she’d be okay, Callie reassured herself as they danced on.
But he must feel her trembling with arousal. Her body was on fire for him. Her heart was banging in her chest. She’d never played such dangerous games before. Luca was so brazenly virile she couldn’t think straight. She wanted to lace her fingers through his hair, and explore his body. She wanted to feel his sharp black stubble rasp her skin, and his firm, curving mouth tease hers into submission. While his big strong hands position me for pleasure...
No! She had to leave now.
But she didn’t.
And then an annoying drone buzzed overhead. ‘It’s only just checking who’s around,’ Luca reassured her when she looked up.
‘Like we’re so important,’ she said dryly. ‘I guess the Prince must be around.’
‘It’s a natural precaution when there’s a crowd,’ Luca explained.
Hmm. She loved to watch his mouth tilt at the corners when he smiled. ‘You’ve worked here before, so you’re used to it,’ she pointed out, ‘but this is all new to me.’ And how! And how fabulous, Callie thought as the music started up again, and one dance segued smoothly into two.
‘Tell me about home for you,’ Luca prompted.
‘I’m from a small to
