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Determined to keep the conversation neutral, she said, “I’m not surprised you spend a lot of time on the deck—the view of the bay is simply stunning.”
It had been one of the first things about the house to capture her attention—right then she’d seen what Connor had meant. With its hardwood floors, big spaces, wide lawns and sparkling pool, this was the ideal place for a boy to grow up.
“And we were fortunate with the glorious weather today,” she added when he made no move to touch her. Get a grip, she told herself. They had a deal. She relaxed enough to take a sip of her bubbly wine.
“To my bride.”
Victoria couldn’t read his expression. The subtle tension notched upward. She decided to take the toast at face value and raised her glass in return. “My groom.”
He scooted closer and clinked his glass to hers. A sharp ting rang out. They sipped…and over the rims of the glasses their eyes held.
A bolt of electricity sizzled between them.
Victoria tore her gaze from his.
His hand came up and wrenched the black bow tie from his throat, peeled open the top button of his shirt. Victoria’s breath caught as her attention honed in on the ripple of a pulse under the swarthy skin. She didn’t dare raise her eyes lest she meet his and be scorched by more shudders of desire.
He shifted beside her. Aware of every inch of his long body, of the coiling muscle of his thighs under his dark, formal pants, Victoria stayed absolutely immobile. He leaned closer, and her breath dried up.
God.
“I should—”
“I think I should—”
They both stopped. Victoria gave an awkward laugh, and fluttered a quick sideways glance at him. “I was going to say I should go to bed…it’s been a long day.”
“And I was going to say I should kiss my bride,” said Connor with wry humor.
“Oh.”
She knew he’d seen her alarm because one side of his mouth kicked up.
“I still think I should.” He leaned nearer and, when she did nothing, he pressed his lips to hers.
For a long moment there was no sound.
Then he lifted his head. “Not so scary, was it?”
“I wasn’t scared,” she objected, all too conscious of the hard-edged features and his unblinking silver-gray gaze.
His hand reached out and his fingertips traced her brow bone. “Then why the wide eyes?”
Okay, so maybe she had been scared. Not of him, but of responding too enthusiastically to anything he might try, taking the kiss far beyond the kind of intimacy he intended. Like she did every time he kissed her.
Connor had a knack of making her want…more.
“We agreed no sex. You took me by surprise,” she sputtered.
He laughed. “A kiss is a long way from sex.”
Now he thought she was prissy. Damn. But she wasn’t going to let him roll her over. “It’s a darn good start along the road. Our bargain was that I marry you to give Dylan a stable home. No sex involved.”
“The billion-dollar baby bargain,” he said sardonically, his fingers sliding along her jawline.
“Hey—” the implication annoyed her, and his caress was unsettling “—I’m not doing this for money, you know that. I wouldn’t take a cent from you.”
But despite her heated words her bones were turning to fluid under his tantalizing touch. The citrus and male scent of him surrounded her. And the assault on her senses conspired to make her give a little shiver.
His fingertips came to rest under her chin. “Perhaps I should’ve offered you a million dollars to walk away from your custody and guardian responsibilities?”
Could he be serious? She wasn’t sure. But she decided to rid him of that notion once and for all. “You’re insane. I would never’ve taken it. Dylan is worth more than any amount of money to me.”
“And me, too.” He moved his thumb along her throat until it rested in the soft hollow beneath her ear. “Stalemate. So we’re stuck with each other.”
“But we’re not going to have sex.” She sounded ridiculously breathless.
He smiled, a slow, wolfish smile. “If you’re certain, then why is your pulse beating so fast?”
“It’s not my pulse—it’s yours you’re feeling through your thumb,” she said in a strangled voice.
Connor laughed. And her toes curled up at the sound.
“We’re going to have sex,” he said. “And like I promised, it will be far from casual.”
“You’re so arrogant,” she accused him.
“Think so?”
He moved and she squealed.
“Too late.” His arms were around her shoulders. “I’m not going to let you go.”
