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Beth opened her mouth to answer but was forestalled by Dex.
'The lady is with me, Morris.' His fingers nipped her waist, demanding her compliance. 'And we have urgent business to attend to in private—haven't we, darling?' Dex's grey eyes captured hers and his head lowered, his firm mouth brushing her parted lips. It was a fleeting kiss, but it was enough to set her heart racing, and she stared back at him, too dumb to answer.
'I hope you know what you're doing, Beth.' Paul said, bringing her back into the conversation.
She looked at Paul and smiled a misty, bemused smile. 'Yes, Paul.'
Paul sighed, a wry smile of acceptance curving his mouth. She was a grown woman; it had to happen some time.
'You're a man of the world, Morris, I'm sure you understand,' Dexter cut into the silence. 'Enjoy your gambling and excuse us.' And with a deft twist Dexter spun Beth round.
She only had time to call, 'See you, Paul,' over her shoulder as, with almost indecent haste, Dex urged her towards the back of the room and a large nondescript door. The incongruous note was the man who guarded it and opened it at their approach. He looked like a heavyweight boxer with the nose to match.
She registered that they were in a dimly lit hallway, and had opened her mouth to ask where the fire was— she would have quite liked to talk to Paul—when she registered the stark fury in Dex's steely eyes.
'Old man Morris a friend of yours, is he?'
'Yes, a very good—' She never got the chance to finish the sentence.
Dex pushed her back against the wall, his dark head swooping down, his mouth capturing hers in a kiss of pure male dominance. Shocked by his sudden aggression, the fierce pressure of his mouth, the feel of his huge body hard against her much smaller frame, she instinctively struggled to break free. But she was helpless against his superior strength, and his mouth ground against hers with a demanding arrogance that was as exciting as it was alien to her.
Then, suddenly, something peculiar happened. One second she was fighting him and the next she felt her body melting against his as his lips gentled against her mouth. His kiss softened, his tongue traced the outline of her mouth, his teeth nibbled gently on her bottom lip until, with a sigh of complete surrender, she opened her mouth to him. She lifted her hands, her fingers tangling in the silky black thickness of his hair, and kissed Dex back without realising what she was doing.
His mouth burned against hers, his tongue toying with hers in an erotic, thrusting dance. Her hands slid to his broad shoulders. She felt his muscles tense beneath the smooth fabric of his jacket and trembled as his hand slid down her naked throat, his long fingers tracing the soft curve of her breast and palming its lush fullness in his hand, before sliding lower, tracing the indentation of her waist, the soft flare of her hips. It was only when she felt his hand stroke up her leg to her naked thigh she began to panic again. 'No.' Beth uttered a cry of protest and closed her hand around his strong wrist.
Dex finally raised his head, his breathing surprisingly unsteady. 'Stockings as well. What are you trying to do to me?' he groaned as he slid his hand from under the hem of her short dress and, drawing away from her, brushed his ruffled hair from his brow. They stared at each other, neither one capable of speech for a moment. But it was Dex who recovered first.
'I guessed you would be dynamite, but I admit even I am surprised at exactly how explosive we are together.' His grey eyes glittered down into hers. She stared back, her pulse thudding erratically, her green eyes wide and bemused. She was so stunned by her own violent reaction, she couldn't speak.
'I was right; I should have left you to the gaming tables. You are more than a distraction; you're a lethal weapon, lady.' He grinned, a self-deprecating smile, and, clasping her hand in his, he added, 'Come and I will show you the rest of my newly acquired toys, before we get into any more trouble.'
Beth was grateful for his matter-of-fact attitude; it helped to calm her leaping responses. Then Mr Black appeared at the end of the hall and it was back to business for Dex. They left her sitting in a functional office and retired to an inner sanctum, Dex having explained that it was the manager's office and also the strongroom.
Beth spent the rest of their evening together in an emotional haze, trying to deal with her chaotic response to Dex. She was glad when, on returning to the outer office, he suggested taking her home. In the car he arranged to call for her the next morning at ten, and, on walking her to the door of her apartment, the light kiss he pressed on her lips was warm and somehow reassuring.
Tired, but happy, she crawled into bed, expecting to sleep. But she lay awake for hours, her mind reliving the events of the night. The intimate dinner with Dex, the sound of his deep, sexy voice, the touch of his hand. She tossed restlessly, her body unnaturally warm, her breasts hardening as she remembered the casino, and the sudden passionate interlude on the way to the office.
She turned over onto her stomach and buried her head in the pillow. Any more erotic memories, Beth told herself sternly, and she would never sleep. Closing her eyes, she tried to make her mind blank, but something niggled at her conscience until finally she remembered.
Dex had thrust the chips in her hand and told her to play. It had been odd. . . One minute he had been determined to leave her at the gaming tables, and yet he had changed his mind in a flash when she had spoken to Paul. Maybe Dex was jealous! Surely that proved he was as smitten with her as she was with him. On that happy notion, Beth drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER THREE
Beth woke up to bright autumn sunshine blazing through the window, and she smiled to herself. It was an accurate reflection of how she felt inside, and all because Dexter Giordanni had entered her life. . . She said his name out loud as she jumped out of bed and headed for the shower, loving the sound of his name almost as much as she loved the man.
She froze, one foot in the shower stall; the enormity of what she had just admitted to herself hit her like a bolt from the blue. Slowly she steppe
d into the shower and turned on the water. The impossible had happened. She had fallen in love at first sight.
A worried frown creased her smooth brow. What was she thinking of? In love. . .she couldn't be. Beth had always prided herself on being sensible where men were concerned, and had never let a man get too close to her. The example of her mother, Leanora, had taught her from an early age that there was no such thing as true love. And watching her stepbrother's girlfriends come and go like yo-yos had confirmed Beth's cynicism where the L-word was concerned. Yet here she was, mooning like a love-sick calf over a man she had only just met.
Dex was an experienced man of the world. He probably knew exactly how he affected her. Who was she fooling? Not probably, positively! Beth blushed at the memory of being locked in his arms, his hand on her breast, her thigh. Abruptly she turned the water from hot to cold, and when she felt thoroughly numb she stepped out of the shower and rubbed herself down with a large towel with a lot more force than was strictly necessary— memories of her years in the convent school reminding her of the sins of the flesh.
Dried, and dressed in navy trousers, a white silk shirt and a buttercup-yellow wool cardigan, Beth ate her breakfast of cereal and toast. Lingering in the kitchen over her second cup of coffee, she told herself she must slow down where Dex was concerned. She had dressed conservatively, and she would act with reserve in his company today. She was frightened of how he could make her feel, and her innate common sense told her she hardly knew the man.
It was a much more subdued Beth who opened the door an hour later to the object of her turbulent thoughts.
'Don't I get a smile?' Dex demanded in a throaty drawl.
