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‘And whose fault is that?’ she hissed. ‘God, I can’t believe you—’
‘Believe it. Or I will kiss you again and keep kissing you until you do.’
The flame that chased through her veins was a little too giddy for her liking. ‘Why? If you didn’t want me to ask questions, why didn’t you just say so?’
‘Would you have listened? You don’t have a history of doing what I say.’
‘And that warrants you assaulting me?’
He took his time to answer, his gaze drifting over her face before rising to meet hers. ‘Your pulse is racing, sure. But you hardly look traumatised. And the way you’re licking your lips right now makes me think you want more where that came from.’
She immediately firmed her traitorous lips. ‘I’d prefer it if you kept your hands and your mouth to yourself. Let me go.’
This time he released her, sat back and calmly picked up his wine. But he didn’t immediately drink. ‘Within the next hour, news of my mysterious new lover will hit social media. This may not have been how I planned it, but there’s an upside to it.’
‘You mean I can start counting down my fifteen minutes of unwanted fame?’ she asked hopefully.
‘However long we spend together depends entirely on you acing your performance. Try the wine, Sage. It’s very good,’ he drawled.
She wanted to refuse. But a sudden urge to prove that she wasn’t always as disagreeable as he claimed nudged her hard. Plus, although she rarely drank, tonight she needed the fortification of alcohol to stop her from doing something stupid. Like running her tongue over her still tingling lips to see if the lingering taste of his kiss was as potent as her senses proclaimed. With hands that hadn’t quite regained their steadiness, she picked up her glass and took a sip.
She had no idea of the vintage of the wine, but the gorgeous bouquet exploding on her taste buds was enough to invite another sip. And another.
His gaze cut into her. ‘Easy, pethi mou. You barely touched your lunch and according to the butler you didn’t have anything to eat in my absence. I’d rather not have you tipsy before the first course arrives.’
She raised an eyebrow. ‘Why, because you’re scared I’ll misbehave?’ she challenged.
‘I think I’ve already found a curative measure for any misbehaviour on your part. I was thinking more along the lines of answering a few of your questions.’
A little surprised, she set her glass down and toyed with the stem. ‘If you were going to answer them anyway, then why did you...?’
‘Kiss you? You can say it, Sage. It’s not a bad word.’
Tell that to my body. ‘Fine, why did you kiss me?’
He shrugged. ‘I wasn’t sure whether I wanted my life pried into just yet.’
‘And now?’
‘For the sake of authenticity, I’ve decided it wouldn’t hurt for us to know a thing or two about each other. So, to answer your earlier question, no, I don’t have family remaining. Anywhere.’
Something about the way he said that made her heart lurch a little.
She might be estranged from her parents but she couldn’t imagine them not being there. She couldn’t imagine being alone in the world, even though for the most part of the last three years it’d felt as if she was. She glanced at Xandro, further questions burning on her tongue. ‘You said your family emigrated but...?’ She paused, unwilling to agitate the waters further.
‘What?’ he demanded.
‘Correct me if I’m wrong, but you used the word for want of a better one?’
His jaw flexed for a moment and he took a large sip of wine before he shrugged. ‘Perhaps because emigrated sounds more civilised than cast out.’
Shock spiked through her. ‘What?’
‘You heard me. My grandparents and my mother were cast out of their home and the only life they’d known. They had little choice but to board the boat that took them to New York. The rest is history.’
His words were casual, offhand even. Except she knew there was a lifetime’s consequence of that history bubbling beneath the surface. As she watched his harshly beautiful face, she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been entirely shaped by whatever had happened to his family. Or whether the harshness had come afterwards.
Before she could probe further, two waiters approached and set their first course in front of them. Her wild mushroom salad with truffle oil was delicious but Xandro’s seafood platter looked mouthwatering.
