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All he was doing was steadying her. She knew that. But to her body his hold was dangerously reminiscent of the way he had held her when he had kissed her, and she had to fight down its instinctive urge to close the gap between them. If he kissed her now he would taste of salt and heat and male hormones…
It must be the shock of her unwanted sexual response to him that was responsible for the feeling that somehow time had slowed down, and with it the beat of her own heart, as though both of them were caught up in some kind of mystical spell, Keira thought dizzily. She could see where the shadow was just beginning to darken the line of Jay’s jaw, and she had an overwhelming longing to reach out and touch it with her fingertips, and then to trace the curve of his mouth. The sensuality of the contrast between them would, she knew, be burned into her touch in a way that would make her ache to feel that contrast against her own flesh. It would be so easy to do, so very easy.
He knew what she was doing, Jay assured himself. She was trying to use his own maleness against him, knowing what effect her proximity would have on him. He had never known a woman so skilled at using his own sexuality against him. Where other women were foolish enough to blatantly thrust themselves on him, for him to either take or repulse as his mood dictated, she was far more subtle and skilled. Dangerously so, he recognised grimly, since her subtle waiting game had already resulted in arousing him. He shouldn’t have referred to the Kama Sutra, Jay acknowledged. Doing so had conjured up images inside his head that had weakened his defences: images of sensuality and love-play in which her pale naked body was his to arouse and enjoy.
If he kissed her now…
Panicked by what she was thinking—and feeling—Keira told herself that it was relief she felt when Jay removed his hands from her arms and she was free to step back from him. What was wrong with her? Didn’t she recognise her own danger and how foolish it was for her to keep having these wholly inappropriate and unwanted thoughts? It was as though some stranger had taken possession of her, and she was no longer in control of her own thoughts and feelings.
‘Thanks,’ she told him huskily, striving to appear normal, but avoiding looking directly at him.
She had done it again, Jay thought grimly. She had aroused him and then walked away. No woman did that to him and got away with it—especially not this one.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘ONCE you’ve seen the scale model of the project, I’d like to see some concrete plans and sketches for the interiors for the first phase of the apartments as soon as possible,’ Jay told Keira crisply as he drove them back down the dusty untarmacked road.
He had removed his sunglasses now that they were no longer driving into the sun, but the light was still too bright for Keira to want to remove her own.
‘I’m leaving for Mumbai tomorrow evening, which will give you just over twenty-four hours to come up with an overview for me before I leave.’
The speed at which he expected her to work was shocking.
‘I can’t possibly produce detailed interior plans in twenty-four hours,’ Keira protested, her face burning slightly as she sensed from the sideways look he slashed towards her that he was taking her words as an admission of failure rather than as an honest professional assessment of what could be accomplished in such a limited time span. Well, she wasn’t going to recall or deny them. Her chin lifted, and the look she returned to him said without words that she wasn’t going to recant—or apologise.
Keira could almost feel his mind probing her silence and assessing it. Her chin tilted a bit higher, but she wasn’t going to risk looking directly into those platinum-grey eyes. Just thinking about the power of their uncompromisingly analytical surveillance made her feel far too weak. Platinum. One of the most desired and valuable metals in today’s world. Somehow the colour of his eyes was symbolic of the man himself.
‘Overviews, I said—not detailed plans,’ Jay informed her coolly. ‘Themes, colours, some take on style, so that I can mull them over whilst I’m travelling.’
‘I haven’t got my samples with me, or a proper office, or…’
‘You’ll be staying in the guest wing of the palace whilst you’re working on this project. I’ve already arranged for the hotel to shift your stuff over to it, so it should be waiting for you when we get back. The accommodation provided for you includes an office.’
