AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Yet again she made no move, only studied him as if he was a mystery she wanted to unravel and not a man she should be afraid of. A man whose passions ran too hot for anyone’s comfort.
‘Why?’ she asked again. ‘What happened?’
His fury wound tighter. He didn’t want to talk about this with her and he didn’t know why she was even interested. She shouldn’t be wanting to know more; she should be running back upstairs to the safety of her room.
‘I commend your interest in my wellbeing,gatita. But I think it is a mistake.’ He moved closer since she wasn’t getting the message. ‘I’m telling you to leave for a reason.’
She was still pressed up against the bookshelves behind her but, strangely, her earlier alarm seemed to have vanished. Instead she was frowning slightly, searching his face as if looking for something, her gaze full of what looked like...concern, almost.
You’ve done nothing to deserve it.
No, he hadn’t. Not a single damn thing.
Her scent wrapped around him and he was aware that the black T-shirt of her uniform was very fitted, outlining to perfection the soft curves of her breasts. They were round and full, just the right size for his hands. Would they be sensitive if he touched them? If he put his mouth to them? Kissed them and sucked on her nipples? Some women were very sensitive there, the slightest touch making them moan, while others needed firmer handling...
‘What reason is that?’ Leonie asked, and her sweet husky voice did nothing to halt the flood of sexual awareness coursing through him.
There was no alarm in the question, and her gaze was direct. Almost as if she was challenging him. Which would be either very brave, or very foolish, especially when he was in this kind of mood.
‘You don’t want to know,’ he said roughly. ‘It might frighten you.’
A spark glowed suddenly in the depths of her eyes. ‘I’m not scared of you.’
It was fascinating, that spark. It burned bright and hot and he couldn’t drag his gaze from it. Yes, this time it was definitely a challenge, and all he could think about was the fact that Anna had never looked at him that way. Anna had never challenged him—not once.
‘You should be.’ His voice had deepened, become even rougher, and his groin tightened in response to her nearness. ‘I’ve told you before. I’m not a kind man.’
‘That’s a lie.’ She gave him another searching look, apparently oblivious to the danger. ‘You’ve been nothing but kind since I got here.’
Naturally she’d think that. She wasn’t to know that he was being kind only because he wanted something from her. That he wasn’t doing this out of the goodness of his heart, but to appease his own desire for vengeance.
Tell her, then. Tell her so she knows.
But if he told her she might run, and he couldn’t afford for her to do that. Not yet.
She might run from you anyway if you keep on like this.
It was true. Which meant he needed to pull himself together—perhaps call one of those women who’d indicated interest tonight. It had been a while since he’d taken anyone to bed, so maybe it was that getting to him. Sex had always been his go-to when it came to working out his more primitive emotions. That was why he revelled in it.
‘My kindness has a threshold,’ he said instead. ‘And you’re approaching it.’
Her head tilted, her gaze still bright. Almost as if she was pushing him.
‘Why? What have I done? You’re not very good at answering questions, are you?’
He should have moved—should have stepped away. Should definitely not still be standing there, so close to her, now he’d decided he was going to find some alternative female company.
Yet he couldn’t bring himself to move. He was caught by the bright spark in her eyes and by her sweet scent. There was colour in her cheeks still and the pulse at the base of her throat was beating even faster. Her mouth was full and red. Such temptation.
He could kiss that mouth. He could stop her questions and her ill-considered challenges simply by covering it with his own. Would she taste sweet? As sweet as she smelled?
‘You haven’t done anything but be where you shouldn’t be.’ He lifted his hand before he could stop himself and gently brushed her bottom lip with his fingertips. ‘Which is a mistake,gatita.’
Her mouth was as soft as he’d thought it would be, and velvety like rose petals. She stilled, her eyes going wide. But she didn’t pull away.
Aren’t you going to find yourself another woman?
He was. So why he wasn’t—why he was standing here and touchingthiswoman he had no idea. It shouldn’t matter which woman he touched, and since Anna he’d made sure it didn’t. He didn’t need someone who was his—not again.
