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He did not care if this was not something she often did.
But then he saw her pupils were dilated—and not just with desire. He recognised fear, and though he held her still, he froze absolutely.
‘I’ve never slept with anyone before,’ she said.
He dropped her.
Oh, she did not actually tumble to the ground, but she felt the see-saw crash down and she sank further without his touch.
‘And you didn’t think to tell me?’
‘I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.’
‘Not notice! What the—?’
How the hell could she possibly think he might miss such a detail? But then his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
‘Or were you hoping that I’d be too far gone to care?’ he accused.
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
She really didn’t.
He watched as she pulled up the straps on her dress, her pert nipples visible beneath the sheer fabric because their arousal remained. It was a fire that would not die, and had her words not halted him they would have been locked together now, with no thought to the consequences.
Rafe knew it.
Absolutely he knew it.
And it was an unfamiliar thing—for he always maintained a semblance of control and never forgot he was royal.
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Antonietta said again, her voice rising this time, and Rafe felt the anger recede, for shereallydidn’t know. She wasn’t trying to trap him, he realised. She was clueless, not ruthless.
‘You should have told me.’
‘Yes,’ Antonietta agreed. ‘But if I had I would be tucked up in bed alone now.’
‘Do you know why?’
‘Because you want someone experienced. You want—’
‘Antonietta,’ he interrupted, ‘I leave tomorrow.’
She didn’t blink, he noted. At least not until a log on the fire dropped, and it spat sparks and hissed for a moment before it settled.
‘I know that,’ she said finally.
‘If you have waited this long—’
‘Oh, please don’t!’ Antonietta interrupted him now, a little embarrassed and a lot angry. ‘Please don’t tell me that I must be saving myself for marriage, for Mr Right...’
‘Why have you waited, then?’
‘Because.’
Now she was embarrassed, and she reached for her shawl rather than answer him. She picked up her bag, ready to head out into the night, but he caught her arm.
‘Because?’ he demanded.
