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‘There isn’t a moment to ruin,’ he rasped. Rebel felt the cold tug of platinum over her knuckle. Then the ring slid into place. ‘And your nails are fine.’
The rectangular-cut diamond was flanked by baguette diamonds, which connected to the platinum band. In the low lights of her flat, the ring glinted and flashed as her fingers trembled. It was a perfect fit. Just how he’d achieved that was a mystery, but Rebel couldn’t take her eyes off the ring’s sheer perfection. Nor could she divorce her mind from wandering down a senseless road of how she would’ve felt if this moment were real.
Not that the man she’d have chosen would’ve been Draco Angelis. He was far too arrogant and domineering for her to even consider him as—
‘Is it my turn to ask whether we need melodramatic music? Or do you not like the ring?’ Draco drawled with a slight edge in his tone.
‘It’s...’ beautiful. Wondering why the word stuck in her throat, why so many different emotions darted through her, Rebel dragged her gaze from the stunning ring. ‘It’s fine. It’ll probably get the job of convincing Nardozzi to back off done all on its own.’
His mouth twisted. ‘I think you need to put in more personal effort than that.’
Before she could answer, his phone buzzed. Slipping it from his pocket, he stared at the screen for a moment, a hint of satisfaction flitting over his features. ‘Dessida has done what I requested of him.’
Why was she surprised that Draco could get men with bloated egos like François Dessida to bend to his will? ‘Great,’ she responded, even though an added ball of uncertainty churned in her stomach. ‘We’re all set, then.’
‘Not quite.’ He stared down at his screen for a few more seconds before his steely gaze pierced hers. ‘Your body language needs a little work.’
‘Excuse me?’
He turned the phone towards her. The chef had posted a picture of them on his social-media site. ‘This doesn’t quite do the trick.’
She flicked a glance at the picture, suddenly unwilling to look closely at it. ‘Our picture has already had over half a million views. I fail to see what the problem is.’
‘The problem is we’re supposed to be lovers. Your posture indicates otherwise.’
Rebel forced herself to look past Draco’s firm, proprietary hand on her hip. Or the fact that it sparked a fizz of unwanted sensation through her. Clinically, she perused her slightly stiff posture and the neutral expression she’d forced her features into in reaction to Draco’s touch. Her gaze slid to the dominating presence beside her.
‘You could’ve done with cracking a smile too, don’t you think?’ she countered.
He slid the phone back into his pocket. ‘The next time we’re seen together in public you’ll be my fiancée. Your performance needs to be stellar.’
‘Fine. I promise to fawn all over you.’
He shook his head. ‘No, I’m not risking you going overboard either.’
She threw up her hands. ‘What, then? You should know, I’m not the here’s-a-cute-selfie-of-us-cuddling-while-walking-our-dog type.’
‘Neither am I. But we need to achieve the right balance.’
‘And how do you suggest we do that? Take a compatibility test?’
‘Of sorts.’
He stepped forward and gripped her waist. The unexpected move, and the blistering heat from his touch, made her whole body clench tight. ‘What are you doing?’ Her voice rose several octaves higher than it’d been a moment ago.
‘You just tensed up. If you do that every time I touch you, we might as well declare this thing a failure.’
‘You surprised me, that’s all,’ she replied, her voice still unlike her own.
He dragged her closer and her tension mounted. ‘Arabella, relax,’ he rasped, his voice deep and frighteningly hypnotic.
‘Said the snake charmer to the snake.’
One corner of his mouth lifted in a shadow of a smile. Then the pads of his thumbs pressed into her hip bones.
Electric sensation blasted through her. The secret place between her legs tingled wildly before singeing her with a fiery need that robbed her of breath. Draco stared at her as his thumbs continued to play over her covered skin, the direct gaze adding a potent layer of awareness to the one already blanketing her.
Just when she thought she couldn’t stand it any more, his gaze dropped to her mouth. A rough sound rumbled from his chest, but she was too caught up in what was happening to her body to pay it much heed.
But she heeded the unrelenting descent of his head, and the mouth that took hers a second later.
