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“Trust me. You don’t want to know what I’m thinking.” He looked past her. “You see anything you want?”
“You’re my host, so I’m trying to be polite here, but I’m telling you, only my brothers can rile me up the way you do. At least with them, I can get right up in their faces.”
He stepped into her space. “But I’m not your brother.” He stared at her like he wanted to hike up her dress right there in front of everyone.
The air left her lungs. Her palms went damp. Her legs barely supported her. Because she wanted him to. She wanted his big hands on her ass, squeezing her flesh.
But just like that, he moved to the auction table. “What looks good?”
She let out a shaky breath. It was impossible to keep up with him, so she just had to stop trying.
I like simple men.
Men I understand.
This one’s way too complicated. She glanced at some of the offerings. “They’re mostly trips. You know, vacation homes.” She was glad for the reprieve. Needed the haze of lust to clear.This is ridiculous.
“Where do you want to go?” He picked up a brochure. “How about Jumby Bay? It’s a private island off the coast of Antigua. Looks nice.”
“Me?” Right. Like she could have fun knowing her family was struggling to get the orders fulfilled, the deliveries checked in, or to find someone to cover a sick employee. “I’m not going anywhere. I can’t take any more time away from work.”
He continued perusing the offerings. “You like pink diamonds?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never seen one.” He better not buy something for her. “Should we dance or something?”
That got his attention. “I don’t…” He exhaled in frustration. “Sure. Yeah. We’ll dance.”
“Oh, my God. Forget it. Don’t do me any favors.” Sick of his crap, she tried to move around him, but he caught her arm and pulled her close.
Their bodies touched. She saw the scar on his chin. Another bisecting his eyebrow. Also, she’d been wrong about the color of his eyes. They were the blue of a stormy sea. And a whiskey-colored starburst around the black pupil.
This man was a roiling, suppressed ball of sexual energy, and she wanted to pull the pin.
“I honestly can’t tell if you want me to take the next flight out of here or if you want to rip this dress off me.”
“If I rip this dress, I’ll never hear the end of it from my sister. Now, come on. Let me bid on a few things, and then we’ll dance.”
“Bid away. I’m not stopping you.”
He gave her an intense stare that was impossible to read, and it got her all hot and restless and needy, and then he made things worse by clamping a hand at the back of her neck and holding her in place while he whispered in her ear. “All I have to do is look at you, and the world stops. I can’t think. I can’t breathe. I don’t know what it is, but you get under my skin.” He leaned in, close enough that his lips grazed her cheek. “But I can’t afford temptation right now. And I need you to keep your distance. Do you understand?” His grip tightened. “I’m not the man for you.”
ChapterFive
Under his spell,she nodded slowly, even while thinking,No. I actually don’t understand anything you’re saying. She held on to one tiny piece of clarity, though, and it was enough to get her to duck out of his hold. “I’m not going to see you after tonight, so I should probably just let it go, but for the record, don’t ever assume you know what’s best for me. Doyouunderstand?”
He let out a growl that sounded very much likeFuck, and his hand lowered to the bulge tenting his tuxedo pants. “You’re a vexing woman.”
“Given the party in your pants right now, I’m going to assume vexing means sexy, so I’ll take that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find a nice young man to dance with before I ask the driver to take me home.”
For the second time, she started to walk off, but once again, he grabbed her forearm and pulled her back so hard she crashed against his chest. “I’m trying my best here, Gracie.”
He’d called her Gracie. And in the kind of rough tone she’d expect to hear under the covers as he held her wrists together over her head and slammed into her.
“But if I find you with another man, I’m going to start flipping tables. So, before I ruin my mom’s event… Do you want to dance with me, or do you want to dance with someone else?”
“You.”Gracie.It was such a sweet term of endearment. She could barely stand it.
Grabbing her hand, he led her to the center of the ballroom. The other couples were a blur of smiles and glittering jewels, and she barely registered the big band music, because her entire being yearned to be in his arms.
