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But tonight was different. He was different. He’d talked about his family’s business and his role as director, and how it gave him the involvement he wanted and the freedom to pursue his own interests. And he’d listened to her and made her feel that there was more to whatever there was between them than sheer lust. The desire was still there between them, tangible and brooding and waiting, only now it was overlaid by a sense of the man.
And the bottom line was that she liked what she saw.
From politics to the differences between countries, they’d discussed a broad range of topics—even arguing amicably over gridiron versus Australian Rules Football, and laughing when they couldn’t agree about which code made the most sense. And then he’d listened when she’d told him about her family. And apart from one fearful moment, when he’d almost gone rigid with white-hot anger—what had she said to cause that?—he’d been so understanding.
Had he meant it when he’d told her that she now had him? His words had been like a balm to her soul. They’d touched her deep down, in a place where loss and pain were much more frequent visitors. She could trust him, this man. Even though she knew so little about him really, even though they’d met but on two occasions, she felt the invisible bonds between them. She could sense it.
It was rare to feel someone getting under her guard. So far only Grace had made it into her inner circle, and Grace was a hard act to follow. But the more she knew of Loukas, the more she knew that he too was special.
She could trust him with her secret. If he liked her, as it seemed that he did, then maybe he could accept her the way she was. Maybe Grace was wrong. Maybe Loukas was special enough that it wouldn’t matter to him.
She leaned her head into his shoulder as they walked and he looked down, smiling, before wrapping his arm around her and tucking her in close.
She breathed in his magic man-scent, feeling it warm her spirits like a drug. And somewhere in her mind it occurred to her that this must be exactly what it felt like to fall in love.
Fall in love?
Her steps should have faltered on the boardwalk, her breath should have caught. And yet amazingly the concept didn’t scare her half as much as she thought it should. It seemed so natural, the way she was feeling, that she couldn’t be scared. And, even more than natural, the idea of falling in love with Loukas seemed so inevitable.
But love didn’t develop so quickly—did it? She wished she knew more. Her experience with boys and men was painfully limited, painfully inadequate. But maybe this was how it started—with an attraction, with a desire to get to know more about him.
She hugged these new sensations and her musings to herself like a precious gift as they walked along the park lining the shore to his car. It might be crazy, it might be irrational, but her heart told her that maybe she was right—that maybe Loukas was right for her.
They stopped at the car and he dropped his arm from her shoulders momentarily while he turned her towards him. He looked down at her, his eyes darker then ever away from the pier lighting.
‘Thank you,’ she said, her voice unusually husky. ‘I enjoyed dinner—very much.’
One side of his mouth turned up. ‘It’s me who should be thanking you. I’m glad you agreed to come out with me.’
‘One million dollars for the foundation was a powerful incentive,’ she admitted with a laugh, acknowledging to herself that even without the money the evening had been more than a success as far as she was concerned.
‘I hope that wasn’t the only attraction,’ he said, and he tilted his head fractionally so that a glimmer of light from the closest streetlamp skated over his dark eyes and disappeared under their lids as his mouth descended over hers.
Her next intake of air was full of him—his scent, his taste, the very feel of him pressed against her. He tasted of the richness of coffee and the wildness of tequila, of strength and barely contained passion, and of a need echoing hers.
His hands maintained the gentle pressure on her shoulders, anchoring her to him, but with his mouth weaving magic against hers she wasn’t going anywhere. Her lips opened under his and he accepted her invitation readily, his tongue seeking entry, fusing them closer and closer together.
