Cairo’s mouth tightened. ‘Rafe, you either desist in pursuing this subject or I will leave!’
‘I’m just interested, Cairo,’ he said. ‘After all, we have to talk about something while we eat,’ he added lightly as their first course was brought to the table.
Cairo waited until the waiter had left before answering Rafe. ‘I do not want to talk about Lionel. Not his visit to the villa yesterday or anything to do with my marriage and divorce.’ Unless Rafe wanted her to end up with indigestion! ‘Why don’t we discuss why it is you’ve never married, instead?’ she added challengingly as she picked up her fork and began to eat her prawns.
Rafe smiled. ‘I already told you, that’s much less interesting.’
‘Because you’ve never met the right woman,’ Cairo taunted. ‘And do you really believe that there’s a right woman or right man for everyone?’
‘Don’t you?’ Rafe had believed at one time that he had found the right woman for him. But, as it had turned out, he obviously hadn’t been the right man for her….
Cairo shook her head. ‘I think it’s probably wiser—safer—to opt to be with someone of a similar background, career and interests.’
‘Like you and Bond, you mean?’
Colour warmed her cheeks. ‘Rafe—’
‘Or you and me,’ he added softly.
No, not like her and Rafe! As Cairo had learnt to her cost, she and Rafe had ultimately had absolutely nothing in common. Except a physical awareness that Cairo could feel even now….
Because no matter how she might try to deny it—to ignore it!—last night had only increased her awareness of everything about Rafe, from the silky glossiness of his hair down to the slender elegance of his feet.
She put her fork back down on her plate, her appetite having completely deserted her. ‘No, not like you and me,’ she denied huskily. ‘I think it’s time that I left, Rafe—’
‘Run away, you mean?’ he bit out caustically.
Her eyes flashed darkly. ‘I’m not running away.’
‘Sure you are. It’s what you do—it’s what you’ve always done,’ he said grimly.
Her throat tightened painfully. ‘I should have known your earlier pleasantness wouldn’t last.’
‘Because you obviously prefer a man with no ba—’
‘How dare you?’ Cairo gasped.
‘How dare I?’ Rafe repeated harshly. ‘Oh, I think you’ll find that where you’re concerned I dare to do a lot of things— No, Cairo!’ He sat forward to place his hand firmly over hers as she went to pick up her evening bag from the table before leaving. ‘If you leave now, the headlines in tomorrow’s newspapers are going to read, “Cairo and Rafe split up after only two days together”.’
‘We’ve never been together—’
‘I remember a time when we were very together,’ he growled.
‘I—’
‘Don’t even think about denying what we once had, Cairo,’ he warned.
‘What I thought we had,’ she corrected tightly.
‘I thought we had it, too,’ he rasped. ‘You must have realized this last two days that I still want you—’
‘Rafe, please don’t—’
‘And you still want me,’ he added softly.
‘I most certainly do not!’ Her face blushed revealingly even as she spoke the lie. For how could Rafe ever doubt that she still wanted him after their lovemaking last night?
His mouth twisted humourlessly. ‘Don’t make me prove it, Cairo.’
The passionate heat in the blue of his eyes held her captive, the tension between them unbearable. She was barely breathing. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t speak. Was held in the glitter of that blue gaze like a fawn mesmerized by the headlights of an approaching car.
Because, amazingly, Rafe was approaching her! Completely unconcerned with their surroundings, and the other diners, he stood up, reached across the table and curved a hand beneath her chin to tilt her face up to his and place his mouth forcefully down on hers.
To claim.
To possess.
To totally steal Cairo’s breath away as she felt herself responding to the hard demand of Rafe’s mouth on hers.
Rafe’s eyes glittered with emotion when he finally raised his head to look down at her. ‘I want to sweep everything off this table before laying you down on it and—’ He broke off suddenly as they were surrounded by a soft round of appreciative applause, closing his eyes briefly before straightening to turn and give a brief, ironic bow to the diners who were smiling at the two of them indulgently. ‘Scrap that previous headline,’ he muttered as he resumed his seat. ‘“Cairo and Rafe can’t keep their hands off each other” would probably be more appropriate!’
Cairo was dumbstruck, totally stunned by the unexpectedness of Rafe’s kiss.
And by her own aching response….
Because for the time that Rafe’s mouth had possessed hers she had totally forgotten their surroundings, would probably have helped him sweep the plates and glasses from the table-top before pulling him down on it and making love with him!
‘How could you?’ she finally gasped shakily, a brief, embarrassed glance around the restaurant telling her that the other diners—having obviously enjoyed the show!—had now gone back to their own meals and conversation. ‘That was absolutely— Rafe, how could you?’ she said again.
It was more a question of how could he not, Rafe realised as he picked up his glass and took a much-needed swallow of the champagne. The challenge thrown down, he simply hadn’t been able to stop himself.
The problem was that Cairo made him forget everything else but her.
Being with her.
Making love with her.
And he still did want to make love with her—desperately; his body was hard and aching with that need right now. But one glance at Cairo’s pale, accusing face told him that was as likely to happen, following that very public display, as snow in August!
Although surely it had to snow somewhere in the world in August….
His mouth twisted into a humourless smile. ‘Perhaps we should just put it down to your own fatalistic allure.’
Cairo glared at him. ‘And perhaps we should just put it down to your need to humiliate me!’
Rafe winced. ‘Cairo—’
‘Don’t bother trying to deny it, Rafe, because you know that’s exactly what you did.’ She picked up her bag, her face flushed with anger now, and her eyes glittering darkly. ‘I think we’ll just stick with the original headline, hmm?’ With one last fiercely scathing glance she stood up and left the table, her head held high as she made her way through the restaurant to where the maître d’ held the door open for her leave.
Well, that certainly went well, Rafe, he congratulated himself dourly as he threw the rest of the champagne in his glass to the back of his throat before refilling it. The chances of Cairo now letting him anywhere near her again, let alone making love with her, were once more as likely as that snow in August!
Not good enough odds, Rafe decided as he threw some money down