‘Lily of the Valley soap,’ she dismissed pragmatically.
He chuckled softly. ‘Are you always this romantic?’
‘Are you?’ she came back.
‘I don’t believe it’s been one of my character traits to date, no,’ he allowed ruefully. ‘But that could change,’ he added throatily.
This really hadn’t been a good idea, Jinx acknowledged with an inward groan. Nik’s legs felt hard against her softer ones, the stirring of his thighs unmistakable in such close proximity, the uneven rise and fall of his chest against hers more evidence of his increasing arousal, an arousal that caused a pounding in her own chest and a warmth between her thighs.
‘I want you,’ Nik groaned, his words accompanied by a gentle nibble against her ear lobe.
Jinx quivered with pleasure, shivers of hot and cold tumbling down her spine. But at the same time she wondered how she could put a stop to this. Because she had to stop it. Now. Before it spiralled out of control.
‘There’s a woman standing across the room who keeps staring at us,’ she told him, hoping to distract him. ‘Friend of yours?’
‘My sister, Stazy,’ Nik answered her without even raising his head, his tongue now tasting the sensitive flesh beneath her ear lobe.
‘How can you be sure?’ Jinx pursued determinedly, her voice slightly higher than usual as she fought the instinct of her body to curve itself against his, that marauding tongue now seeking the delicate curves of her ear.
Nik chuckled softly, the reverberations only increasing the pleasure of his caresses. ‘Stazy has become something of a matchmaker since her own happy marriage a year ago; she’s obviously assessing you to see if you’re suitable wife material for her eldest—and, may I say, favourite?—brother.’
Jinx pulled back abruptly, staring up at him in disbelief. And then wished she hadn’t. He really was the most ruggedly attractive man, and those grey eyes were pure silver now, shining with an intensity of emotion that was unmistakable. Desire. Arousal. For her.
Her own pupils had probably dilated until the black practically obliterated the blue. Revealing desire. Arousal. For him.
She drew in a deep breath. ‘In that case, I think it’s best that we end this now, don’t you?’ She stepped back, feeling the momentary tightening of his arms about her before he reluctantly released her, the expression in his eyes one of regret now.
‘Why don’t we just follow my earlier suggestion and leave here to continue this some place more private?’ he asked.
‘Like my home?’ Jinx challenged.
‘Sounds good.’ He nodded.
‘The home I have no intention of taking you to?’ she derided. ‘You misunderstood me a few moments ago when I said it’s time we end this now, Nik—I meant the charade.’
It was as if a shutter had come down, his eyes no longer silver but a narrowed grey, his expression deliberately—or so it seemed to Jinx—unreadable. ‘Charade?’ he echoed blandly.
Her mouth twisted humourlessly. ‘Look, I know who you are, and you know who I am. I’m not sure how you know—’ yet! ‘—but I do know it’s totally ridiculous for us to continue with this charade.’
Those grey eyes narrowed even more, several emotions flickering in their depths, but too briefly for her to analyze.
‘Besides,’ she added coldly, ‘I really see no point in your continuing this seduction act any further.’
‘Act?’ He sounded outraged. ‘Do you really think I can just manufacture my attraction to you?’
‘I think, Mr Prince, that you are capable of manufacturing anything you feel the inclination to,’ she told him candidly, at the same time aware that her attraction to him had been anything but manufactured! ‘Now, if you will excuse me, I think my lift is preparing to leave.’ She had just spotted Dick and Janet saying their goodnights to the other guests. ‘But for the record, Mr Prince,’ she paused to add huskily, ‘as predicted, having now met you “in person”, the answer is still an emphatic no! There will be no movie.’
His mouth thinned. ‘Isn’t that for your father to say, and not you?’
Jinx continued to look at him for several long seconds before giving a slow shake of her head. ‘In the circumstances, no, I don’t think so,’ she answered cautiously.
‘What do you mean?’ he challenged.
She met his gaze steadily. ‘My father isn’t a well man, Mr Prince.’
‘But all I want is his signature on a piece of paper.’
She gave a humourless smile. ‘A signature that would no doubt give you exclusive film rights to No Ordinary Boy!’
‘Yes,’ he bit out, at least sensible enough not to try to deny that was his true interest in pursuing her this evening.
‘That isn’t going to happen, Mr Prince—’
‘Will you call me Nik, damn it?’ he cut in harshly. ‘In the circumstances anything else certainly is ridiculous!’
Jinx didn’t need to ask what circumstances he was referring to; their physical response to each other during that dance certainly made a nonsense of any future formality between them.
‘Mr Prince. Nik. It’s all the same to me.’ She gave a dismissive shrug. ‘In either case, the answer is still no.’
‘As I told James Stephens earlier in the week, I never take no for an answer,’ he warned her grimly.
She drew in a sharp breath, unable to hide her surprise at the mention of the publisher. But then how else could Nik have discovered that J. I. Watson’s real name was J. I. Nixon?
‘James Stephens was the one who told you J. I. Watson’s real name?’ ‘James is far too much of a professional to ever do a thing like that,’ Nik reproved.
That was something, at least. If Nik Prince’s answer had been anything but the one he had just given her then she would have made sure that the second J. I. Watson manuscript, which was even now being prepared for editing, never made it onto James Stephens’s desk.
But it was still pretty obvious that someone at Stephens Publishing had to have revealed that confidential information to Nik Prince. The question was, who…?
‘Tell me, Mr Prince…’ she gave him a considering look ‘…what is it that you find so difficult to understand about the word no?’
‘As far as I can recall, it’s not a word that’s ever been in my big brother’s vocabulary,’ a female voice chimed in lightly.
Jinx turned to look at Nik Prince’s sister, Stazy Hunter, as she moved to stand next to her brother. The younger woman was extremely beautiful, her red hair almost as bright as Jinx’s own. In fact, Stazy Hunter looked a far nicer person altogether than her eldest brother!
‘Not at all,’ Nik came back smoothly. ‘I’m just a positive person rather than a negative one.’
Well, he could be as positive as he wanted as far as Jinx was concerned, because the answer to his request was no, and it would remain no.
‘If you’ll both excuse me…’ She gave Stazy Hunter a vague smile, shot Nik Prince a look of warning, before moving determinedly away from them, inwardly shaken by how close he had got to her.
Too close.
In more ways than one!
Nik frowned frustratedly as he watched Jinx join a mid-dle-aged couple across the room, his gaze narrowing as he considered