His reply frightened her, and yet she didn’t move away.
‘I haven’t changed.’ She’d meant the declaration to sound defiant, but it came out whisper-soft and full of yearning. She couldn’t drag her gaze from the firm promise of his lips.
‘If you really don’t want me to kiss you, I won’t.’ He trailed his fingers down her throat and along her collarbone. ‘I meant to say earlier that I love your dress.’
The change of topic should have thrown her, but she grasped it like a lifeline. ‘It’s new. I bought it especially.’ She hadn’t been able to resist the raspberry-coloured linen dress once she’d tried it on.
‘For tonight? For me?’
Her eyes met his.
No lying.
‘Yes.’
His fingers continued to trail delicious paths of sensation across her skin. ‘Are you sure your stance on romance hasn’t changed?’
She couldn’t look away. ‘Positive.’
Liar.
‘I still want to kiss you.’
She should move away, put an end to this insanity.
‘And I think you want that too.’
Her heart beat so loud she thought he must hear it.
‘Would you like me to kiss you, Mia?’
Her pulse thumped. ‘I’ll own to some curiosity,’ she managed.
‘Is that a yes?’
She met his gaze and nodded. ‘Yes.’
MIA REALISED HER mistake the moment Dylan’s mouth claimed hers.
She’d thought his first touch would be gentle, but it wasn’t. It was sure and firm and a complete assault on her senses.
Dylan wanted to overwhelm her with sensation—perhaps in punishment for her ‘my stance on romance hasn’t changed’ comment. He wanted to thank her for sticking up for him at the dinner table... And somehow both of those impulses cancelled out the underlying threat in the other and dragged Mia under as if she’d been picked up by a giant wave.
She wound her arms around his neck and held on, waiting for the crash to come as the wave barrelled her along... But it didn’t slam her down as she’d feared. Dylan’s arms cradled her, holding her safe, and in the end all Mia could do was sink into them.
He nibbled her bottom lip, coaxing her to open to him. And she did. She wanted to hesitate, to hold back, but she couldn’t. His tongue laved her inner lips and something inside her unfurled. His tongue coaxed hers to dance and something inside her sparked to life, filling her veins with heat and her soul with joy.
Dylan deepened the kiss, kissing her so thoroughly and with such intensity that his name was wrenched from her throat.
He lifted his head for a moment, his eyes glittering, and she suddenly realised that the flirtatious charmer had been stripped away to reveal the warrior beneath. And every potent ruthless sinew of his being was focussed wholly on her.
It should have made her afraid.
But she wasn’t afraid of him. All she had to do was tell him to stop. And she knew that he would.
One corner of his mouth lifted, as if he’d read that thought in her face. ‘You think I’m going to give you a chance to think, Mia?’
Her heart thumped. ‘Dylan, sex won’t make a scrap of difference. I—’
The force of his kiss pushed her head back. One of his hands traced the length of her—slowly, lazily—and Mia couldn’t help but kiss him back with just as much force, hunger ravaging her body.
She wanted this man.
If she couldn’t have him she thought she might die.
And then his hand was beneath the skirt of her dress...and her hands were where they shouldn’t be...
And somewhere nearby a door slammed.
Mia stiffened and pulled her hands to her lap. Dylan tugged her skirt down and put his arms around her, holding her close, just as Carla came around the side of the house.
She pulled up short when she saw them. ‘I hope I’m not interrupting anything.’
Dylan laughed, the rumble vibrating through Mia’s body in a delicious wave of sensation. ‘Of course you’re interrupting something.’
Carla waved that away. ‘I wanted to let you know that Uncle Andrew has left. He’s decided to stay at his club in town before heading back to Sydney tomorrow.’
Mia gripped her hands together. ‘I’m sorry. I had no right to cause such a scene—’
‘You were wonderful! I wish...’ Carla hauled in a breath. ‘I wish I’d had the gumption to say something like that to him years ago.’
‘Carla,’ Dylan began, ‘you—’
‘No.’ She fixed him with a glare. ‘You’ve always stuck up for me. I should’ve done the same for you.’
She turned to Mia. Mia tried to remove herself from Dylan’s lap, but he held her there fast.
‘The thing is,’ Carla said, thankfully unaware of Mia’s agitation, ‘I’ve always been so terribly afraid of him. But tonight when you said you pitied him I realised you were right. And...’ she shrugged ‘...now I find I’m not as afraid.’
Dylan frowned. Mia had to fight the urge to smooth his brow.
‘I don’t want you to be afraid of anyone,’ he said.
Mia knew he meant Thierry.
Carla waved that away. ‘I just wanted to make sure the two of you were okay. And to let you know the coast is clear.’
‘We’re fine.’
‘And you, Mia?’ Carla checked despite her brother’s assurance.
‘I’m fine too.’
‘Carmen—’ she was the Fairweathers’ housekeeper ‘—is making ice cream sundaes.’
‘We’ll be along in five minutes.’
‘Don’t let him sweet-talk you into anything you’re not ready for, Mia.’
‘Cross my heart,’ Mia promised, but that reminded her that Carla knew her brother’s reputation. It reminded her that Dylan had a lot of experience with women while she had very little experience with men.’
Carla sent them a cheeky grin. ‘But I will say the two of you do look cute together.’
Mia had to fight the urge to drop her face to her hands and weep. How could she have let things go this far?
Carla disappeared and Mia tried once again to rise from Dylan’s lap, but his arms tightened about her.
‘Do you really mean to ignore that kiss?’
His hand splayed against her hip, as if to urge her to feel what he was feeling.
‘That kiss was amazing...intense.’ His face darkened. ‘It was a whole lot more than just a kiss and you know it.’
Her heart thumped. If she let them, his words could weave a spell about her. She couldn’t let that happen.
‘Yes,’ she said. And then, so he knew what she was referring to, she added, ‘Yes, I do mean to ignore that kiss.’
Her words made him flinch. Heat gathered