One black brow climbed, but he showed her.
As they blocked out the moves, he said in a casual voice, ‘In two days’ time I will be attending a special function—the opening ceremony for another hotel, but this time the celebrations are for those who worked on the building, and those who will work in it. A people’s party, much less formal than the affair you attended the other night. If you feel up to it, would you like to come with me?’
Completely taken aback, she flushed again, searching for words. ‘I feel fine, but I don’t want to intrude…I’ll be quite happy here, you know.’
His all-too-potent smile sent erotic little shivers through her. ‘There will be music and dancing and excellent food, and very few speeches.’
Torn, Lexie hesitated. Being with Rafiq was starting to mean far too much. A sensible woman would find some good excuse to refuse.
Deciding that being sensible was vastly overrated, she strove for some of his confidence. ‘I’d love to come. It sounds like great fun.’
‘I hope so.’
Rafiq wondered what was going on behind that serene face. She didn’t realise that she was actually a prisoner in the castle; he hoped she never would.
Not for the first time he wondered how an intelligent, accomplished woman like her had been duped by Gastano. Was she bored with the man? She hadn’t tried to contact the count, and certainly she’d shown no signs of missing him.
Which could mean that to her the relationship was as superficial as Gastano’s charm.
It seemed likely. Rafiq’s mind ranged back to the first time they’d met; she’d been offhand with the count, and in spite of Gastano’s presence she’d been acutely aware of Rafiq.
As physically aware as he’d been of her.
Lust at first sight, he thought, controlling a cold, humourless smile. His jaw hardened as Lexie began to pack away the chessmen in their carved box.
Did she know Gastano intended marriage? It didn’t seem likely. Or was this her way of showing Gastano that she’d wanted no more than an affair with him?
If so, she had no understanding of her lover. Her family connections would be worth more than gold to the count. As her husband, he’d have entrée into a milieu he’d long coveted—the charmed world of royal power and influence.
The count would be furious if he thought the woman he’d targeted as a ticket to respectability and even greater power was slipping through his fingers.
And furious men made mistakes.
Gastano had already tried to establish contact with Lexie. Rafiq recalled Gastano’s email note, written in a tone he probably intended to be disarming, but with enough innuendo to summon a shockingly forthright and very territorial response from Rafiq. And although he couldn’t find a logical reason for it, he still felt strongly that hiding her away from Gastano was the only way to keep her safe.
Because of Hani? He dismissed that thought. His sister had been naïve; Lexie was not. Even if she had been when she met Gastano, two months as his mistress would have put paid to any innocence.
The question Rafiq couldn’t ask nagged at him. Had she responded to Gastano with the same wildfire passion she’d revealed in his own arms?
The thought made his fists clench. Watching the way the golden lamplight shifted and shimmered across her bent head as she carefully sorted the chessmen, Rafiq wondered again if his objectivity was being hijacked by his response to her. Those smoky blue eyes, half-hidden by her long, black lashes, might mask her thoughts, but nothing could disguise that softly sensuous mouth.
His gaze hardened as Lexie slid the queens into place, capable fingers moving swiftly, her lashes casting shadowy fans on her exquisite skin.
Lexie looked up to find her host’s dark eyes on her, intent and speculative, as though trying to see into her soul. Her nerves sparked and colour heated her cheeks.
‘You look tired,’ he said quietly. ‘How is your neck?’
Her colour deepened. ‘It’s fine, thank you. It just catches me now and then.’
She took her time about closing the case that held the chess set, fiddling with the catch until she regained some composure. But although her skin was cool once more, the fire inside her still burned with a fierce, hungry flame.
Getting to her feet, she said a little shortly, ‘It’s been a lovely evening. Thank you.’
He rose with her, looking down from his considerably superior height with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. They walked in silence across the bridge and back through the castle.
Lexie wished she could be as controlled. His nearness was delicious torture. She both longed for the door of her room and resented its imminence, torn between this dangerously addictive arousal and the knowledge that the chemistry between them meant nothing more than uncomplicated, old-fashioned animal magnetism.
Looked at from a biological point of view, she thought, trying hard to be dispassionate and scientific, the volatile attraction pounding through her bloodstream and alerting every cell in her body was a natural urge stimulated by hormones that somehow knew she and Rafiq would make splendid children together.
Something deep inside her melted.
Ruthlessly she told herself it didn’t mean she was in love with him. He certainly wasn’t in love with her. It was simply a matter of genes, the need to perpetuate the species—all the things she’d learned in her long and expensive university training.
And although her response to him was a fiery torment, it didn’t really mean much. Worldwide, there were probably millions of men she could feel this way about.
She’d just never met one before.
Anyway, when she married she wanted what Jacoba had—a man who adored her and accepted her as his equal in every way.
Not someone who saw her simply as a sexual partner.
Rafiq’s voice broke in on her ragged thoughts as they reached the door of her room. ‘That is an interesting expression.’
She stiffened, her brain searching for something innocuous to say. Lamely—and too quickly—she said, ‘I was thinking about a biological… Ah, about biology.’
His lips curved in a wry, humourless smile, and his eyes were darkly shaded. ‘So was I.’ The last word was spoken against her eager, expectant mouth.
His previous kisses had been explorations, she thought dimly; this one wasn’t. He knew what she wanted, and when she gave a muffled groan and surrendered, he gathered her even closer so that she could feel his physical reaction—the electric intensity of his desire, the erotic difference between her female softness and his male power.
A rush of adrenalin sharpened her senses as her body sprang into exhilarating life. Shivering with delight, she forgot everything but the sheer physical magic of his embrace and her mindless, primal response. His body heat, the strength of his hands on her, the faint, intrinsic scent of him, the tactile excitement of his skin beneath her seeking fingers—all combined to add sensual fuel to that inner fire burning away inhibitions and caution.
RAFIQ loosened his arms and rested his cheek on the top of Lexie’s head, gently rocking her in his arms while she came back to earth.
‘It is too soon,’ he said, his voice oddly harsh. ‘And although you are like wildfire in my arms, there are smudges under those beautiful eyes, and I think you are trying to stifle a yawn in my shoulder. Good night, Lexie. Sleep well. Tomorrow I will take you on the trip that was cut short by the accident.’
She