Page 15 of Awakened in Her Enemy's Palazzo

Theo reared back his dark head in shock as she went on the offensive. This was not going as he had planned.

The knot of frustration in his chest tightened. There was not a shred of compromise in the challenging blue gaze that so coolly held his. The pulse kicking wildly at the base of her throat and her clenched fists were the only outward indication that she was not as calm as she appeared.

‘What is your problem, anyway?’ she demanded. ‘Why do you want to destroy everything? Your father only ever said what a marvellous person you are...he was proud of you!’

He gave a smile of brilliant insincerity as he took a step towards her...

The equally strong instincts that were urging her to step towards him and retreat cancelled each other out, and Grace stayed where she was, her feet glued to the spot, her heart thudding painfully in her chest...

‘You have no idea how much I am looking forward to more cosy chats like this,cara,’ he drawled, veiling his eyes with long lashes, concealing the flash of shock in their dark depths as he realised that the long fingers of his right hand seemed to be acting on some automatic setting and had found their way to her jaw.

A frown flickered across his brow. His intention had been to break the contact—drop his hand as if her smooth skin stung—but before he could act on that intention he felt the quiver that ran through her body, felt the heat of her blue stare as she looked up at him, her breath coming in a series of quick, shallow little pants that lifted her breasts against the blue of her thin robe.

Theo prided himself on his logic, and on one level, separate from the sense-numbing streak of testosterone heat that immobilised him, his brain was functioning perfectly logically as it analysed the situation.

Yes, there was sexual attraction, a curiosity that was the elephant in the room. But it was a distraction, and unaddressed it would stay there, getting in the way. The best and most efficient way of dealing with it would be to stop wondering how she tasted and find out.

Kiss her and get it over with.

Kill the curiosity stone-dead and move on.

Startled blue eyes met his the moment before his head dipped...

Grace almost literally fell into his kiss.

The hand that slid to her waist was the only thing keeping her on her feet.

And then there was a slow, sensual, ever-deepening exploration as her lips moved across hers, his tongue probed, his tongue tasted...

Breathing hard, Theo drew back a second before his last shred of sanity was obliterated in the blast of heat that had been generated between them.

Grace forced her eyelids open, her gaze drifting to his face. She glimpsed emotions in his dark eyes that made her stomach muscles tighten painfully.

‘Oh, Grace, here you are.’

Marta, oblivious to the atmosphere you could have sliced with a knife, bustled into the room, slim and efficient, her movements as neat as the hair coiled on her head.

Grace was so relieved she could have kissed the woman.

She had kissed the man.

She hadn’t known kisses could be like that.

She really wished she still didn’t, she decided.

Without looking up at him, she took a careful step away.

‘If I’d known you wanted to eat down here I would have—’

‘No,’ Grace interrupted, in a slightly breathless voice. ‘I just wanted to stretch my legs...get a glass of milk.’

Learn a few things about raw sexual attraction I would have been happier staying ignorant of.

‘You should have rung down,’ the woman chided, like a sleek, elegant mother hen.

‘I should,’ Grace agreed meekly.

She was thinking,I should have done lots of things...or rather shouldnothave done one specific thing.

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