Page 130 of Modern Romance Collection February 2025, 5-8

‘Defensive? You’re the one changing the subject.’

She slung him a frustrated glare and suddenly felt in danger of forgetting what the subject was as his dark, heavy-lidded eyes slid downwards over her body, making her nipples tingle and burn.

Mortified that she had no control over her physical response, that her body seemed to have been highjacked by lust, she compressed her lips. ‘It’s better to discuss problems.’

‘I don’t consider your virginity to be a problem, as such. A mystery, maybe?’

‘We are not talking about my vir—Don’t change the subject.’

‘I thought thatwasthe subject.’

With one elegant motion he surged to his feet, and a moment later was standing close enough for her to feel the warmth of his body as he towered above her.

‘You’re feeling insecure because we have not consummated our—?’

She gave her head a tiny shake and pressed the flat of her hand to his lips to still the flow of words. When, a self-conscious moment later, she tried to withdraw it, his fingers curled like warm steel around her wrist, holding her hand against his lips for a long, lingering moment.

Fighting the hypnotic pull of his dark eyes, she tugged again and pressed her free hand to her chest, against her pounding heart.

Joaquin turned on his heel and put himself out of grabbing distance before he twisted back to face her.

‘Don’t deflect,’ she hit back waspishly. ‘I am not insecure—though I do think it might have been simpler all round if you had discovered you didn’t fancy mebeforeyou put a ring on my finger! That’s it, isn’t it?’ she accused, thinking that sometimes the simplest explanation was the most accurate.

He just isn’t into you, Clemmie.

A spasm of exasperation washed over his perfect features. ‘Will you stop putting words in my mouth?’

Of course now she couldn’t stop staring at his mouth.

Her face was so expressive that he could almosthearher thoughts. His eyes darkened, the pupils expanding to almost obliterate the chocolate-brown of the iris. The pounding of blood in his eardrums was echoed by the pounding elsewhere in his body.

He recognised the natural physical response of his body when a beautiful, desirable woman made it clear she wanted him to kiss her. It was a dance he had enjoyed before, and it was always an extra turn-on when a woman was bold enough to let him know what she wanted.

But this was not any beautiful, desirable woman, he reminded himself. This was Clemmie, which made the rules of engagement different—or should have.

At some point the rules had changed.

They had an intimate bond that he had never experienced with another woman...an intimate bond without sexual intimacy. Which was why it had lasted.

Were there any rules?

Her eyes widened as Joaquin crossed the room, his purposeful panther-like stride bringing him to her side in seconds.

‘Do us both a favour and quit with the conspiracy theories and the casting aspersions on a Spanish man’s machismo.’ He tilted his head to one side, considering the face turned up to him. ‘Or was it meant to be a challenge? I enjoy a challenge...’ he purred.

‘Challenge...?’ she parroted faintly. His proximity was having a powerfully mind-numbing effect on her.

Or it could be the after effects of her concussion.

She clung to this hope in the face of the strong kicks of lust in her belly and lower.

‘A challenge to prove myself to you?’ he asked.

It struck Clemmie forcibly that he was not looking or acting like a man who felt his machismo threatened. And then he took her chin between his thumb and forefinger, leaving her no option but to tilt her head back to look up into his face. Then she wished she hadn’t. Because the nebulousthingthat was prowling deep in the darkness of his darkly lashed eyes made her insides dissolve.

They had shared so much, but now—inexplicably—he seemed like a stranger. This was not the Joaquin she joked with, the man she debated issues they disagreed on with, from the profound to the just silly... But then how could anyonenotlike vinegar on their chips?

This was a dark, dangerous and exciting stranger.

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