Page 4 of Sev’s Blackmailed Bride (The Dante Dynasty #1)

She took a swift step backward. “Maybe we shouldn’t.”

His mouth tilted to one side. “I’m sorry. Ihave no idea how or why that happened. You sure we can’t try this again?” He held out his hand. “I promise, if anything bad occurs, I’ll keep my distance.”

She hesitated for an instant, then reluctantly slipped her hand into his. “So far, so good. ”

The previous sensation didn’t happen again, true.

Instead, another one took its place. It felt as though some part of him seeped from his hand to hers and sank into her pores before being lapped up by her veins.

It slid deeper with every beat of her heart, imbuing her with his essence.

Worse, each beat filled her with forbidden desire.

She fought the sensation, fought to speak naturally. “So, what brings you to the showing, Sev? Are you a buyer?”

“Not exactly, although the set you’re wearing is something I wouldn’t mind acquiring. May I have a closer look?”

No more than a few feet separated them. The single step he took in her direction shrank that distance to mere inches and magnified her reaction to him.

Drawing in a deep breath, she tilted her head to one side so he could get a better look at her design, praying he wouldn’t take long so she could escape into the relative safety of the shadows surrounding them.

The next instant she found escape the last thing on hermind.

His hand brushed her collarbone as he traced the curve of her necklace with his fingertips, branding her with fire. “Stunning. Absolutely stunning.”

On the surface his comment sounded simple enough, yet a heavy, old-world lyricism underscored it, filled with the flavor of foreign climes. She could hear the faint strains of a glorious Italian aria, smell the tart richness of ripening grapes, soak in the heat and humidity of a Tuscan summer.

Unable to help herself, she swayed toward him and whispered his name.

His response came in a frantic explosion of movement.

He swept her into his arms, locking her against him.

Hips and thighs collided, then melded. Hands sought purchase before hers tunneled into the thick waves of his hair and his spread across her hip and spine, flooding her with a heavy liquid warmth.

Lips brushed. Once. Twice. Finally, their mouths mated, the fit sheer perfection.

She practically inhaled him, unable to get enough.

Not of his taste. Not of his scent. Not of his touch.

His hands drifted upward, igniting a path of fire in their wake.

The most peculiar awareness filled her as he touched her.

Though his caress aroused her, she didn’t get the impression his actions were a form of foreplay.

Instead, it almost felt as though he were committing the shape and feel of her to memory, imprinting her on his brain.

She pulled back slightly, fighting for breath. “I don’t understand any of this. We’ve only just met. And yet, Ican’t keep my hands off of you.”

“I can’t explain it, either.” Desire blazed across his face, giving him a taut, hungry appearance. “But, it’s happening, and right now that’s all that matters. Fortunately, that also makes it easy to fix.”

Yes. Thank goodness they could fix this terrifying reaction and make it go away. “Fine. Let’s get it taken care of.”

He caught her hand in his. “Let’s go.”

“Go?” She resisted his pull, not that it got her anywhere. He simply towed her along. “Go where?”

“I’ll pay for a room here at Le Premier, and we’ll spend the night working this out of our systems. Come morning, we go our separate ways, flame extinguished.”

Francesca fought to think straight. “This is crazy.” Severo, aman she’d met just five minutes ago, had kissed her with a passion she’d never known existed and then casually suggested they book a room at a hotel for a night of mind-blowing sex.

He seemed to have missed one vital point. “I don’t do one-night stands.”

He never even broke stride. “In the normal course of events, neither do I. For you, I’m willing to make an exception.”

Under different circumstances she’d have found his comment amusing. Without the warmth generated by his embrace, the cool San Francisco air allowed her to regain an ounce of common sense and she pulled free of his grasp. “Wait. Just wait a minute.”

She watched him fight for control. “I’m not sure I have a minute to spare.” A swift grin lit his face with unexpected masculine beauty. “Will thirty seconds do?”

She thrust her hands into her hair, destroying the elegant little knot she’d taken such pains to fashion a few short hours ago.

There was a reason she couldn’t go with him.

Areally good reason, if only she could bring it to mind.

“I can’t be with you. Ineed to get back inside.

I—Ihave obligations.” That was it. Obligations.

Obligations to... She released a silent groan.

Why the hell couldn’t she remember? “I think I’m obligated to do something important. ”

Sev shot a perplexed glance toward the ballroom.

“As am I.” His mouth tugged into another charming smile, one she found irresistible.

It altered his entire appearance, transforming him from austere man-in-charge, to someone she’d very much like for a lover.

“Since you don’t know me, you won’t appreciate what I’m about to say, but right now, Idon’t give a damn about obligation or duty or what I should be doing or saying or thinking.

Right now, finding the nearest bedroom is all that matters. ”

“I’m not sure— ”

He slid his arms around her, pulling her close, and her hands collided with the powerful expanse of his chest. Everything about him seduced her. The look in his eyes. The deep warmth of his voice. The heated imprint of his body against hers. “Perhaps this will convince you.”

He lowered his head once again and captured her mouth with his. Where before his kiss had been slower and more careful, this time the joining was fast and certain and deliciously skillful. He teased her lips apart and then slid inward, initiating a duel that she wished could go on forever.

Her hands slid upward to grip the broad width of his shoulders.

She could feel the barely leashed power of him rippling beneath her palms, could sense how tightly he held himself in check.

And she found that she wanted to unleash that power and break through those protective safeguards.

What would his embrace be like if he weren’t holding back?

The mere thought had her moaning in anticipation.

He must have heard the small sound because he tensed.

Acompelling combination of desire and determination poured off him.

His kiss deepened as he shifted from enticement to an unmistakable taking.

He wanted her, and he expressed that want with each escalating kiss.

If they’d been anywhere else, she’d have done something outside her realm of expertise.

She’d have surrendered to his seduction and given herself to him right then and there.

She’d never experienced anything that felt so right, not in all her twenty-six years.

How could she have doubted? How could she have questioned being with this man?

She belonged here in his arms and nowhere else.

She wanted what only he could offer. More, she wanted to give him just as much in return.

As though sensing the crumbling of her defenses, he lifted his head and stared down at her with dark, compellingeyes.

“Come with me,” he insisted, and held out his hand. “Take the chance, Francesca.”

How could she refuse him? Without another word of protest, she linked her fingers withhis.