She sucked in a breath, dazzled. “You shouldn’t do that, you know.”
A hint of a smile lingered at the corners of his mouth. “Do what?”
“Smile.”
“Why not?”
“It makes you seem almost human.”
“I am almost human.”
“I had no idea,” she retorted, trying to ignore the thumping of her heart and the way he made desire coil inside her.
He smiled again, and his expression was so warm and playful that she suddenly wanted more of him.
Wanted him closer. Wanted him kinder. Wanted him to be good to her.
“I like how fierce you get,” he said.
“You deliberately provoke me.”
The dimple deepened at the corner of his mouth. “Maybe.”
In that moment she saw who he might have been had his life turned out differently. Or perhaps, this is how he might have been with her from the start, had she not been Jemma Copeland.
Maybe he really was warm and sexy, charming and engaging. Maybe.
“And my body is very fine,” he said, the smile still lingering in his eyes. “I appreciate your concern.”
Suddenly, she very much wanted to know more about him, who he was, and how he lived. Did he have lots of women in his life? Was he the kind of man who serial dated or did he prefer having a long-term relationship?
“Tell me about your body,” she said, trying to sound off-hand. “Does it see a lot of action?”
“I don’t think that’s appropriate.”
“I’m not asking you to divulge names or numbers. I just want to know you. I’m curious about you. It’s the sort of thing a woman wants to know about her man.” She held his gaze. “So, are you a player?”
“I used to be a player. I’m not anymore. I haven’t been for a couple years.”
“Why?”
“Age? Maturity? I just know that around thirty I started to get tired of the chase, and would have just one relationship at a time. How about you?”
“I like having a boyfriend, but don’t need to be in a relationship. I’m picky. I would rather be with no one than just anyone.”
“A woman with high standards.”
“A woman that prefers books to casual sex.”
“You might just be the perfect kidnapped bride.”
There was silence for a minute and Jemma felt a thousand different things.
But then from the first time she’d met Mikael, he’d made her feel a lot. And here, in this...pleasure palace...she’d begun to feel the whisper of a craving for something. She wasn’t sure what it was she wanted, but her dreams last night had stirred something within her and all day she’d felt a restlessness and an ache.
Like a craving for sensation.