His Defiant Desert Queen(34)

“This is incredibly uncomfortable. Perhaps it’s time we discussed your body.”

Mikael grinned. Like his laugh earlier, it was the first time she’d really seen him smile, a real smile and his teeth flashed again, and a tiny dimple appeared on the right side of his mouth. It was astonishing. Not just because he’d smiled, but because of what it did to his face. The smile transformed his hard, fierce features. He looked so approachable, so appealing.

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.

Staring into his eyes, she was teased by the possibility. Teased by the suggestion of pleasure. It would feel so good to feel good again. To feel like a woman again. To feel close to someone again.

“If you’ve finished your dinner,” Mikael said rising. “It’s time to come with me.”

They climbed the stairs from the grotto’s secret room to the courtyard of fragrant white lilies and vines clinging to rock. White candles still glimmered against the walls and outlined the walkway. But now in the middle of the courtyard, between the waterfall and door to the Chamber of Innocence stood a narrow table covered in crisp white sheets.

Jemma looked at Mikael, uncertain. “What is that?”

“A massage table. I’m going to give you a massage,” he said. “You’ll lie there, face down—”

“Why?”

“Most massages start with the back.”

“Yes, but why are you giving me the massage?”

“I think you’d enjoy it. And it would help you relax. I want you to relax. I want you to realize that everything that will happen here in the Bridal Palace will feel good. I will never do anything you don’t want. And if I do something that does make you uncomfortable, all you have to do is speak up.” He drew the top sheet back on the table. “Any questions?”

Jemma tugged on her dress. “Do I wear this?”

“No. You’ll take that off—everything off—and then lie down between the sheets, naked.”

* * *

He’d turned around to give her privacy while she disrobed, but she was on the massage table now, tucked between the sheets.