Kiss an Angel(121)
“Of course I do.”
“Anything else?”
“No. I’m wearing sandals, so I didn’t put pantyhose on.”
“Good. Now here’s what I want you to do. Get up and go into the rest room. Slip off every stitch of your underwear and put it in your purse. Then come back to me.”
Heat pooled in the most secret recesses of her body. “I most certainly will not!”
“Do you know what happened the last time a Petroff defied a Romanov?”
“I think I’m about to find out.”
“She lost her head.”
“I see.”
“Not without a head. You’ve got ten seconds.”
Although she kept her expression disapproving, her pulse had begun to throb in response to his mischief. “Is this a royal command?”
“You bet your sweet little ass it is.”
His words were a sexy caress that nearly undid her, but she managed to tighten her lips and rise from the table with a great show of unwillingness. “You, sir, are a tyrant and a despot.”
She exited the dining room to the throaty sound of his chuckle.
When she returned five minutes later, she hurried to their banquette. Even though the lights were dim, she was certain everyone in the room could see that she was naked underneath the thin silk charmeuse fabric. Alex openly perused her as she approached. There was an arrogance in his posture that marked him as a Romanov through and through.
As she settled next to him, he draped his arm across her shoulders and ran his finger along her collarbone. “I was going to make you open your purse and show me your underwear so I could be sure you’d followed orders, but as it turns out, that won’t be necessary.”
“You can see through, can’t you?” Her gaze darted to the side. “Now everybody knows I’m naked under my clothes, and it’s all your fault. I should never have let you talk me into this.”
He slipped his hand under her hair and clasped the back of her neck. “As I recall, you didn’t have any choice. It was a royal command, remember?”
He was pulling her chain three ways from Sunday, and she was enjoying every minute. She glared at him to keep him going. “I don’t answer to royal commands.”
He leaned closer and brushed her earlobe with his lips. “With a snap of my fingers, sweetheart, I can have you thrown in the dungeon. Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?”
She was saved a reply by the appearance of the waiter. He had removed the remnants of their salads while she was away, and now he set the main course before them. Alex had blackened salmon, while she’d ordered pasta. Her linguini dish was fragrant with savory herbs and plump, juicy shrimp mingling with an assortment of fresh vegetables. As she sampled the dish, she tried to forget that she was nearly naked, but Alex wouldn’t let her.
“Daisy?”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t want to make you nervous, but . . .”
He flipped open the napkin that covered a basket of warm rolls and perused the contents. Since each roll was identical, she saw no reason why it should take him so long to make a selection, except to keep her purposely dangling.
“What?” she demanded. “Tell me?”
He split open the roll and slowly spread it with butter. “If you don’t completely satisfy me tonight . . .” He gazed over at her, and his eyes filled with mock regret “I’m afraid I’ll have to give you to my men.”
“What!” She nearly leaped off the cushions.
“Just a little incentive to inspire you.” With a diabolical smile, he sank his strong, white teeth into the roll and ripped it apart.
Who could ever have imagined this stern, complex man would be such an imaginative lover? She decided two could play his naughty game, and she smiled sweetly. “I understand, your majesty. And I’m far too terrified of your royal importance to dream of disappointing you.”
One eyebrow lifted diabolically as he speared a shrimp from her plate and lifted it to her lips. “Open for me, sweetheart.”
She took her time sucking the shrimp into her mouth and ran her toes up the inside of his calf, grateful that the dim lighting and seclusion of the banquette kept them from making public spectacles of themselves. She had the satisfaction of feeling his calf muscles tighten and knew he wasn’t nearly as detached as he was pretending.
“Do you have your legs crossed?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Uncross them.”
She nearly choked.
“And keep them that apart for the rest of the evening.”
Her food was suddenly tasteless, and all she could think about was leaving the restaurant and falling into bed with him.