‘I don’t.’ She was trying to defend herself, trying to form an argument, but his presence, his closeness, wasn’t just intimidating her now; it was overwhelming her, fogging her mind with dangerous images. The scent she had inhaled on the dance floor was stifling her now, conjuring recollections of their one dance, and her subconscious responded as it had when he held her. ‘I don’t,’ she said again, dragging her eyes up to meet his, trying to sound as if she meant it, trying to ignore the surge of adrenaline cascading through her body—the high alert of imminent impact.
His Adam’s apple moved as he swallowed. Already he was wearing the dusky growth of a five o’clock shadow, and she imagined the scratch of his cheek on hers, the roughness behind his kiss. Though she hated the venom of his attack, Tabitha was curiously excited, high on adrenaline and champagne and the heady cocktail of hormones his presence haplessly triggered.
His hand moved up slowly and she stood frozen. Only the none too gentle sound of Aiden’s snoring broke the silence—only that and the pounding in her temples as he traced a finger along her white collarbone, exploring the hollows of her neck, his fingers brushing under her curls.
And she waited.
Waited for him to jerk her towards him, to expel the tension with the roughest of kisses. She licked her lips, her pink tongue bobbing out involuntarily, moistening her flesh in anticipation.
‘I might have known.’ In one harsh movement, one harsh sentence, reality invaded and his fingers flipped out the designer label on her dress. ‘Is that the going price for a date these days?’
His words confused her. Struggling to understand his meaning, she stepped back, the distance giving her a chance to collect her thoughts as the contempt in his eyes flared.
‘I sign off Aiden’s credit cards,’ he explained nastily. ‘I should have worked it out earlier. Your outfit is the only tasteful thing about you.’
‘Get out.’
‘Oh, I’m going, and in the morning, Tabitha, so are you. As far from my family as humanely possible if you know what’s good for you.’
Only when the door was safely closed, when only the heavy masculine scent of him remained, did Tabitha breathe again.
Not trusting her legs to stand, she sat on the edge of the sofa, practically trembling just at the thought of him. He was vile, loathsome, full of his own self-importance—and yet…Never had a man made such an impact on her. Those few moments on the dance floor with him had tapped rivers of passion she hadn’t even realised existed. His eyes had seemed to tear through her, his mouth, his smell…
And there wasn’t a single thing she could do about it! Even if she could stretch the boundaries of truth and imagine someone as completely stunning as Zavier Chambers ever in a million years being attracted to her, she was supposed to be his brother’s gold-digging girlfriend—with a gambling problem to boot! Completely out of bounds by anyone’s standards.
Stretching out on the long sofa, she lay staring at the ceiling, almost weeping with frustration at the unfairness of it all. Even the movie channel held no attraction now. What was the point? The real thing had been in this very room only moments before!
It was only a few seconds later when she realised she’d left her bag down at the party.
Rolling on to her side, she battled with the urge to go and retrieve it—battled with the urge to return to the party and a chance of glimpsing Zavier again. It would look stupid, she reasoned. He would surely realise the motive behind it. But her reasoning, however logical, however sensible, was no match for her desire—her need to somehow finish whatever dangerous game had been started, to put him right, to draw a conclusion or open Pandora’s box.#p#分页标题#e#
She simply couldn’t just leave it there.
Opening the door, Tabitha made her way along the thickly carpeted corridor, her heart beating loudly, her pulse rapid and out of time with the music pounding below.
The dark, shadowy figure making its way towards her was so broad, so tall, it could only belong to one person.
A couple more steps and his face came into focus, his eyes glittering and dark, a curious look of triumph on his face.
‘Looking for this?’ He held up her bag, the splash of feminine colour an enticing contrast against such a masculine backdrop. ‘I was back down at the party and I saw it lying under the table.’
‘Thank you.’ She accepted the bag but didn’t turn back, unable to tear her eyes away from his penetrating gaze.
‘Fancy a nightcap?’
Even as Tabitha nodded her acceptance she knew he didn’t intend to take her back down to the bar, and for that moment at least she wouldn’t have had it any other way.