She put her glass back down and met his gaze. ‘It’ll take ages, possibly months or even up to a year, to get to the manufacturing and selling stage. I’ll need an income in the meantime. I can’t live on air.’
He gave her a dry look. ‘You’re doing a pretty fine job of it so far. You’ve only taken a couple of nibbles of that piece of lettuce.’
‘I don’t need a lot of food.’ She gave his empty plate a baleful glance. ‘Unlike some people, who have disgustingly voracious appetites and seemingly hollow legs.’
‘I’m not a glutton. I just love food.’
She arched a neatly groomed eyebrow in a worldly manner. ‘And sex.’
He gave her a glinting smile. ‘That too.’
There was a little silence.
She passed the tip of her tongue over her lush lips and an arrow of lust speared Remy in the groin. Was she thinking of their passionate union earlier?
He hadn’t stopped thinking about it.
He hadn’t stopped feeling it tingling in his flesh like aftershocks in the wake of an earthquake. He could still taste her sweet vanilla and milk taste. He could still feel the softness of her lips, the boldness of her clever little tongue, the smooth glide of her hands and fingers.
He suppressed a shudder as he thought of what that mouth and those hands could do to him. What that gorgeously tight, feminine body had done to him.
Made him lose control.
‘We’re going to have to share that bed,’ Remy said. ‘Maybe we should put down some ground rules first.’
‘What do you suggest?’ Her expression was pert. ‘A chalk line down the middle?’
‘I was thinking more of a roll of pillows or a bolster.’
‘How about a barbed wire fence?’
Remy felt another arrow hit bull’s-eye. ‘I wouldn’t want you to get hurt when you head over to my side.’
She gave him an arch look. ‘What makes you think I would come over to your side?’
‘You think we can keep this thing between us on ice? Seriously, how long do you think that’s going to last? You’re hot for me. You can deny it all you like, but I know you want me. You’ve always wanted me.’ Like I’ve always wanted you.
She flickered her eyes upwards. ‘I can’t believe the size of your ego. I might have wanted you, but I’ve had you, and quite frankly once is more than enough.’
Remy felt the rush of a fresh challenge fire through his blood. She was playing hard to get. It was another point-scoring game to her. She had sensed his weakness and was going in for the kill.
Did she want him to beg?
He would never do that.
He could live without sex—for a while. Sure he could. Monks did it all the time. It was supposed to be good for the mind. It was supposed to be mentally cleansing...or something.
‘So, what are you saying? I didn’t float your boat or something?’
‘The sails gave a little flutter but that was about it.’
She was lying. He had felt her spasms and he had heard her cries. Unless she was a very good actress, she’d had the orgasm of her life. Why then was she so keen not to repeat it? ‘If you change your mind then just lean over and tap me on the shoulder,’ he said. ‘I’ll be happy to get your motor started.’
She gave him a withering look. ‘Don’t hold your breath.’
* * *
Angelique came out of the bathroom half an hour later to find Remy lying on his back with an e-reader flopped down on his chest. His eyes were closed, his breathing was steady and even, his body naked from the waist up. She wasn’t sure if he was naked below the waist, because the sheet was covering him, but she had a feeling he wasn’t the type of guy to wear pyjamas to bed.
She let her eyes feast on his naked chest and broad shoulders. Each muscle was so perfectly contoured, toned and taut with not an ounce of excess flesh on him anywhere. His hair was tousled, as if he had not long ago run his fingers through it, and his face was shadowed with evening stubble.
All of the Caffarelli brothers were staggeringly gorgeous but Angelique had always found Remy’s dark features particularly so. It was something about his chocolate-brown eyes, the way they glinted with amusement or mockery even when he was doing his deadpan thing. It was the way his mouth was fashioned, the lower lip fuller than the top one. The chiselled leanness of his jaw; the way he always looked like he hadn’t shaved closely enough. It was something about his hands with their long, tanned fingers that felt like a Taser zap when they touched her.
Angelique carefully approached his side of the bed and lifted the e-reader off his chest. He made a low murmur and she paused before she put the e-reader on the bedside table. She tiptoed round to her side of the bed, gently peeled back the covers, slipped in and huddled right on the edge so no part of her body was anywhere near his. She closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep but the citrus scent of his aftershave stirred her senses. She could feel the warmth of his body; it seemed to be reaching out to her, enveloping her...tempting her.