I would love that. ‘Take your time.’
She slithered down off the bench, pushing him back with a fingertip. ‘Not so close, big boy. You don’t get to touch until I give the go ahead.’
Remy mentally gulped. This was going to end badly if she didn’t speed things up a bit. He could feel his erection straining against his jeans. He just hoped the fabric was strong enough to hold him in.
She was definitely going to pay for this.
And it would involve a leather whip and handcuffs.
Angelique locked gazes with him and slowly undid her zipper. The sound of it going down was magnified in the throbbing silence. She stepped out of her heels and then she peeled the jeans off her legs. Once they were off she stepped back into her heels, leaving just the black lace of her knickers on. ‘So...’ She ran the tip of her tongue over her lower lip leaving it wet and glistening. ‘Are you getting excited?’
Way, way beyond that. ‘What do you think?’
She traced his erection again, her eyes still holding his in a sexy little lock that made his blood heat to boiling. ‘How badly do you want me?’
Off the scale. ‘Let’s put it this way. Right now I could do you in five seconds flat.’
Her eyes flared and then her lips pushed forwards in a pout. ‘That sounds like I would be left high and dry.’
‘Don’t worry. I’d take you along for the ride.’
She put that teasing fingertip to work again. ‘What if I was to strike up a little deal with you?’
Remy marvelled at her self-control. He’d always thought he was a master at keeping his desire under his command but she had pushed him to the very limit. His body was a mass of twitching nerve endings and primal urgings. But he was still in enough control—only just—to recognise manipulation when he saw it. ‘What sort of deal?’
She slowly lowered his zipper. ‘A deal where we both get what we want.’
He sucked in a breath as her fingers tugged his underwear aside. It was hard to think straight when she was touching him, stroking him to the very edge, but he was not going to be tricked or manoeuvred into giving away what he had spent years fighting to gain.
Besides, he hadn’t just done it for himself: he had done it for his brothers. It wasn’t his prize to give away. It represented far more than a victory over a double-crossing enemy. Taking ownership of Tarrantloch was finally setting right the wrongs of the past. Handing it over to the sole heir of the man who had almost destroyed his family’s fortune was the very last thing he would consider doing, no matter what his relationship with Angelique was. Or wasn’t.
He pushed her hand away and stepped back from her. ‘Game over, ma belle. I’m not giving you Tarrantloch in exchange for a quick screw up against the kitchen bench. I’m not that desperate.’
Her expression switched from sexy siren to outraged virago within a heartbeat. ‘You bastard.’
‘Orphan is the correct term.’
She came at him then like a spitting cat, all claws, snarls and scratches. ‘I hate you!’
Remy restrained her by holding both of her flailing arms behind her back, which rather delightfully pushed her pelvis into blistering contact with his. ‘You don’t hate me. You want me.’
Her grey-blue eyes flashed venom at him. ‘Why won’t you give me what I want?’
He ripped her knickers down with a ruthless jerk of his hand. ‘What do you want the most?’ He probed her folds with his painfully erect penis. ‘Tell me. Right now, what do you want the most?’
He heard her swallow as he made contact with her slippery moistness. ‘I want what’s rightfully mine.’
‘Then at least we’re on the same page,’ he said and then he sealed her mouth roughly with his.
* * *
Angelique lost herself in his kiss. To be truthful she had lost herself the day she had flown to Dharbiri. Remy had taken control of not just the situation, but also her life and perhaps even her destiny. He had introduced passion and excitement to her and now there was no going back. She didn’t want to go back.
How was she going to live without this rush of excitement every time his mouth met with hers?
She had thought she would play him at his own game: up the stakes, tantalise him, tease him until he gave in, but he had turned her efforts around to his advantage.
He was not going to be hoodwinked out of relinquishing Tarrantloch. Nothing she did or offered was going to change his mind.
Tarrantloch was his talisman of success.
His only weakness that she could see was that he wanted her. But even that need was under his tight control. She had ramped up his desire to the point where she thought he would agree to anything.