But it was clear she’d read the situation all wrong. No, she couldn’t read it at all.
This was totally incomprehensible.
A gentle finger below her chin tilted her face up to him, his brooding gaze capturing her wandering eyes. “I never bargain for sexual favors, and I certainly would never take advantage of a woman’s need in any other way.”
Now that he put it that way, she again felt silly for thinking what she had. This was a man who must have his pick of the rare beauties and celebrities of the world, and there was no way he’d ever paid for his pleasures. She couldn’t see a woman alive who wouldn’t react to him like she had, wouldn’t want him at any cost.
He went on. “I also never stomached passing liaisons, but I never had any desire for anything more. My life revolved around work and amassing wealth and power. Those were everything I wanted for as long as I can remember. Then recently, everything changed.”
Curiosity, and something poignant and more powerful—empathy—dragged her out of her confused dismay.
Had he suffered some recent life-changing crisis that made him take stock of his life, forced him to reassess his lifestyle?
She realized he was waiting for her to ask before he elaborated. So she forced her constricted throat to release the question. “What happened?”
“I hit forty, and it made me feel I need to rearrange my priorities and adjust my path. It never bothered me before that I have no family, and no one to leave my fortune and legacy to. Now it does.”
She gaped at him. This was again the last thing she’d expected he’d say. She’d expected a reason as unique and earth-shattering as he was. He was the last person on earth she would have believed could have a midlife crisis.
Maybe she’d read him wrong all along. Just like she’d been way off the mark in assessing what he’d want in return for helping her. But she still could think of no reason that he’d want an heir from her, of all women.
She put her bewilderment into words. “So you decided to join the human race after a lifetime of just dominating it. But now you feel the urge to perpetuate your genes. If you make your desire known, women would form lines spanning the globe for a chance to be the one to give you your heir.”
“I am making my desire known. To the only woman I ever considered for the role.”
Her confusion deepened. “Why would you consider me at all, let alone have me on a short list of one?”
“To borrow your earlier words, you’re kidding, right?”
“To borrow yours, I’ve never been more serious.”
He caught her chin between those powerful, roughened fingers. “How can you be? You’re here with me—” he gathered her tighter against his incredible heat and hardness, making her senses whirl harder, her every muscle liquefy even more “—in my arms, within an hour of meeting. You would have been there within minutes had we been in different circumstances. The attraction between us combusted the moment I stepped into that ballroom, and it’s been raging higher ever since.”
She still couldn’t believe she affected him as intensely as he did her. Even if she did, that wasn’t an acceptable explanation. “I can understand this would make you want me in your bed—”
He interrupted her. “And you would have considered that a fair price in return for my services?”
“Your services would have been circumstantial, since I would have come to your bed anyway, if you wanted me there.”
At her admission, his eyes simmered with a triumphant glow. Which was weird, really. Didn’t he already know any woman would throw herself at his feet, if only he would let her?
But it was clear her words didn’t only please him, they stoked his lust. The heat emanating from him rose, igniting her own higher, and the hardness below her became a steel shaft of discomfort digging into her thigh. Her core throbbed with an empty ache she’d only ever felt since he’d touched her.
She wanted to wind herself around him, to tell him to forget everything—her need for his services and his for an heir—and act on the need burning them up.
Instead, she said, “As I was saying, even if you wanted me on sight, that still doesn’t translate to considering me for the role of mother of your heir. From my vast experience with the obscenely rich and powerful, sexual desire is not even among the prerequisites in choosing who to procreate with. I’m sure a man like you has strict criteria for said role, and countless other women who’re better candidates for it than me.”
“I may be obscenely rich and powerful, but I already told you I care nothing about anyone’s rules. I make and follow my own.” Sensual appreciation weighed down his lids, filled his lips as his hand painted her from shoulders to buttocks in luxurious caresses. “But I do have extremely strict criteria in the mother of my heir. That’s why only you will do.”