The Purest of Diamonds(23)

                Raffa’s eyes were dark and enigmatic as he held her gaze. ‘You can’t talk business tonight—or tomorrow at your sister’s wedding, for that matter,’ he pointed out.

                ‘You’re right.’ But she also knew her sisters would be discussing her right now. Does Leila have any idea what she’s getting herself into? she could imagine them saying as she left the ballroom. Should we rescue her or let her stew? For the first time in their lives, she guessed Britt and Eva wouldn’t have a clue what to do for the best.

                ‘Hey,’ Raffa murmured when she frowned. ‘Let your sisters sort themselves out for once.’

                No one had ever seen her as the pivot of the family before. Leila Skavanga, hub of calm, around which the whirlwind that was Britt and Eva spun?

                ‘What are you smiling at?’

                ‘Your comment about my sisters needing me to sort them out.’

                ‘Well, don’t they?’

                ‘Not all the time—’

                ‘All the time, I would say.’

                Raffa didn’t give her chance to argue. She drew in a shocked breath as he dipped his head to brush her lips with his. It was such a gentle kiss it disarmed her completely. The thought of such a big, brutal-looking man being able to kiss like that was beguiling to the point where she had to tell him. ‘You’re not supposed to kiss like that.’

                ‘How am I supposed to kiss?’

                Heat flashed through her veins as Raffa demonstrated another, more insistent variation on a theme that sucked the breath from her lungs. It wasn’t a case of when she roared now, but only how loud.

                The elevator slowing to a halt broke them apart, giving her a moment to compose herself before the doors peeled back on a brightly lit Scandi-style corridor.

                ‘We need to get into that detail fast,’ Raffa said, throwing her with his change of gear. He stood back, allowing her to go ahead of him. ‘I need all the loose ends tied up before I go.’

                ‘Of course.’ How stupid was she, thinking Raffa was bringing her upstairs for some sort of romantic tryst? Closing her eyes, she took a moment to reason that at least he was being honest with her. This was all about business. The kiss was just a kiss. Raffa probably handed kisses out like candy. They meant nothing to him. Sexy confidence was simply his default setting. But then he turned, and she hesitated as he held out his hand. It was a moment of decision. There was no mistaking the look in Raffa’s eyes. He definitely wanted to sort out the business side of things, but, unless she was very much mistaken, he was offering to sort her out too.

                She’d never had a one-night stand. She’d never had any sort of casual relationship. But she would like more of those kisses. And when Raffa smiled into her eyes, as if he were challenging her to go or stay, she was torn between retracing her steps and being bold. The elevator doors were still open. In a couple of steps she could be whisked down to the lobby, where normal service could be resumed: no excitement, no risk, lots of cocoa...

                Slipping the lock, he backed Leila through the door of his suite. The bedroom was close, but the sofa was closer. Lowering her onto the cushions, he joined her. She was tiny beneath him, but responsive to the point where she was fierce. He hadn’t expected Leila to show quite so much passion, or that she would use her sharp white teeth to nip his skin, and then pluck off her clothes with such abandon. Tugging impatiently at his shirt buttons, she was like a tigress set free from a self-imposed cage. She was innocent, yet deeply sensual, and when he dragged her close and kissed her again her mouth opened under his.