“No.”
He smiled slowly. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
That smile was her first indication that she was in serious trouble. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to dwell on that because his mouth hovered over hers, not touching, just promising her the world in his next kiss. But he also did something so outrageous and so unexpected. Hidden by her suit jacket, his hands surreptitiously slid under her blouse, moving against her bare skin. She was shocked by the rough pads of his fingers against her skin, so much so that she almost jerked out of his arms. But he pulled her closer, letting her feel that hard part of him against her stomach while his dark head bent down, teasing her neck.
Shantra shuddered as his arms closed around her. She wasn’t aware of him lifting her into his arms and placing her inside the limousine, or the door closing on the two of them. She had no idea that their guards had slipped into their own vehicles and the limousine was moving smoothly down the road.
As soon as the doors were closed, Shantra finally understood what it was like to be kissed by a man like Laithir. The tender kisses outside of the limousine were not even a precursor to the demanding caresses he gave her inside the car. The moment they were alone, his mouth took control, his tongue demanding entry to her mouth and his arms pressing her soft curves against the hard planes of his body.
Shantra shuddered, her mind overwhelmed by this man. It wasn’t so much that he kissed her. His mouth made love to hers. There was no time for shyness or hesitation. He wouldn’t allow that. His hands pulled her closer, his mouth devoured hers and she could only kiss him back, moaning when she discovered that all the men she’d ever kissed before had been weak, pathetic attempts compared to this man’s demanding kiss.
When he lifted his head to look down into her eyes, she realized that she was no longer sitting on the soft leather of the seat but she was lying back against the soft cushions, his leg between hers with her skirt pressed up almost to her waist. His eyes drifted lower, looking down at her as she breathed heavily, trying to recover. But his fingers moved against her waist, sliding lower. She watched his eyes as her body felt his hand. Instinct and self-preservation had her grabbing his wrist, trying to pull his hand away from her breast. He stopped, but she suspected that it wasn’t because of her hold on his wrist.
“I knew you’d be like this Shantra,” he groaned as he bent his head to kiss her once again.
Shantra was bracing herself for yet another onslaught of passion from this man. So when he kissed her gently instead, she was surprised. And more than slightly disappointed.
“What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?” she asked nervously.
He laughed softly and his thumb slid sensuously over her lower lip. “No, Shantra. In fact, the exact opposite.” His hands shifted to her hips, holding her in place. “Stop trying to slide away from me. I like you right where you are.”
Shantra tried to be still, but she was painfully aware of the man’s muscles between her thighs and the way his hands were moving along her bared legs. “I don’t…”
“We will be married. In six months.”
She’d been about to tell him that she wasn’t comfortable sitting like this, but that announcement startled her. “Married?” she gasped, looking at him like he’d just announced that he was going to rob a bank. “We can’t get married!” she told him.
“We will be married,” he repeated, as if she hadn’t said a word of protest. “Six months, Shantra.”
She tried once again to slide away so that she could tell him that they were definitely not getting married, but his strong hands on both sides of her hips stopped her once again. “I can’t talk to you when I’m lying like this.”
A dark eyebrow went up in question. “What is there to talk about?”
She restrained herself from rolling her eyes. Arrogance! Did all men have it? “Well, for one thing, we don’t even know each other. We’ve had one meal together. That is not a relationship that automatically shifts to a marriage.”
She was relieved when he sat up, but he only adjusted their positions so that she was now sitting on his lap. One of his hands rested on the small of her back, dangerously close to her bottom. She didn’t dare move though, afraid of new sensations from this position.
“You kissed me back,” he said as if that explained everything.
Shantra’s mouth fell open. “That doesn’t mean we’re compatible!” she huffed and pushed her skirt down over her knees. “I told you all of the reasons that we shouldn’t marry when you were discussing the possibility with my brother. I thought this issue was closed.”