if you tell me what changed between now and a few minutes ago when you were wishing my castle was in the south of France.”
Her face heated when he reminded her of her childish display. “Nothing.”
He inclined his head and tossed the sex toy so it landed with a solid thunk in front of a display of lipsticks. “Since you cannot be honest, I forbid you to touch—”
Sick of his games, she didn’t think before snapping it up and rushing through the door to lock herself in the bathroom.
NINETEEN
Less than ten uncomfortable, awkward, cringing minutes later—totally understood the talk of a burning sensation—Yasmeen opened the door and came back into the bedroom. She was naked from the waist down but for the warm socks she’d put on that morning to ward off the chill. Her upper body was still hidden by a dove-gray sweater that fell just past her ass.
She stopped in the doorway and saw Lucian was sitting across the way, dressed all in black; suit, shirt, and polished shoes. “Are you mad at me?” She held up a finger. “Before you answer that, just remember I didn’t go against your wishes because you never finished what you were saying.” She swallowed and fought the urge to squirm. A foreign object in a place no foreign object had ever been before was not a pleasant feeling.
“Where is it?”
Her face had to be glowing. “I’ll show you in a minute.”
The skin appeared to tighten across his cheekbones, and he dropped his head back to bang it a couple of times on the wall behind him. “Yasmeen. You do not fucking tease a man like me.” He brought his head to rights and glowered at her.
“Why is that?”
“Because it is dangerous. If you set me up only to watch me fall, I will land hard and take you with me, you foolish little girl.”
She nodded as her blood boiled. “Oh. Okay. I kind of already figured that, so, I would never tease you.”
He went still as a statue. “Where. Is. It?”
She didn’t answer but thrilled to the power that coursed through her veins. She had him. Yes, it was a sexual game, but she was still in possession of his undivided attention. She walked further into the room and had to admit she suddenly felt sexier than a Victoria’s Secret model walking the runway. She wanted to prance, for Christ’s sake.
“Is it a coincidence that it’s the same color as my hair?”
“No.”
Her spirits lifted. “Does that mean it was purchased especially for me?”
“Of course.”
They soared. “Thank you. That was very generous of you.”
His eyes finally left hers, and she could tell he was trying to catch sight of it. She moved slowly enough that he wouldn’t be able to.
“Do you know my favorite color, Frosty?”
He was looking at her navel. “If I had to guess, because it is you, I would say you do not have one because you love them all.”
She almost tripped. Her astonishment must have shown, but he didn’t see it. She quickly recovered and moved on with her game, more into it than ever after that incredible answer. His attention was still on her torso, so she bared it for him. She pulled her sweater over her head and tossed it onto the back of a chair. Slipping the straps of her tank top off her arms, she pushed it down so it was a band around her hips, hiding her bared pussy from view.
“Is this what you needed to see?”
“Like the beat of my heart.”
Hers melted and oozed into a puddle ready to be trampled on. “Do you realize I can misconstrue what you’re saying to mean you like me a whole lot? When you speak of your heart to a woman, she will take it as though you’re speaking from your heart.” Because I’m a fucking sucker.
“That is nonsense.” He tipped his chin, looking rakish because he hadn’t shaved in days. “You must be warm in that. Feel free to make yourself comfortable.”
She bit her lip so she wouldn’t smile even after the barb he’d just thrown. She was in her bra and the tiniest tank-turned-skirt ever created. The back of her thighs were being tickled every time she moved.
“Why have you stopped shaving?” She took great satisfaction in seeing him lick his lips and start breathing heavier when she lost the bra and lifted her breasts. She pushed them together like she’d seen women do in movies when they were trying to be sexy.
“I