The Spanish Tycoon's Temptress Page 0,13

approached their table. He knew, she thought. He realized that she was prepared to run and he was daring her to do it.

When she reached the table, she glanced down, trying not to look at him and what she saw made her mouth fall open. “That’s not fair!” she hissed at him, standing right there beside the table, unwilling to sit back down. “Why would you do something like that?” she demanded, waving to the decadent chocolate dessert sitting in front of her chair.

Gaston laughed softly, knowing exactly what she was talking about. “Why would you be angry that I ordered you some chocolate cheesecake?” His eyes looked down her too-thin figure. “You need the calories, Elana. You’ve lost too much weight. This is just my attempt to protect my investment.”

She ignored his comment about her weight and focused on the other part of his statement. Her eyes lit up and she sank down into the chair as gracefully as possible. All her hopes shining through her eyes. “You mean I get the grant?” she asked breathily.

“I can honestly say I’ve never heard a more impassioned explanation of someone’s experiments before,” he said, chuckling at her excitement.

She blushed and looked down at the table, her eyes lighting on the cheesecake once again but this time not in anger. Cheesecake really was her favorite dessert and she didn’t even discriminate on type, just loving the rich, creamy texture no matter the flavor. And this piece had thick chocolate syrup drizzled over the top with raspberries and whip cream. Scrumptious! “I guess we should celebrate then!”

Gaston hadn’t realized what he was getting into with that statement. Although he had a plate of rich tiramisu in front of him, he wasn’t really into sweets himself, but when she picked up her fork and took a bite of that dessert, he almost groaned out loud. Her eyes closed, her mouth savored the rich dessert, her whole body seemed to shudder with exhilaration. Her expression was almost sexual, erotic and sensuous. His body, which had been semi hard ever since he’d gotten control of himself while she’d been in the bathroom, hardened painfully once again as she took another bite. He was grateful for the table which hid his body’s reaction from both her and the rest of the restaurant.

When she put the fork down, it startled him. He’d been watching her mouth and her eyes, her facial expressions so closely he hadn’t noticed that the dessert was gone. She’d eaten all of it and something uncurled inside of him. She wasn’t anorexic. She just hadn’t eaten well lately. He was so relieved he wanted to kiss her. Well, he wanted to kiss her for many reasons, this one just being yet another.

Why did he have the sudden urge to make sure that she ate properly from now on? That wasn’t in the bargain. If the woman wanted to starve herself, then it was none of his business. He just needed to get her married and then he could set her up in an apartment, a proper apartment though, and be on his way with his father’s happiness assured before he died.

Elana wasn’t sure what to do. Her dessert was finished and Gaston was staring at her, a look in his eyes that caused butterflies to dance around in her stomach. “Are you ready to leave?” she whispered almost frantically, reaching down to pick up her purse, now stuffed with her project data once again. “When can I start at your laboratory?” she asked, wanting to fill the silence that felt charged with a tension she didn’t want to define.

Gaston gritted his teeth. He was in the throes of the most painful sexual fantasy of his life and she wanted to work. He looked down at her as he stood up, coming around the table to pull out her chair. He was determined to change this scenario. He wondered how long it would take him to get her to the same place he was.

It was an experiment he was more than willing to initiate he thought with relish as he put a hand to the small of her back while he led her out of the restaurant. He felt her shiver and almost smiled in anticipation. He’d held back before. There was no need to now.

Elana tried to move faster, wanting to remove his hand from the small of her back. But he was tenacious. She didn’t understand what he was doing. Why was he