“I think not,” he bit out, his voice holding a warning.
She froze and stared at him, caught like a startled doe in the burning heat of his gaze.
When Carter opened the door, she grabbed her opportunity and scrambled out. Douglas followed her swiftly, nodded sharply to Carter and bid him a curt goodnight.
He didn’t wait for Carter to reply but stalked behind Julia, who had made some headway, already had heaved the front door open and was in the house. However, in those deliciously erotic heels, she was no match for him and he caught her arm again as she was turning into the dining room, heading toward her rooms.
Her cautious gaze captured his.
“Drink?” he inquired, his tone barely civil.
“No, thank you,” she replied, her words polite, her voice tight. “I think I’ll just go to bed.”
“Excellent idea,” Douglas agreed and, not letting go, he slid his hand down her arm, capturing hers, and pulled her towards the stairs.
“What? Where are you…? Let go of me!” she burst out, tugging at her hand in his.
“No,” he returned, feeling her hand trying to pull from his, he stopped and yanked her forward. Caught off guard at this quick change and off balance at the jerk of his hand, she stumbled into him and his arms locked around her.
“What’s the matter with you?” she cried, her anxiety gone and the spirit and fire he was used to was beginning to light her eyes.
He watched her with smug satisfaction, enjoying her eyes sparkling. He much preferred her this way, the fire rather than the ice. Her fire would make this vastly more enjoyable.
She watched him back. When she was done waiting, she pushed against his chest. “Let me go!”
He pulled her closer to him, his arms tightening; her soft body had no choice but to yield to his hard one.
“No.” Her eyes rounded in anger but he carried on. “I’m not going to let you go, Julia. I thought I explained that to you. My patience has finally run out. I warned you.”
And that was when he kissed her.
It was not a tender kiss. He meant to devour her, he meant to punish her, he meant to let her know, in no uncertain terms, how he felt about watching her flirt with male after male right under his nose. He’d told her he wanted her to take his name, his hand in marriage and her body to his bed. He’d made himself perfectly clear on those particular subjects. He was not a man to be trifled with and he already considered her his. The kiss was meant to teach her that all-important lesson.
She tore her lips from his.
“What was that?” she snapped in disgust, wiping her mouth on the back of her gloved hand.
“That was a lesson. This is a promise,” he replied on a growl.
And he kissed her again, at the same time he forced her backward until she hit the stone wall of the stairwell. She let out a small cry of protest but he relentlessly pressed her into the wall, pressed his body into hers, feeling the glorious heat of her seep through his clothes. His mouth was hard and demanding but this time with hungry passion, not anger. His hands went behind her, both of them aiming low, one sliding over the velvet at her bottom outside her gown. The other did exactly what he’d been imagining since he’d seen the unbelievably sexy dip in the back of her dress. It delved in and rounded over her buttock then he pulled her tightly against his groin.
He counted on her melting as she did practically every time he touched her but he thought it would take some coaxing. He didn’t expect the minute his hand touched her bottom, with only the thin, lacy barrier of her underwear between his hand and her skin that she would react the way she did.
He heard her moan, deep in her throat, the sound nearly guttural with need. Her back arched, her mouth opened and her tongue darted between his lips.
He felt the blood rush to his head, through his veins and to his cock, heating his body to a fever as her hands went under his dinner jacket, tearing at his shirt, pulling it free of his trousers. Then he felt them, encased in their soft satin, gliding across the skin of his back, his sides, roaming everywhere, trailing fire.
While his tongue played with hers, she made a soft mew that he could swear he felt to his very soul and then he felt her nails, made less harsh through her gloves, drag down his back.
“God, I want you,” he growled against her lips, his one hand still cupping her soft, generous ass, his other hand pulling brutally at the material at her shoulder, the strap at the back tore free and the bodice fell to catch where his chest pressed against her br**sts.
He registered her nodding mutely as he pulled away to watch the material fall further down, exposing her spectacular br**sts to his view. With his hand on her buttock and the other arm now tightened at her back, he lifted her up to the tips of her toes while his head descended and he captured one perfect nipple between his lips. He dragged his teeth across it and felt it stiffen against his lips at the same time he felt his body tighten with a nearly overwhelming need and he heard a hungry moan escape Julia’s lips.
Her hands went to his hair, her fingers sliding into it, holding his head fast. He heard her breath catch then her body shuddered so deliciously, it communicated itself to him and the shudder tore through his as well. His lips closed on her nipple and drew it in sharply and she cried out in desire, the sound so primitive, he felt it straight into his bones.
He swiftly moved his mouth to hers, hungry to swallow the end of her cry, sucking her tongue into his mouth when she was done, just like he’d done to her nipple. When he became cognizant that she was pressing her body against his with need, her arms wrapped around his neck with longing, he tore his mouth away.
“Do you want me?” His voice was rough with passion, foreign to his own ears. He’d never felt this kind of desire, this desperate need in his entire life.