down that road again.
Yet it was impossible not to remember how it felt to be held by him…kissed until her mind went blank…made love to as if the world would soon end.
Haunting and undeniably taunting…notching up the sensual heat several degrees as fire raced through her veins.
Hell.
With considerable effort she forced her breathing to slow to an even beat, then reached for her glass and took a measured sip of chilled wine.
Better…but not by much.
Did he sense the emotional chaos his close proximity caused her? She fervently hoped not.
A few of the guests began gathering on the dance floor as music started to play.
‘Shall we join them?’
Gianna met Raúl’s faintly mocking gaze and effected a slight shrug. ‘Why not?’
A foolish move, she decided within minutes, as the beat changed and he drew her close…too close…and easily resisted her effort to put a little space between them.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’
‘Dancing,’ he drawled as he held her there, with one hand resting low beneath the back of her waist in a hold that was the antithesis of conventional.
‘Why not call it what it is?’
A soft, almost undetectable sound emerged from his throat. ‘A reminder of how things used to be between us?’
Yes. Damn him.
A time when she’d exulted in the anticipation of how the evening would end…the subtle teasing, the warmth of his breath close to her ear as he softly relayed how they’d make love, building the sensual tension until she’d positively ached for them to be alone.
‘If you don’t want me to accidentally kick your ankle,’ Gianna managed sweetly, ‘I suggest you step back a little.’
‘Fighting words, querida?’
It was the endearment responsible for her swift retaliatory action…and to give him credit he didn’t so much as wince or miss a step.
The only warning she received was the sudden flex of his bicep beneath her hand, then his mouth covered her own in a kiss that stopped the breath in her throat.
Deliberately erotic, it invaded, branded her his own, then gentled a little before he lifted his head to regard her with dark brooding eyes.
The temptation to slap his face was almost impossible to resist, and it was only the stark realisation of time and place that cautioned against such an action.
But just wait until the moment we’re alone.
‘That was unforgivable.’ She hated the slight quiver in her voice, and could do nothing to still the faint shivery sensation feathering down her spine.
Almost as if he knew, he slid a soothing hand in its wake, and briefly touched his lips to her temple. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
They did. Raúl followed courtesy by touching base with the charity organiser, a member of the committee, then paused to bid goodnight to a few friends and business acquaintances en route to one of the exits.
‘It’s wonderful to see you both reunited,’ a feminine voice offered with sincerity as they paused at a rear table.
But we’re not, Gianna was inclined to inform her, and it was only the sudden tightening of Raúl’s fingers in silent warning that stalled her contradiction.
He eased the vehicle into the steady stream of traffic and began heading towards Calvià.
It was a clear night, with an indigo sky in which there were the pinpricks of light from distant stars. Almost magical, if she’d been in the mood to appreciate the nightscape.
Instead she was seething from the need to keep her deep-seated anger in check…until now.
The kaleidoscope of night lights and brightly coloured neon barely registered as she visibly killed him with a dark look that would have quelled a lesser man.
‘Just what game are you playing?’ she demanded, and met his rapid glance before he returned his attention to the road ahead.
‘Precisely what are you referring to?’
‘All of it,’ she vented, volubly incensed. ‘The touchy-feely thing…kissing me like that.’
‘Your objection being?’
‘That you did it at all, and in public.’ She paused to breathe. ‘You deliberately led people to think we’re…’ She couldn’t finish the sentence, and he did it for her.
‘Together?’
‘Yes. And we’re not. Won’t be. Ever,’ she added for good measure.
‘Then perhaps you’d care to explain the extent of your anger.’
For a moment she was speechless. ‘What is this? Psychoanalysis?’ Seconds later she gasped in shocked surprise as he tripped the indicator and eased the car to a halt at the kerb. ‘Why are you stopping?’
Her eyes widened as he released his seat belt, then her own, and reached for her.
‘Don’t.’ It was the one word she managed to get out before his mouth closed over hers