Elle stiffened, gazing up at Blake with wide eyes. He was trembling slightly, as if trying to stop himself. But from what? What the hell was he fighting? He was so warm against her. The shower had helped. The clothes too, of course. But she was still getting cold. Cold enough that, having the man pressed this close against her was delicious and infuriating and too tempting to resist.

Was he going to kiss her? Shove his hand between her legs like he had in the bathroom — this time with a more nefarious purpose? Or was he just going to step back and wave her out of his house again, like the stranger she was?

He didn’t do any of those things. Instead, his gaze darted to her mouth, and then back to her eyes again.

“I don’t know you,” he murmured.

Elle blinked at him, momentarily at a loss for words. “I… don’t know you either,” she said, just as quietly.

Blake’s lips parted, his words emerging slowly as if he was constructing the sentence word-by-word while waiting for the first indication of a negative response from her.

“I should never have invited you here. I don’t know what I was thinking. It seemed a good idea at the time but now…” his gaze dropped again, lifting an instant later. “Now I don’t know what to think anymore.”

“I shouldn’t have come here,” Elle said. “You must think I’m some kind of… some kind of something, just agreeing to—”

But she couldn’t finish her sentence. Blake stepped against her, pinning her to the wall. It happened so suddenly, so unexpectedly, that Elle let out a small gasp that seemed to loud in the quiet loft.

“But,” he said, his dark eyes darting between her. “Now I don’t want you to leave. Why don’t I want you to leave?”

“Because—” Elle swallowed. “Because you want to… you want to—” She tried to get the words ‘fuck me’ out, but they wouldn’t come.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Blake said, his voice rough and low. “You have no idea what I want to do to you.”

Elle stared up at him. Her arms were up in front of her, crushed to either side of her breasts where she’d lifted them in near self-defence when he’d advanced on her. Her hands were in fists, but instead she forced them open. Made them touch his shoulders. Made them hold on.

“So tell me,” she said.

Those eyes of his watched her, his lips parting again.

“Tell me what you want to do to me.”

He shook his head, eyes narrowing. He’d grabbed the top of her arms, was using that grip and the weight of his body to keep her pressed against the wall. His fingers tightened, squeezing her almost to the point of pain.

“One condition.” His voice was tight.

“What?” Elle drew a deep breath and tightened her grip on his neck.

“I’ll tell you.” Blake’s eyebrow twitched. “But then you have to stay. Stay… and let me do them to you.”

Elle’s breath faltered. His fingertips burrowed into her damp hair. He leaned closer, until their mouths were less than an inch apart and she could feel his breath on her lips. Her eyes fluttered closed. She tried to ignore the sudden pounding of her heart. The ice-cold electricity that washed over her skin and made her quiver for a second before she could control herself.

“It’s a deal,” she said.