Ella’s eyes had gone silver, like the stars in the sky, a pretty contrast to the delicate pink blush that stained her cheeks. Her skin felt so soft against his palms, as soft as he’d always imagined it would be. No, maybe even more so.

A kiss. Right now.

The lovely cupid’s bow of a mouth was the same pink as her cheeks, and he knew it was going to taste so fucking sweet. She was so little and fragile and perfect. Scared and yet so very brave at the same time.

Offering him something that he wanted very, very badly indeed.

He took a slow, silent breath, staring down into her face. Fearfulness glittered in her eyes, along with a defiant anger that made his blood pump hard in his veins. She was looking at him directly, all her attention on him instead of glancing away, and he felt it move over him like sunlight. Making him want to lift his head and close his eyes, glory in the warmth of it on his skin.

She’d never looked at him like this before, and it made him hungry for more. He didn’t want to be ignored or held at arm’s length, not by her. In fact, he couldn’t stand the thought of it.

This was what he wanted. Her attention on him. All her passionate emotions—whether fury or desire or fear-—directed at him. Yes, and now he had that attention, he definitely wasn’t going to give it up.

Patience, remember? You should wait.

Yeah, he knew that. But fuck, she was offering what he’d wanted very badly for years, and maybe he should take it. After all, hadn’t he always planned that tonight he’d take a kiss from her? See what kind of chemistry they had between them? Perhaps he should have been upfront with her from the outset, but he hadn’t wanted her to run from him.

Sure, it would be a pity not to have the dinner, but he was in no hurry. There would be plenty of time for other dinners. Yes, he’d wanted her to give the kiss to him because she was as desperate as he was, not because she was pissed, but then you couldn’t have everything.

You can’t let her dictate terms. Once she knows she has power over you, that’s the end.

Ridiculous. She had no power here and they both knew it. But maybe letting her think she could manipulate him wouldn’t be a bad idea. People became careless once they thought they had the upper hand. They became complacent, dropped their guard. Which is exactly what he wanted from her.

“A kiss now, huh?” He pressed his fingertips lightly against the softness of her skin, enjoying the warmth against his palms. “Are you sure that’s wise?”

“I’m sure.”

She swallowed and he couldn’t help but follow the movement of her long, pale throat, to the pulse that leapt and fluttered at the base of it. Pretty. So very pretty.

“Okay, then.” The words were a little husky, which should have worried him yet didn’t. Not with the heat of her body so close to his and the rain-soaked scent of flowers all around him, muting the constant restlessness that moved like a million ants beneath his skin. “Have it your way. I’ll have the kiss now and then take you home.”

She inhaled, and he could feel tension gather in her jaw and neck. In the rest of her small, slender body. It looked like she was bracing herself for an unpleasant task that she was nevertheless determined to endure.

Brave little bunny. Silly little bunny. Did she really think kissing him would be unpleasant? It made him want to play with her a bit as a punishment, for that and for wanting out of his special dinner.

He let his gaze roam over her, stroking his thumbs along the line of her jaw before sliding his fingers along and around the fragile curve of her skull, tipping her head back further, exposing her throat.

Her eyes widened in alarm, her body going rigid.

He ignored it. “Hmmmm, what kind of kiss shall I take? Shall I take it . . .” He ran one thumb along the line of her lower lip. “Here? Or maybe . . .” Letting one hand drop, he brushed his fingertips against the frantically racing pulse at the base of her neck. “Here?” Her skin was so very soft and silky there, too, and he felt the tremble that shook her body as he touched her.

“I said one kiss, Rafael.” There was a thread of something running through her voice. A thread of something . . . hot.

He looked into her eyes, studying the expression in them, a complicated mixture of fear and anger, and . . . was that reluctant excitement? “You did say that. You just didn’t specify where.”

She blinked rapidly. “I didn’t know I was supposed to.”

“Then you’ll know for future reference, won’t you?” He let his hand drop lower. “Maybe I’ll kiss you . . .” One fingertip brushed over the front of her gray sweater, grazing the hardened tip of her nipple through the wool. “Here.”

The breath came out of her in a soft rush of sound, her eyes getting rounder, but he’d already moved his hand lower down, touching the button of her jeans. “Or maybe even . . .” He lightly stroked down the denim covering her zipper. “Here.”

Ella took another gasping breath, shivering, the flush in her cheeks getting deeper, staring at him as if she’d never seen him before in her entire life. It was delicious the way she looked at him. Finally, after years of him watching her, she was at last seeing him.

Suddenly, he wanted to push her. Drop to his knees in front of her and undo the button on her jeans, take down her zipper, spread the denim and uncover that sweet little pussy of hers. Take the kiss he was owed from her there.

But that would be getting ahead of himself. He wanted her begging him for that, and she certainly wasn’t at that stage yet. And besides, he wasn’t entirely sure that if he started kissing her there, he’d be able to stop and that was not what he’d promised himself.

“No,” he said. “Maybe not there. Not yet.” He slid his fingers back along her jaw, cradling her head in both palms and tipping it back even more. The sound of her breathing was audible in the silent room, fast and ragged, her lashes falling, veiling her gaze.

“That’s right, don’t look at me,” he taunted softly, unable to help himself. “I’m too frightening, aren’t I?”

She jerked her head in violent negation, but she didn’t open her eyes.

He wanted to force her to open them, to look at him, to watch as he kissed her, but then that would be rushing things and he didn’t want to do that. Not with her. A slow seduction was what he was after, a gradual wearing down of her defenses. Because that was the most delicious part of all, undermining her dislike of him, changing it into something else, into a passion she wouldn’t be able to deny.

Rafe let her keep her protective darkness as he lowered his head to the pale arch of her throat. He paused for a moment, inhaling the scent of roses and the tantalizing hint of feminine musk. Allowed himself a smile, because if he wasn’t much mistaken, that was the scent of arousal. The way he had her head tipped back in his hands meant her body was arched into his, and the thin wool of her sweater was pulling tight over her small breasts, letting him see the hardened points of her nipples. Yes, very definitely arousal.

Satisfaction rolled through him, and his smile widened as he closed the distance, pressing his mouth gently against the racing pulse at the base of her throat.

A single kiss. A brush of his lips against her skin. A butterfly kiss to confuse her, to tantalize her. Make her shiver and wish for more.

At least, that’s what he’d intended it to be. But then she sighed, and it sounded like surrender, and all the tension left her body. She became pliant in his hands, leaning into him as if she wanted his touch, as if she needed it to keep her upright.

And something went off like a firework in his head, a switch being tripped.

He opened his mouth, unable to stop himself, touching the delicate skin of her throat with his tongue, tasting salt and roses and something else he couldn’t describe. Something that was intrinsically Ella. Hot and musky and so delicious it stole the breath from him.

He found his fingers curling into her hair, pressing against the side of her head, holding her more firmly as he opened his mouth wider, closing his teeth very gently over the delicate tendons at the side of her neck.

She made a soft sound and shuddered, her hands coming up. And he expected her to try and push him away, but she didn’t. Instead her fingers closed around his forearms, holding on tightly, her breathing frantic as she leaned back into his palms, exposing her throat even further. As if she wanted more.

Yes. Fucking yes. Christ how long had he waited for her? Two whole years of sitting in the dark at the back of the theater, watching her dance her heart out across the stage. Wanting her. Hating every male dancer who touched her, wishing it was himself with his hands on her supple body. Wishing she’d look at him the way she looked at them. With passion and longing. Wishing it was real.

Well, now it fucking was.

Hell, why keep waiting? He could have her right here, right now. On the floor or on the table, he didn’t much care where. Have her naked body finally bare to him, to his hands, to his mouth . . .

No. You were going to be patient, remember? If you take her now, you won’t leave her wanting more.

Ah, fuck. Of course. He couldn’t gorge himself now, no matter how much he wanted to. He had a plan and he couldn’t forget that. He hadn’t when he was plotting his father’s downfall and he shouldn’t now just because she’d made his dick hard.

He was master of himself, and even though keeping himself in check had been one of the hardest lessons to learn, he’d done it. He wouldn’t lose control, not ever again.