She knew he was just acting out this role ofchanged manin front of everyone but she nodded. He lifted her hand, never taking his eyes off hers and pressed his mouth to the back of it. She felt the slightest touch of his tongue against her skin and an arrow of need spiraled down to between her legs.
He sat down as the emcee proceeded with the auction. Lili hated to admit that even she was being taken in by this very public declaration of changing his ways even though she knew it was all a lie.
He had no intention of becoming the devoted husband and family man.
But she couldn’t help wondering if maybe there was a chance for—what?The suspicion that she was yearning for something she knew she couldn’t have was not welcome.
‘What is going on behind that pensive look?’ Cassian’s voice broke her chain of thought.
She forced a smile and said, ‘Be careful not to be too convincing in your newly committed husband role.’
He looked at her pointedly. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
Lili swallowed. Why had she opened her mouth? She shook her head and forced a smile. ‘Nothing, just that when you’re pictured out and about again you don’t want to undo all the good PR work.’
Cassian just looked at her for a long moment with no expression and then stood up and held out a hand. ‘It’s time to dance.’
* * *
‘I can’t dance, Cass, seriously, it’s not pretty. My mother made me go to classes but nothing worked.’
Cassian hated the way Lili saidCassimpacted him somewhere deep and tender. But he’d told her he liked it. Especially when she said it as he joined their bodies or put his mouth on her. He cursed silently.
He looked down and all he could see were her huge eyes, very blue, and the far too tantalising flesh of her breasts, pressed against him. He realised he was holding her very close and relaxed a little. ‘Is this okay for you?’
She nodded. ‘It’s fine. Did you hire those security men to keep people back earlier?’
Cassian felt a prickle of exposure over his skin. ‘I didn’t want you to feel crowded.’ He said this just as someone bumped into them and he registered stark fear flaring in Lili’s eyes. He turned them so she had her back to the wall and not the people.
She looked over his shoulder and said a little shakily, ‘Thanks.’ And then, ‘I’m sorry.’
A surge of protectiveness rose inside Cassian. He wanted to do damage to whoever had put that fear into her eyes and wanted to push her to tell him what had happened but he resisted the urge.
‘Don’t apologise.’
She hadn’t lied about not being able to dance, she kept stepping on his feet but Cassian had to admit that he found it somewhat refreshing. He was so used to everything being seamless. Unsurprising.Dull.
That little conversation they’d just had replayed in his head.Be careful not to be too convincing.The truth was that he hadn’t had to act convincing at all. When he’d spoken those words they’d fallen out of his mouth all too easily, and he hadn’t even noticed. But she had. His convenient wife.
He’d already begun to concede that his fast living persona had been growing more and more tiresome and easier to see for what it had been all along. A smokescreen to hide his phobic reluctance to allow anyone close. Lili had touched on that before, at the villa, when she’d asked him if his playboy persona was all an act, not even knowing how close she was to the truth.
And maybe his entire racing career was founded on the anger and whim of a young man determined to do the thing that scared him most—get into a car and risk his life again and again. Because he’d survived and his family hadn’t.
Maybe? jeered a voice,how about not maybe, but definitely.
Cassian almost resented Lili for this little prompt to examine where his demons lived. He’d been quite happy with them, until she’d come out of nowhere and somehow inserted herself under his skin like a prickly burr. And he couldn’t quite recall how that had happened. It all seemed a little hazy, as if he’d been drinking.
But his resentment couldn’t last long when all he could think about was how she felt, pressed up against him. Her curves softening against his harder body.Hardening body.He gritted his jaw.
Then he heard a sound, a very distinctive gurgling sound and looked down at Lili who went puce. He raised a brow, glad of the distraction from disturbing thoughts. ‘Hungry?’
She glared at him. ‘I was afraid to eat in case I spilled something on the dress and I forgot to eat earlier.’
Cassian smiled. ‘Want to leave and get some pizza?’
He saw the relief on her face. ‘Can we?’
‘We can do anything we want. I’m the host.’
