“I’ve been waiting for you,” hesaid.
Francesca froze,every nerve ending sizzling to life in an instinctive fight-or-flight reaction. She couldn’t say what alerted her to the man’s presence. One second she believed herself alone and in the next heartbeat she sensed him on a purely intuitive level.
She stared at him and the breath hitched from her lungs. He blended into his shroud of shadows so completely that the ebony richness of his hair and suit melted into his surroundings, making him appear part of the night. Only his eyes were at odds with theendless darkness, glittering like antique gold against a palette of black. As though aware of her apprehension, he stepped into a swath of light coming from the ballroom to enable her to get a betterlook.
His height impressed her. He stood a full two or three inches over six feet with an imposing expanse of shoulders and long, powerful legs. For the first time since childhood, she felt downright petite. Reflected light cut across his features, throwing the patrician lines of his face into sharp relief. Heaven help her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen such a gorgeousman.
But something stunned her even more than his appearance—the emotional turmoil he triggered. She’d never responded to a man like this before. Never experienced such an intense, uncontrollable physical reaction. She stood before him, filled with a feminine helplessness utterly foreign to her nature. Desire shook her, the intensity so absolute that she could only stare in bewilderment when he offered hishand.
“You’ve been waiting for me?” she finally managed to say. “Why?”
“I noticed you when I first arrived and hoped we’d eventually meet. My name’s Severo. Sev, for short.”
“Francesca Sommers.” She took the hand he offered before snatching it back with a startled exclamation. “Good Lord. What was that?”
He appeared equally stunned. “Static electricity?”
She’d felt static electricity before. Who hadn’t? In fact, as a child she and the other foster children had often delighted in scuffing their socks on the carpet before chasing through the house in order to shock each other. That brief zap of electricity bore no similarity tothis.
She scrubbed her palm across her hip, but after that initial searing of flesh against flesh, the sensation changed. It scored her palm like a brand, though unlike a brand, it didn’t hurt. It sank deep into her bones—part tingle combined with a peculiar ticklish itch. She didn’t know what to make ofit.
“Maybe we should try that again,” Sevsaid.
She took a swift step backward. “Maybe we shouldn’t.”
His mouth tilted to one side. “I’m sorry. Ihave no idea how or why that happened. You sure we can’t try this again?” He held out his hand. “I promise, if anything bad occurs, I’ll keep my distance.”
She hesitated for an instant, then reluctantly slipped her hand into his. “So far, so good.”
The previous sensation didn’t happen again, true. Instead, another one took its place. It felt as though some part of him seeped from his hand to hers and sank into her pores before being lapped up by her veins. It slid deeper with every beat of her heart, imbuing her with his essence. Worse, each beat filled her with forbidden desire.
She fought the sensation, fought to speak naturally. “So, what brings you to the showing, Sev? Are you a buyer?”
“Not exactly, although the set you’re wearing is something I wouldn’t mind acquiring. May I have a closer look?”
No more than a few feet separated them. The single step he took in her direction shrank that distance to mere inches and magnified her reaction to him. Drawing in a deep breath, she tilted her head to one side so he could get a better look at her design, praying he wouldn’t take long so she could escape into the relative safety of the shadows surrounding them. The next instant she found escape the last thing on hermind.
His hand brushed her collarbone as he traced the curve of her necklace with his fingertips, branding her with fire. “Stunning. Absolutely stunning.”
On the surface his comment sounded simple enough, yet a heavy, old-world lyricismunderscored it, filled with the flavor of foreign climes. She could hear the faint strains of a glorious Italian aria, smell the tart richness of ripening grapes, soak in the heat and humidity of a Tuscan summer.
Unable to help herself, she swayed toward him and whispered his name. His response came in a frantic explosion of movement. He swept her into his arms, locking her against him. Hips and thighs collided, then melded. Hands sought purchase before hers tunneled into the thick waves of his hair and his spread across her hip and spine, flooding her with a heavy liquid warmth. Lips brushed. Once. Twice. Finally, their mouths mated, the fit sheer perfection.
She practically inhaled him, unable to get enough. Not of his taste. Not of his scent. Not of his touch. His hands drifted upward, igniting a path of fire in their wake. The most peculiar awareness filled her as he touched her. Though his caress aroused her, she didn’t get the impression his actions were a form of foreplay. Instead, it almost felt as though he were committing the shape and feel of her to memory, imprinting her on his brain.
She pulled back slightly, fighting for breath. “I don’t understand any of this. We’ve only just met. And yet, Ican’t keep my hands off of you.”
“I can’t explain it, either.” Desire blazed across his face, giving him a taut, hungryappearance. “But, it’s happening, and right now that’s all that matters. Fortunately, that also makes it easy to fix.”
Yes. Thank goodness they could fix this terrifying reaction and make it go away. “Fine. Let’s get it taken care of.”
He caught her hand in his. “Let’s go.”
“Go?” She resisted his pull, not that it got her anywhere. He simply towed her along. “Go where?”
“I’ll pay for a room here at Le Premier, and we’ll spend the night working this out of our systems. Come morning, we go our separate ways, flame extinguished.”
Francesca fought to think straight. “This is crazy.” Severo, aman she’d met just five minutes ago, had kissed her with a passion she’d never known existed and then casually suggested they book a room at a hotel for a night of mind-blowing sex. He seemed to have missed one vital point. “I don’t do one-night stands.”
