The fire inside him was so strong, so bright, it felt as if he was being burned from the inside out.
Tearing his lips from hers, he stumbled back, eyes almost black, face taut with passion.
"Good Christ!" He groaned out, dragging his hands over his face. "This is..." He stumbled to his feet and walked over to brace his hands on the rail and had to take several deep breaths to get himself under control.
He came back to the table when the waiter appeared with the first course.
"Minestrone soup. A special of the house." He nodded to the waiter who withdrew discreetly. "You'll enjoy it." His tone was scrupulously polite and threw her into confusion. One minute the man was practically making love to her and now, he was behaving like a stranger.
"Is something wrong?"
"Yes." He bit out. "I'm captivated by a woman I barely know. How old are you?"
"What?"
"Your age."
"Twenty-eight."
"Good. That's good." He dipped his spoon in and set it back down. "I'm screwing things up. It's just that I've never felt this way before and it's scaring the crap out of me." He forced a smile. "Let's just enjoy dinner, shall we? Tell me about the shelter." He held up a hand. "I know you cannot go into details because of the confidentiality matters but give me an idea of what you have to deal with." He smiled slightly. "I might want to make a contribution."
Guilt threatened to spoil the feeling of euphoria.
"Uhm, this is really good."
"Hmm." He took her hand, laced his fingers through hers. "You have the most delectable mouth I've ever seen or tasted."
"I bet you've had your fair share of tasting and seeing." She tugged at her hand, but he held on.
"True." His amber eyes glowed with mischief. "Which gives me the authority on the matter. Why are you not involved with anyone?"
She stopped trying to pull away and ate some of the delicious soup.
"Lousy track record."
"What happened?"
She ate more soup and wondered how much was safe to reveal.
"Two relationships in total showed me that I have zero luck in picking the right person."
His eyes narrowed as he stared at her.
"Two as in the last year?"
Ducking her head, she concentrated on the soup.
"As in the entire adult life."
"You've only been with two guys. Really?"
"Yes. Just stop belaboring the topic. I'm sure you've been with hundreds of women and that's none of my concern."
"Hundreds is an exaggeration." He drank soup one handed and cocked an intriguing brow at her. "You're beautiful and smart and enthralling. How is it possible that you've only been with two guys?"
"I would like to drop the subject." She told him stiffly.
Sensing her discomfort, he held up his hand and waved the spoon.
