She felt primitive. Him man, her woman. She wanted to climb him and wrap her legs around him. She said, without even really thinking, ‘Please, Ares, touch me, show me…how it can be.’
He cupped her breast more firmly and bent his head and captured her mouth in another searing hot kiss. Deep and explicit straight away, no leading into it. Cassie welcomed it, wrapping her arms around him again, opening herself up to his hands, inviting him to touch her, moving against him in a way that had her starting to gasp with need as an elusive peak shimmered in the distance.
Ares’s hand on her breast squeezed hard, fingers trapping a nipple. Cassie suddenly wanted more, wanted to feel his mouth on her there, surrounding that tight peak in heat and moisture.
Ares took his thigh from between hers and replaced it with his hand. He cupped her through the soft denim, right there over where she throbbed. He moved his hand against her, watching her. Cassie felt a little exposed because he oozed such confidence and experience but suddenly she stopped thinking because she was pressing against his hand and he was moving in a rhythmic motion and a force she’d never felt before held her body in an alien grip before it exploded into a rush of pleasure so intense that she would have called out loud if he hadn’t taken her mouth again and swallowed her orgasmic cry.
The world and reality came back slowly. The sounds of the bar, music. People laughing. Cassie was grateful that Ares was shielding her from everyone else. No one would know that she’d just had her first orgasm with a total stranger in a bar in Crete.Ares.Not a total stranger. But as good as.
A million and one things were rushing through Cassie as this sank in. Ares seemed to be watching her warily as if she were a bomb about to go off. She had just gone off, against his hand. Heat climbed into her face. She was glad of the dark.
He put his hands on her arms and somehow, sensing a shift in the mood, Cassie managed to straighten up. Her legs were still working. Albeit wobbly. He must think she was so gauche.
‘I…’ Her tongue felt thick as she tried to formulate something.
Ares shook his head. ‘You don’t have to say anything. Not a word. This is on me. My fault.’
Cassie felt a trickle of unease trace down her spine. That was an odd thing to say. ‘What do you mean, your fault?’
He let her arms go and took a step back. Ran a hand through his hair, making it messier. He looked at her. ‘Because we should never have come here.’
Something occurred to Cassie and she reared back. ‘You’re married.’
A look of disgust crossed his face. ‘Theos, no. I’m not married.’
Cassie was confused. ‘You have a girlfriend?’
The disgust again. ‘No.I don’tdogirlfriends.’
He took her arm in his hand and had started to guide her back out of the bar, through the couples mingling and dancing, before Cassie even knew what was happening.
When they were outside and fresh air hit her, she stopped, forcing him to stop too. ‘What are you doing?’
He let her go and looked at her. ‘We need to leave.’
Something about the return of that censorious tone and the fact thathehad decided to leave stung Cassie somewhere vulnerable. Had she been such a bad kisser? Had her orgasm been such a faux pas? A turn-off? The expression on his face hadn’t been disgusted or bored, it had been intense. But had she imagined that?
She felt even more exposed. ‘You might have decided that you no longer want to stay here but that’s your decision.’
He gritted his jaw. He really was such a taciturn man. Cassie wondered what on earth she found attractive about him.Everything.She wanted to scowl. She’d certainly found him pretty attractive just a few minutes ago. Her body still felt hot inside, as if something had melted.
‘I brought you here, I’ll take you back.’
Now she was offended. ‘Charming, like a parcel you’ve suddenly decided you no longer want.’
She tossed her hair and drew herself up to her full height, which was still a good few inches short of his. In heels. ‘You don’t have totakeme anywhere, Ares. I’ve decided I like this bar and I’m staying. Goodnight.’
She turned and went to walk back into the bar, her insides fizzing and jumping with a mixture of hurt, confusion and anger, when from behind her she heard, ‘It’s not that simple, princess.’
Cassie’s feet stopped. She wondered if she’d heard that right.Princess.Surely she was just being paranoid, he’d meant it as some sort of figure of speech. Inappropriate though, because clearly he had no interest in her and was just trying to salve his conscience now by returning her to where he’d picked her up. But it was still weird.
She turned around. ‘What did you call me?’
‘Princess.’
Her insides tightened. This man was a total stranger, he couldn’t possibly—
‘Princess Cassandra Mansur de Roche. Crown Princess, to be precise. You’ll have to forgive me for not remembering your middle names, there are quite a few, but I’m assuming Cloe is one of them.’
