One finely arched eyebrow shot upward. “Stiff? Who thinks I’m stiff?”
Realizing she’d put her foot solidly in her mouth, she stuffed another shrimp in to keep the foot company.
“Nobody,” she mumbled around her food. “Forget I said anything.”
“Has someone been warning you off of me?”
The sudden tension in his voice sent a prickle of unease over her.
“My family worries for me,” she said simply. “They’re very protective. Too protective,” she finished with a mutter.
“Yourfamilyis warning you about me?”
He acted as though it was the very last thing he expected. Was he so sure that her entire family was pushing for a match between them?
“Well no, not exactly. Definitely not Daddy. He thinks you hung the moon. Mama approves but I’m sure it’s because Daddy does. She thinks he can do nothing wrong so if you have his stamp of approval you have hers.”
He seemed to relax in his chair. “Who then?”
She shrugged. “My brother wants me to be careful, but you have to understand he’s been saying the same thing about all the guys I’ve ever dated.”
Again that eyebrow went up as he raised the glass of wine to his lips. “Oh?”
“Yeah, you know, you’re a philanderer, a player. Different woman on your arm every week. You aren’t serious. You just want to get me into bed.”
A blast of heat surged into her cheeks and she ducked her head. Stupid thing to blurt out. Stupid!
“Sounds like a typical older brother,” Devon said blandly. “But he’s right about one thing. I do want you in my bed. The difference is, once you’re there, you’re going to stay.”
Her lips popped into anO.
He smiled, a lazy, self-assured smile that oozed male confidence.
“Finish eating, Ashley. I want you to enjoy your meal. We’ll enjoy…each other…later.”
She ate mechanically. She didn’t register the taste. For all she knew shewaseating cow’s tongue.
What did women do in situations like these? Here was a man obviously determined to take her to bed. Did she play it cool? Did she go on the offensive? Did she offer to undress for him?
A bubble of laughter bounced into her throat. Oh, Lord, but she was in way over her head.
Firm hands rested on her shoulders and squeezed reassuringly. She yanked her head up to see Devon behind her. How had he gotten there?
“Relax, Ash,” he said gently. “You’re wound tighter than a spring. Come here.”
On shaking legs, she rose to stand in front of him. He touched her cheek with one finger then raised it to her temple to push at a tendril of her hair. He traced a line over her face and down to her lips before finally moving in, his body crowding hers.
He wrapped one arm around her waist, and cupped her nape with his other hand. This time when he kissed her there was none of the restraint she’d seen in the past. It was like kissing an inferno.
Hot, breathless, so overwhelming that her senses shattered. How could one kiss do this to her?
His tongue brushed over her lips, softly at first and then more firmly as he forced her mouth to open under his gentle pressure.
She relaxed and melted into his embrace. Her body hummed. Her pulse thudded against her temples, at her neck and deep in her body at her very core. She wanted this man. Sometimes she felt like she’d been waiting for him forever. He was so…right.
“Devon,” she whispered.
He pushed far enough away that he could see her, but he still held her firm in his embrace.
