“But what if we end up hating each other?”
“I could never hate you, Carenza.” Julian smiled. “You might drive me to madness, but never that.”
“I value your friendship. There were times when Hector—”
He held up his hand. “That is all in the past. What you are asking for now is simply physical satisfaction, yes? I can provide you with that.”
She raised her chin. “If we do go ahead, I have some conditions.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” He nodded. “What are they?”
She began to pace the room, her expression intent. “Firstly, that we are discreet. No one must know what we are doing.”
“Agreed, although how you will prevent your sister and your close friends from finding out is beyond me.”
“I am aware that I don’t have the face for intrigue. I might have to tell them, but I will swear them to secrecy.”
“Fair enough, what else?”
“Idecide when we meet and what we do while we’re together.” She met his gaze. “I don’t want to be possessed, or coerced, or—”
“I’m not the kind of man to force a woman to do anything she doesn’t wish to,” Julian said evenly. “I would hope you’d know that.”
She rolled her eyes. “And here you go, taking offense when none is meant. I simply wish to make decisions about my own body. Hector didn’t listen, and I was too infatuated to know how to make him pay attention to my needs as well as his own.”
“I’m not interested in what Hector—”
“But I am.” It was her turn to speak over him. “I was married to the man, and in my opinion, he is relevant to this discussion because I do not wish to deal with his like again.”
“I can assure you that I am nothing like Hector in bed.” Having seen his friend in close quarters with several women, Julian could have elaborated, but the last thing he wanted to do was humiliate Carenza with tales of her husband’s numerous infidelities. “Anything else?” Julian asked.
“That as soon as one of us wishes to end our liaison, the other will accept their decision and we can go back to being friends.”
“Agreed.” Julian held out his hand. “Shall we shake on it like gentlemen?”
A smile curved her lips. “Don’t you have any conditions of your own?”
“Nothing I can think of at the moment.” He advanced toward her, and she went still. “Perhaps we might follow the handshake with a kiss to see if we are compatible?”
“That is a good idea.” Despite her agreement, she sounded uncertain as he took her hand and firmly shook it. “Because if we don’t enjoy that, then we certainly won’t want the rest of it.”
Carenza was aware that she might be babbling as Julian brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. She couldn’t ever remember being so close to him. His eyes were a very light blue, almost silver, with a broad brown band near the edge …
“Carenza.” There was a note of command in his voice that made her continue to look at him. “There’s no need to be afraid. I promise I won’t bite.”
“I am slightly out of practice at this,” she admitted. “You might have to be patient with me.”
“Don’t worry.” He leaned in and kissed her bare shoulder, his touch as light as thistledown. “I intend to take my time.”
He feathered kisses up the column of her neck until he reached her jaw and gently set his teeth on her earlobe. An unexpected wave of lust shot through Carenza, and she grabbed hold of his sleeve.
“You like that,” Julian murmured, his voice so close to her ear that she shivered.
He nuzzled her earlobe again, a little harder, his hand cupping her chin while his thumb caressed her lower lip. She expected him to kiss her, but he moved on, his mouth and fingers trailing over her collarbones, the curve of her bosom, and down the other side.
His scent surrounded her, a hint of bergamot, the warmth of brandy, and a lingering curl of smoke from the cardroom. She wanted to turn her face into the curve of his throat and simply breathe him in.
“I thought you were going to kiss me.” She was almost shocked to hear her own voice making such a demand.
