“Sorry,” she murmured, realizing she’d been highly focused on her cake for the past few minutes. Meanwhile, Dylan hadn’t touched his. He sat back in his chair, a cup of coffee steaming in front of him, watching her while she stuffed her face. “I sort of have a thing for chocolate,” she admitted.
“I noticed.”
Alice set down her silver fork with a clinking sound. Dylan’s smile widened.
“Don’t take offense because I noticed. Most men would notice you eating chocolate. And not just that example, either,” he said, nodding at her spotless plate. “When you came to the house with the others on that first night, you ate all of your chocolate cheesecake in addition to the serving belonging to that young woman sitting next to you. You flattened that package of Jingdots the other night in seconds.”
“You noticed that?” Alice asked with amazed embarrassment. He’d taken note of her eating habits, even that first night at the castle?
Dylan smiled and poured a dollop of cream into his coffee. She watched him stir it with a silver spoon, entranced by the sensuality of his movements. He picked up the cup. “I notice a
lot of things about you,” he said before he took a sip. “And there’s no reason to ever apologize for liking your dessert. I liked watching you eat it.” Her eyebrows arched in surprised curiosity. “A lot,” he added significantly.
Alice laughed softly, warmth suffusing her when he joined her.
“Would you like to dance?” he asked after their laughter quieted.
Her mirth evaporated. She shook her head resolutely. “I don’t dance.”
“You said you didn’t ride, either.”
“I’m not sure I’d call what we did today riding,” she mumbled dubiously.
He looked amused, but determined. He stood and put out his hand for her. Alice sighed and reached for him.
“It’s not just that I can’t dance,” she explained when he took her into his arms a moment later and the music swirled around them. “It’s these shoes. I’m not used to wearing heels,” she explained, looking down at her feet as she began to move with Dylan’s body.
“Alice. Look at me, not your feet,” he ordered.
She did. His dark eyes shone in the candlelight. His brows quirked into a sardonic, knowing expression.
“There. I told you we move well together.”
She realized she’d been gliding in smooth harmony with his body, too enraptured by his eyes to worry about her stumbling feet. The tips of her breasts tingled as they skimmed against his lapel and jacket. She wanted to press closer to his long, hard length. She relished the teasing brush of their clothing, too, however, the elusive hint of his body just as potent as her craving to crush against him greedily.
“I think you take advantage of how attracted I am to you,” she said.
His brows went up. “To what end, do you suppose?”
“To get me to do all sorts of things I normally would refuse to do.”
He seemed to consider what she said soberly as they swayed to the music. “Maybe you’re right. Is that such a bad thing?”
“Maybe not,” she admitted. A smile twitched his lips.
“Good,” he murmured, dipping his head and brushing his mouth against her temple. She shivered in pleasure. He moved his mouth near her ear. “Because I’m going to take you back to the house and ask you to do a few more things you normally don’t do. Not because I can.” He kissed the shell of her ear, and she trembled. “Because I want to. Because you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and I have to have you completely. I don’t want you to hold back. I won’t allow it. Do you understand?” he asked quietly, moving his head back and examining her face.
Alice nodded, her stare swallowed by his.
“I want you to trust me, Alice.”
“I do,” she whispered through lips that felt numb before Dylan lowered his head, and his mouth heated and softened them.
SHE was so keyed up from the magical night, she was a little surprised that she drifted off to sleep on the ride home. She awoke to the sound of the driver’s side door opening and closing. Her eyelids opened sluggishly. The passenger door opened, and she peered up at Dylan’s hard features softened by amusement … and some other emotion that made her just stare up at him dazedly.
“Can you walk?” he asked.
“’Course I can,” she muttered. No sooner had she alighted than she stumbled. Dylan steadied her, and then he was lifting her in his arms. She startled at the sound of the passenger door slamming, and suddenly she was flying across the large garage.