Surreal didn’t even begin to cover the emotions coursing through her as she glanced up at him and encountered that blatantly masculine square jaw and those hypnotic eyes.
‘Look, Mr...?’
He raised a brow. ‘You’re at a masked event, shrouded in secrecy, embroiled in intrigue and mystery, and you want to know my name?’ he asked cynically.
Damn, how could she have forgotten? ‘Why do I get the feeling that all this bores you rigid?’
His eyes gleamed. ‘How very intuitive of you. You’re right—it does. Or it did, until I saw you.’
Her heart gave a little kick. One she determinedly ignored. ‘You were fully engaged when you played your game. And that had nothing to do with me.’
Again that reminder hardened his eyes. ‘Ah, but I lost thirty million dollars so I could make what’s happening between us happen sooner.’
‘There’s nothing happening—’
‘If you believe that then you really are naïve.’
Another couple danced closer. The flash of red hair distracted Ruby enough to make her look. Redhead was in the arms of another man but her hungry eyes were fixed squarely on Narciso.
Irrational irritation jerked up Ruby’s spine.
Pursing her lips, she tilted her chin at the redhead. ‘Why don’t you help yourself to her? She definitely wants you.’
He didn’t bother to glance where Ruby indicated. He merely smiled and shrugged. ‘Every woman wants me.’
‘Wow, you’re not the shy type at all, are you?’ she snapped.
He leaned forward, and a swathe of luxurious black hair fell over his forehead to curl over the top of his mask. ‘Are those the types that turn you on?’ he whispered.
The image of shy, self-effacing...duplicitous Simon fleeted across her mind. She stiffened. ‘We’re not discussing my tastes here.’
‘I’ve clearly hit a nerve. But if you don’t tell me what your tastes are, how will I know how to please you?’ His mouth was a hair’s breadth from her ear.
Ruby fought to breathe. Her chest was a mere inch from his but her lower body was plastered against his in a way that made his body’s response blatant and unmistakable.
He was aroused. And he meant her to know it.
Her abdomen clenched so forcefully, she lost her footing and stumbled.
Strong hands righted her and began to pull her back into his arms but Ruby quickly stepped back.
‘You can start by buying me a drink.’
He reluctantly dropped his hand from her waist. Expecting overwhelming relief, Ruby frowned when it didn’t arrive.
A white-jacketed waiter hovered nearby. ‘Champagne?’
She shook her head. ‘No. Something else.’
Something that would take several minutes to make and give her time to get her perplexing emotions under control.
‘State what you wish,’ he said.
She almost blurted her reason for being in Macau there and then. But this wasn’t the right time. She needed to get him alone, in a place where he couldn’t blow her off as easily as his employees had these past weeks.
Casting her gaze around, she pointed to the far side of the room. ‘There.’
‘The ice-vodka lounge? Is this a delaying tactic?’
‘Of course not. I really want a drink.’
He watched her for several seconds, then he nodded.
This time her relief was tangible. But the reprieve didn’t last long. His arm slid possessively around her waist as he led her off the dance floor.
She was suppressing the rising tide of that damned chemistry when he leaned in close. ‘You’re only trying to delay the inevitable, tesoro.’
‘I have no idea what you mean.’
His laughter drew gazes and turned heads. Ruby had a feeling everything this man did compelled attention. And not just of the female variety.
Powerful men stepped aside as he steered her towards the vodka lounge. A faux-fur coat appeared as if by magic and he draped it over her shoulders before they entered the sub-zero room. She headed for an empty slot at the bar, near an ice sculpture carved in the shape of a Chinese dragon.
The bartender glanced at her unmasked face with a frown.
‘I’d like a Big Apple Avalanche, please. Heavy on the apple.’ She needed a clear head if she intended to stay toe to toe with Narciso Valentino.
The bartender didn’t move. ‘I don’t think you’re allowed—’
‘Is there a problem?’ The hard rasp came from over her shoulder.
The bartender snapped to attention. ‘Not at all, sir.’ He grabbed the apple mixer and the canister of top-range vodka.
‘I’ll take it from here.’ Narciso took the drinks from him and waved him away.