Despite his rhetorical question, she tried to answer. ‘No…’
‘Yes!’ he muttered fiercely. Then his mouth smashed down on hers.
* * *
She’d been kissed before. By casual boyfriends in her late teens who she’d felt safe enough with.
By Constantine, in the beginning, before he’d revealed his true ruthless colours.
Nothing of what had gone before prepared her for the power and expertise behind Theo’s kiss. Her world tilted beneath her feet as his tongue ruthlessly breached the seam of her lips. Hot, erotically charged and savagely determined, he invaded her mouth with searing passion. Bold and brazen, he flicked his tongue against hers, tasting her once and coming back for more.
The shocked little noise she made was a cross between surprise and her body’s stunned reaction to the invasion.
The hand at her waist pressed her closer to his body. Whipcord strength, sleek muscles and his own unique scent brought different sensations that attacked her flailing senses.
Fire lashed through her belly as liquid heat pooled between her thighs. Her breasts, crushed against his chest, swelled and ached, her nipples peaking into demanding points with a swiftness that made her dizzy.
Deus!
Feeling her world careen even faster out of control, she threw up her hands. Hard muscle rippled beneath her fingers. The need to explore slammed into her. Before she could question her actions, she slid her hands over his warm cotton-covered shoulders to his nape, her fingers tingling as they encountered his bare skin.
He jerked beneath her touch, pulled back with a tug on her hair. Breathing harshly, he stared into her eyes for several seconds. Hunger blazed in his, turning them a dark, mesmerising molten gold that stole what little breath she had from her lungs. Then his eyes dropped lower to her parted mouth.
A rough sound rumbled from his throat. Then he was kissing her again. Harder, more demanding, more possessively than before.
Inez pushed her fingers through his hair as arousal like she’d never experienced before bit deep. This time, when his tongue slid into her mouth, she met it with hers. Boldly, she tried to give as much as she got, although she knew she was hopelessly inadequate when it came to experience.
The hand around her waist tightened and she was lifted off her feet. Seconds later, she found herself on the bar stool, her legs splayed and Theo firmly between thighs exposed by her stance. He came at her again, the force of his sensual attack tilting the stool backwards.
She threw out her hands onto the counter to keep from toppling over. Theo growled beneath his breath, his hands moving upward from her waist to cup her breasts. He moulded her willing, aching flesh so expertly she whimpered and arched into his hold. Beneath her clothes, her tight nipples unfurled in eager anticipation when his thumbs grazed over them. The deep pleasurable shudder made him repeat the action, eliciting a soft cry of pleasure from deep inside her.
‘Inez!’
The rapier-sharp call of her name doused her with ice-cold water. She wrenched herself from Theo’s hold…or at least she tried to.
The hands that had dropped from her breasts to her waist at the sound of Pietro’s return stayed her desperate flight.
‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ Pietro growled, no longer looking as drunk as he’d been half an hour ago.
‘If you need it explained to you, da Costa, then I’m wondering who the hell I’m getting into business with.’
Her brother flushed in anger. ‘I wasn’t talking to you, Pantelides. But maybe I should ask you what you’re doing, pawing my sister like some mad animal.’
Inez desperately tried to pull her dress down. But Theo stood firmly between her thighs, making the task impossible. Her sound of distress drew his attention from Pietro. He stared down at her for a second before he adjusted his stance. But although he allowed her to close her legs and pull her dress down, his hands didn’t drop from her waist. If anything, they tightened, their hold so possessive she fought to breathe.
‘Inez was going to tell you tomorrow. But I guess tonight’s as good a time as any.’
Pietro’s gaze shifted from Theo’s face to hers. ‘Tell me what?’
‘Do you want to do the honours, anjo? Or shall I?’ he queried softly.