by Noree Kahika
He took a step closer, totally invading my personal space and bent forward, his mouth a whisper from my ear. The warm breath from his lips ruffled the hair at my temple as he murmured softly, “Don’t look so frightened, Charlotte. I promise I don’t bite.”
He pulled back slightly. A wicked smirk curved his lips. “Unless you want me to, that is.”
My shoulders stiffened and I forcibly jerked my hand from his grip. Not only did I find his comment impertinent, but also I was annoyed at myself for feeling the little spike of pleasure I’d experienced at his closeness.
“Try never,” I sneered, noting with further irritation that his dark, fathomless eyes shone back at me in amusement. Eyes I also now noticed were not a dark brown like I’d initially thought, but were in fact a molten midnight-blue.
“Excuse me,” I said in the frostiest tone I could manage, and turned in preparation to leave.
He may have been the most breathtakingly gorgeous man I’d ever seen in my life but clearly he was also the most egotistical one I’d met too.
“Not so fast, Princess,” he drawled as he grabbed my wrist firmly. “We haven’t finished talking.”
I spun back around and glared at the arrogant jerk. “You may not be done, Mr. Knight, but I certainly am.”
He didn’t reply and neither of us spoke for several long minutes. We just stood facing each other like some kind of weird Mexican standoff until Uncle Mike sidled up beside us.
“Charli,” greeted Uncle Mike warmly and placed a kiss on my cheek. “Mr. Knight. So good to see you again, sir.”
Huh? When did Uncle Mike meet Knight?
“Mr. Lawson.” Roman inclined his head in acknowledgment. Politeness laced his tone.
His grip on my wrist loosened marginally; however, he didn’t relinquish his hold altogether. Instead, sliding his palm up and over my elbow while he maintained eye contact with Uncle Mike, Roman gently maneuvered me around to his left side, and then placed his hand on the small of my back. And for some crazy ass reason, I didn’t think to protest, but rather my mouth gaped open, flabbergasted at his audacity.
“The entire performance tonight was highly entertaining. You have a very talented team, Mr. Lawson.”
“Thank you. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves.” Uncle Mike beamed. “It was truly an honor for the troupe to be invited all this way here to perform.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t take credit. It was Henri who discovered your act. According to Henri, your troupe was performing in Sonoma last year when he was there on business. It made quite the impression on him and after tonight’s performance, I concur. The entire show was thoroughly mesmerizing.”
On the word mesmerizing, Roman turned his compelling dark gaze back to me. And there sprints my heartbeat.
“And I see you’ve met my niece, Charli.” Uncle Mike threw me a wink.
“Indeed. Charlotte and I were just getting better acquainted.”
Uncle Mike’s eyes moved between Roman’s and mine with a mixture of surprise and confusion. “Oh. Oh, good,” he muttered, his brows puckered.
“Have you also met my son Jake, Charli’s performing partner?” He gestured behind him with a flick of his wrist. I looked over Uncle Mike’s shoulder and spotted Jake and Courtney walking toward us, their arms around each other and smiling.
“Hey,” said Jake in way of greeting when the two of them reached our little huddle.
I sighed. The whole scene had become exasperating. I wanted to be as far away as possible from the man beside me and I wanted to be alone. Alone to enjoy some peace and quiet while soaking in a nice, long, hot bubble bath—an exquisitely beautiful antique bath that even now beckoned me with the promise of relaxation and solitude.
“Hey,” I greeted. My gaze shifted to Courtney, who stared open-mouthed, gawking unashamedly at Roman.
I sighed again. Yes, Court, the man is stunning—shame about his personality, I silently thought.
“Hi kids.” Uncle Mike moved back to accommodate Jake and Courtney in our now expanding huddle. “I’d like you both to meet Mr. Knight, our host for the evening and the owner of this amazing chateau.”
Roman extended his hand to Jake. “Please, call me Roman.”
“Wait—you own this awesome place?” breathed Courtney. Her hand struck out to shake Roman’s next. She was so totally crushing on the jerk.
“I do.” He nodded, and I rolled my eyes as Courtney, my best friend, swooned. Freaking swooned!
“Wow,” breathed Courtney, again.
Geez, what’s with the breathy voice all of a sudden, Court?
Our little group began to talk among themselves, mainly Courtney and Jake asking Roman questions about the chateau—when it was built, the history, etc. However, I was entirely too aware and focused on the proximity of Roman’s body to mine. The sides of our arms would touch intermittently and damn it, with every little brush of his shoulder against mine, electricity would spark and ignite along my arms. It was maddening and irritating and what annoyed me further was the effortless charisma he wielded in charming my friends. He was witty, conversational, and even stupidly amusing. From the expressions on their faces, he had them eating out of the palm of his hand. Boy, did Knight have them fooled!
For the most part, I kept stubbornly silent throughout their exchange, still smarting from his earlier jerk-ish comments. And just when I thought things couldn’t get more…uncomfortable, a waiter came by carrying a tray filled with more of that delectable sweet wine in elegant crystal-stemmed glasses and my mouth watered. Wordlessly, Roman plucked a glass from the tray and handed it to me without breaking stride in his conversation with the others. It was as if he could read my freaking mind.
The considerate jerk!
Disturbingly, the intimate gesture aggravated me further. I was tired, my feet were killing me, and I really couldn’t stand anymore of this awkward pretending. His fingers began to trace little tiny circles around the base of my spine. The heat of his touch on my bare skin sent spikes of awareness right to the center of my pelvis—it was maddening. His touch was driving me crazy with lust and it was insufferable.
As I peered up at Roman from under my lashes, it was a tossup as to whether I really wanted to punch him in his smugly arrogant handsome face or climb him like a tree and lick those full, sensual lips. Lips, which I now noticed, had the most annoyingly suggestive way of sipping from a wine glass. Argh!!!
Really! The whole running his tongue slowly, sensually, along his full lower lip after every sip was a little too much. Who does that?
“And what do you think of France so far, Charlotte?” Roman looked directly into my eyes and I startled at the sound of his voice directed toward me. By the curl of his mouth, he knew I’d been staring at him.
He then shifted his tall, lean, well-dressed body and faced me head on. Those gorgeous midnight-blue eyes of his narrowed slightly. The small grin that played around the edges of his mouth grew into a full-fledged smile. It was blindingly dazzling.
The jerk!
Clearing my throat, I stood straighter. “Well, what little I’ve seen so far, which to be honest isn’t much, I’m afraid—really only the drive from the airport to here—but what I’ve seen has been beautiful…more than beautiful, actually.”
“That’s a shame and I agree. The Bordeaux region of France is very beautiful. Exquisitely beautiful, as are you.” His words were spoken in a soft and sincere tone and they instantly washed away most of my previous irritation.
“I’m just a little disappointed that I’m only here for a day because this chateau is beyond magical and the grounds surrounding it are so picturesque. It’s like a fairytale come to life. It must be very hard for you to leave here,” I stated, my voice equally as sincere. And I meant every word. Heck, if I owned this place, I would never leave—it was just that magical.
His eyes softened at my words and those damn flutters roused in my belly once more.
“I agree, it is very hard to leave when I visit
here but unfortunately my business is predominantly based in New York. I’m afraid that doesn’t allow me to travel as much as I’d like to. So this is your first time to Europe?”
“Yes, first time abroad, actually. I’ve traveled extensively throughout the States with the troupe over the years but never abroad.”
Wow. I couldn’t believe we were actually talking like two mature adults and I had to admit it was…nice. The deep, soothing sound of his voice did curious things to my senses and I found myself wanting to talk to him more. My gaze wandered to Courtney, who openly stared at me with a crazy grin on her face and then flickered to Jake, who looked between Roman and me, silently assessing us. As was Uncle Mike, who I glanced at next.
Had I said something incredibly stupid that made them all lapse into a cone of silence?
I shrugged. “This trip is the first time to Europe for all of us.”
Absently, I wondered how old Roman was. Clearly he was older than me—maybe early thirties, at a guess.
“Charli, Jake, and I are heading to Paris for two days tomorrow by train before we fly home on Tuesday morning,” chimed Courtney. “It’s been a dream of mine and Charli’s to visit Paris ever since we were little girls.” Her face became all dreamy. “I can’t wait to see the most romantic city in the world.”
“What a coincidence.” Roman turned his attention back to me. A glint of calculation sparked behind those intense midnight-blue eyes of his. “I’m heading to Paris tomorrow morning myself for business. Instead of the train, why don’t the three of you accompany me in my corporate plane?”
Hell no!
No, no, no.
I couldn’t possibly spend any more time in the company of this man—he was confusing, and confronting, and too beguiling.
“Thank you. That’s really kind of you but we already have our train tickets—”
Courtney cut me off with a squeal of delight. “Ohmigod! That would be amazing. Thank you. Thank you!”
I squinted at Courtney, wished I could throttle her right there and then, and asserted my voice in a more firm tone. “No. We couldn’t impose like that.”
“What do you mean we couldn’t impose?” Courtney snapped at me and frowned.
She started to give me the stink eye when Roman inserted, “Nonsense. It’s settled. You’ll all fly with me to Paris in the morning. Besides, the trip by plane will be far quicker than the train, giving you more time in Paris. Two days is barely enough time to see the major attractions as it is.”
Those intense dark eyes of his fixed steadily on mine, as if silently daring me to challenge him. I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying something unpleasant.
“It’s okay with me.” Jake shrugged and Courtney squealed in delight.
With a heavy sigh of defeat, I said, “Fine. Thank you. That’s very kind of you, Mr. Knight.”
“Roman,” he corrected, his features smug with a combination of amusement and triumph.
The jerk!
Chapter Four
Uncle Mike had stood by silently throughout the whole exchange and with a clearing of his throat, said his goodnights, gave both Court and me a kiss on the cheek, a firm pat to Jake’s back, and lastly he shook Roman’s hand, before he disappeared across the room.
“I think that’s our cue to leave, too, babe,” Jake murmured to Courtney as he tucked her close into his side. “Let’s call it a night.”
“Yeah, I’m really beat,” she agreed. With a quick peck on the cheek from both of them, they, too, disappeared and left me alone with Roman Knight.
“Excuse me,” I said to Roman, placing my empty wine glass on the tray of a passing waiter. “I think I’ll head up to my room too. It’s been a long day.”
I extended my hand cordially to him. “Good night, Mr. Knight, and, umm, I guess I’ll see you in the morning. Thank you again for your hospitality.”
He ignored my hand and held out his arm. “Roman. Please call me Roman, Charlotte, and I’ll walk you up.”
What? No!
Panic bubbled up like boiled water. “No, that’s okay,” I quickly said. My voice rose higher than its normal level. “I know the way. Please—please stay. Enjoy your guests.”
Roman thwarted my escape once again by placing one of his large hands on my forearm and bent so his lips were nary a hairsbreadth from my ear. “I’m walking you up to your room whether you’d like me to or not.”
Patronizing as well as arrogant…oh yeah, the guy’s list of misdemeanors grew by the second.
Shit! The room was still full of people and sometime during our huddle, several people had moved closer to our little nook of the room. I could either make a scene, embarrassing myself in the process, or I could just let him walk me up two flights of stairs.
“I guess I haven’t a choice,” I mumbled as I pulled my arm from his touch and started to walk. Huh! Let him follow me if he wants, but I wasn’t waiting around any longer.
Roman caught up to me with two large steps—damn those long legs of his—and lightly placed his hand at the small of my back. Once again, his palm was in direct contact with the skin of my lower back and I shivered from the contact. The searing heat from his touch spread out along my body, and made a beeline toward my vagina.
Once we cleared the ballroom and reached the foyer where the huge mahogany staircase led up to the first, second, and third floors of the chateau, I stopped abruptly. His hand dropped away as I whirled to face him.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” I hissed, barely containing the anger in my voice. I mean, enough was enough already! He was messing with my head—one second, he was arrogant, and then next all suave and charming with my family and then lightning quick—he was back to being a big old jerk again!
“Did you forget my name so soon, Charlotte? You wound me,” he teased, unperturbed by my anger. Amusement sparkled in his eyes, which only served to further piss me off.
I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes at him. “Pfft…please. I doubt they’ve invented a weapon big enough that could wound your colossal ego. And you know good and well what I’m talking about.”
“Alright. Let me skip straight to the point then.” The teasing tone from his voice completely vanished. His features sobered as his eyes flared with determination and I instantly regretted provoking him.
“You’re the most enchantingly beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. The way you danced out there earlier tonight—pure poetry. It was nothing short of magnificent and off that stage, you’re even more breathtakingly beautiful in person. I find you both intriguing and challenging, Charlotte. And something to know about me, Princess—I live for a challenge.”
Hmm…okay, maybe as far as compliments go—the first part was a doozy but I will be damned if I’ll be any man’s challenge.
Before I could open my mouth to respond, Roman continued. “Every man in that room tonight had a fucking hard-on at the thought of having all this…” He paused and caught a stray lock of my hair between his fingers; his gaze followed his movements. My body shivered uncontrollably.
“All of this,” he murmured, “wrapped around their hand while they fucked your beautiful brains out.”
And the jerk was back!
Scoffing, I gathered my hair to the side and out of his reach. “First of all, not every man out there tonight has their mind in the gutter like you apparently do.”
With a chuckle, he interrupted me before I could continue with my second point. “I’m a man, Charlotte, and I assure you, I know exactly what every man in that room was thinking as they watched you perform. But that’s beside the point.”
“So what is your point?” I spat, all pretense of politeness between us gone.
How could I possibly be so attracted to someone who was both brazenly aggressive and vulgarly repulsive at the same time? I needed my head examined.
He leaned into me again and closed the distance between us. The heat from his body radiated out toward mine and his tone softened to an almost whisper.
“I’d like to spend some time with you. For us to get better acquainted.”
My hands fisted on my hips. “In other words, you want to fuck me.”
“Yes.” He replied instantly and totally unapologetically.
The implication caused my body to stiffen but the urge to taunt him became too irresistible to deny. “Does this kind of approach usually work for you, Mr. Knight? Because I’ve got to say—I’m not impressed in the least. What makes you think I’m even attracted to you?”
His answering short burst of laughter coupled with the arrogant smirk made my hand itch to slap him. “I’d say you’re more than a little attracted to me, Princess. You stood there beside me tonight and allowed me to touch you without complaint. And those big baby blues of yours have been eye-fucking me all night. You want me just as much as I want you.”
My mouth hit the floor. Was this asshole for real?
“Well, let me enlighten you, Mr. Knight. I’m not attracted to you in the least, nor am I interested in sleeping with you either. Not. In. A. Million. Years! Not if you were the only man left standing alive on this planet after a nuclear explosion, and held the sole key to an underground bunker that stocked the only edible food and drinkable water in existence. In other words—I’d rather die than sleep with you, asshole!”
Straightening, I squared my shoulders and took a calming breath. “Now, if you will excuse me.”
“Not so fast.” Both of his hands shot out and smacked flat against the wall on either side of my head, effectively caging me. I gasped and my heart rate spiked to an alarming rate. His incredibly tall, broad body took one forward step and forced me back against the cold surface of the stone wall. He was so close that I could feel the fabric of his suit brush lightly against the lace of my dress. The previous heat of his body became a scorching inferno.
“Let go of me,” I whispered hoarsely. My pulse continued to race and I began to pant as a dizzying swirl of emotions assaulted my senses: anger, fear, frustration, arousal, and burning lust.
