At his words Erin’s eyes widened and she felt the warmth of a blush rise to her face. We’ll share it? Whoa, hold on. Wasn’t that much too intimate for two people who hardly knew each other? She continued to stare at Dare, trying to look composed, but she could feel her smile faltering.
Within an instant a fresh glass of white wine was placed on the table between them and the server slipped discreetly away. Erin tore her eyes from Dare’s face and looked instead at the sparkling liquid.
He chuckled and reached out a hand to slide the glass closer to her. “You first,” he said and the way he said it was both commanding and seductive at the same time.
For a moment Erin hesitated. Then the tension in her dissipated. She relaxed and reached for the glass. She wasn’t going to have all of it, after all. She picked it up by its delicate stem and lifted it to her mouth, her eyes never leaving Dare’s sharp gray ones. She took a small sip then another and another until Dare stopped her with a laugh.
“Hey, leave some for me. We’re supposed to be sharing, remember?”
She laughed too, and lowered the glass to the table then slid it across to him. She was staring at him, she knew, but she couldn’t help it. His smile so transformed his face that she could hardly believe he was the same man, the cold, hard brute she’d met the day before. He now looked something very close to a naughty boy planning some devious trick.
This time it was Dare’s turn to put the glass to his lips. He gave it a slight turn with his fingers, seeming to deliberately position it so that his mouth would fall precisely where hers had been just moments before. Then, before Erin could guess what he was about to do, his tongue darted out to taste the memory of her lips.
Erin’s breath caught in her throat. A simple gesture was all it had been but never had she seen anything more erotic. He’d sent her a clear and unmistakable message without saying a single word. Dare DeSouza wanted her in no uncertain terms.
Her pulse racing Erin watched, mesmerized, as Dare took a sip and another, then his tongue slipped out again this time to catch a stray drop of wine from his lips. But he did it so slowly, so sensually, she knew it was all for her.
He was obviously intent on seducing her and it was working. She drew in a deep breath, trying her best to calm her racing heart, but it was difficult to stay serene when the sexiest man on the island was coming on to her. Goodness, nothing she’d experienced in the past had prepared her for this.
Another sip and Dare had finished the glass of wine. Now he turned all his attention on her. He leaned forward and took her hands in his big strong ones.
When he looked down at them she closed her eyes, willing her hands not to tremble. Come on, Erin, you’re a big girl. You can handle this. The best way to handle it was to distract him in some way.
“Umm, why don’t we go for a walk? It’s a nice balmy night.” She glanced at him, hopeful that he would take the bait. She needed to get away, out of this intimate space where they were all alone and he could seduce her wickedly without prying eyes. Out in the open he would have to behave. She hoped.
He did not object. “We might as well walk off some of this food. Come.” He quickly signed the bill and rose, and as he’d done before he gave her his arm.
Erin stifled a smile. The consummate gentleman when he wished to be. But she was not fooled. Underneath that polished exterior was a man who could be as hard as iron. She’d seen it in his unforgiving response to her blunder in the pool. She’d felt it in his punishing grip when he’d thought she was about to flee. And she could sense it now, as he stood tall and imposing, looking down at her with those steel-gray eyes. She took his arm, thankful to be leaving the romantic atmosphere behind. She needed all her wits about her when dealing with this man and the combination of the fragrant candlelit room and two and a half glasses of wine were not helping.
She sighed with relief as they left the restaurant behind and set off along the cobbled pathway. For a while they walked in silence under the moonlight, breathing in the perfume of the frangipanis that lined the pathway and listening to the sounds of music and laughter in the distance. It was a romantic night, with stars winking in the deep velvet of the sky, and Erin could almost imagine they were lovers enjoying the night and each other’s company. If only it were true.
They’d been walking almost aimlessly for some time before Erin realized they’d left the cobblestones and were now on sandy soil. Her stiletto heels had begun to sink into the soft earth and she suddenly found herself toppling over.
With a laugh Dare caught her to him and then without warning his mouth descended and he was kissing her with a passion that left her clinging to him, breathless. Before she could recover Dare bent and swept her legs from under her, lifting her up into his arms.
Erin squealed in shock and then in delight as he swung her round then strode purposefully along the dirt path. When she looked over his shoulder she realized he’d taken her down to the beach where the waves were rolling in to break against the shore.
“Dare,” she whispered, almost afraid she would disturb the steady rhythm of the ocean, “what are you doing? We can’t be down here.”
He chuckled, a low throaty rumble that echoed in her ear as her cheek pressed against his chest. “We can, my precious, and we are. It’s the perfect night to be on the beach.”
They got to a long, low palm that stretched toward the ocean and in its shadow Dare laid her on a soft bed of grass.
And there he began his sweet, sensual assault.
He started with a kiss that made her tingle all the way down to her toes. Then his lips were sliding down her neck to the valley between her br**sts.
“Dare,” she gasped and she could say nothing more, her ni**les so eager for his lips that they ached. What was this man doing to her? He was being deliberate and slow, teasing her to a degree of desire she had never felt before.
As his breath warmed her flesh Erin moaned and shifted on her bed of grass, wanting to give him more access to her body.
Dare needed no further invitation. To Erin’s relief and delight he slipped his arm behind her arched back and as her br**sts thrust upward he slid her top away and captured a turgid nipple between his teeth.