and he fed it to her. Then she took the next strawberry from the basket and returned the favor. As he suckled the rich chocolate from the lush fruit, he never took his gaze from hers.
She shivered. When she finished the flute of champagne, he took it from her without a word. Gently brushing her hair aside, he kissed her neck. She closed her eyes, shuddering with desire as he nibbled his way down her throat.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured.
And for no good reason, she felt like crying.
“Thank you,” she said, opening her eyes to look directly into his. “Thank you, Maksim.”
His dark eyes looked surprised. “For what?”
She looked past him, to the translucent white curtains and lead-paned windows overlooking the winter twilight. Shaking with the force of her emotion, she looked into his face.
“It has been a hard few years for my family.” She took a deep breath. “I didn’t know what to cling to anymore. Didn’t know what to believe in.”
Maksim looked at her steadily above the shimmering firelight. His eyes were deep smoke, his strong jawline shadowed with bristle. Surrounded by the flickering white candles on the floor around them, he looked like a dark king from a medieval fantasy.
“Now I do,” she said softly, then took a deep breath. “I can believe in you.”
He blinked. Hard.
Clenching his jaw, he looked away.
“I’m no saint,” he said in a low voice. “I told you from the beginning. I’m selfish. Ruthless.”
“You’re wonderful.” Reaching her hand up to his rough chin, she gently turned his cheek until he looked at her. “I’ve never met a man like you before. You claim to be selfish and even cruel, but you’re not.You’re a good man, Maksim.You don’t want anyone to know it.You think it’s weakness,” she said softly. “But I know your secret.”
She felt him tremble in her arms. He took a haggard breath, briefly closing his eyes before he looked down at her. His dark gaze shot through her soul. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Grace. So determined to see the best in people even if they don’t deserve it.”
“Because of you.” She licked her lips with sudden nervousness. “For the first time in my life, I feel brave. Brave enough to…”
Her words dwindled off as the expression in his dark gaze changed, became fired with heat. He stroked her cheek, looking down at her. Their bodies were so close. She could feel every inch of hard muscle, all the strength of his power. Their eyes were interlocked, and in that moment she could hardly say where her soul ended and his began.
“Grace…”
Lowering his mouth to hers, he kissed her. It was a kiss of anguish and longing and such tenderness that a little whimper escaped her.
Then a Russian curse exploded from his lips. He suddenly pushed away from her.
Rising to his feet, he paced in front of her, clawing his hands through his dark hair.
“What is it, Maksim?” she whispered, staring up at him from the blanket. It was the second time he’d pushed away from her. Was something wrong with her? Something about the way she kissed that he didn’t like?
Insecurity went through her. She thought of what Alan had told her, that Francesca only agreed to a fake engagement to make some other man jealous.
What if Maksim still loved Francesca?
“It’s all right,” Grace said miserably. “I understand. I’m not the one you want.”
When he spoke, his voice was low. Harsh. “You think I don’t want you?”
“It’s all right, truly.” She shook her head, trying to keep the tears from her eyes. “I’m not remotely your type—”
Falling to his knees, he grabbed her upper arms so tightly that they bruised.
“Not want you? God! Not want you?” he exploded. “All I can think about is taking you, Grace. In the bed, against the wall, on the floor! Not want you? I want to spread your thighs beneath me. I want to caress and suckle and taste you until you explode and shake around me. I want you and every second I physically hold myself back from making love to you is killing me!”
His voice echoed against the soaring ceilings of the empty dining room as it slowly sank in. He wanted her.
“Then why do you keep pushing me away?”
He cradled her face in his hands. “Because you are the only sunlight I’ve known for years,” he said in a low voice. “I can’t extinguish that warmth in you, Grace. I can’t let the world go dark and cold without your light.”
“You’re afraid to hurt me?”
Clenching his jaw, he nodded.
“Don’t be.” She took a deep breath. “After my bad experience with Alan, I’ve decided love is totally overrated.” She wouldn’t be stupid enough to risk her heart again. No matter how Maksim made her feel. She reached out to stroke his rough cheek, tracing her fingertips down his throat. “I promise you can’t hurt me….”
He grabbed her wrist. “Don’t,” he said harshly.
“Please,” she whispered. “Just kiss me.”
Their eyes locked.
With a groan, he surrendered.
His lips brushed hers, then bruised her. The rush that spread through her body was unimaginable. He yanked off her coat. He pulled off her oversize brown cardigan. His hands moved urgently over her plain white shirt, undoing the buttons rapidly, pulling the last one until it ripped. He dropped the shirt to the floor and looked at her in the firelight.
“I will try to go slow,” he whispered, visibly shaking as he touched her bare skin. “But the way you affect me, Grace…”
He kissed her again, reaching his strong arms around her, and her white cotton bra fell to the floor. Then suddenly his shirt was off, as well, and pants and skirt all disappeared in a frantic tumble.
And suddenly he was standing before her.
She’d never seen a naked man before. She took a deep breath and looked at him in the firelight. Candles were glowing all around them in the darkness of the empty mansion as she gently reached her hand to stroke him.
He shuddered, jumping beneath her touch.
“You’re beautiful,” she whispered.
He gasped. Gathering her up in his arms, he laid her gently beneath him on the thick blanket in front of the fire.
She felt the hard muscles of his masculine body, so much bigger and stronger than she would ever be, and as he stroked her naked body in front of the fire she arched beneath his hands. He slowly kissed down her neck, between her breasts, down her belly.
Did he mean to…? He couldn’t possibly intend to…?
Moonlight traced the translucent, gauzy curtains. A sudden frozen rain rattled the windows as he pushed her thighs apart.
Lowering himself between her legs, he kissed the inside of her thighs, slowly licking higher and higher. Her cheeks burned and she tried to scoot out of his grasp, but he held her.
Spreading her wide, he tasted her.
Her nipples tightened so painfully that she gasped aloud. A thousand zinging sensations went up and down her body like lightning shooting out of her fingertips, her toes, her hair. Every nerve was on fire, and she twisted beneath him.
His tongue changed width and pressure, lapping her widely then swirling lightly against her aching nub. She felt dizzy. She was breathless as her body tightened in agony, wanting…wanting…
She