‘I mean it. You try anything—’
He sighed theatrically. ‘Well, it will be difficult, but I’ll try to control my animal urges.’
Okay, so now she felt a fool because of course he wasn’t really interested in her like that. He’d be back on the phone to his Saskia soon enough and sorting out the lovers’ tiff or he’d be off with another of the models downstairs...
Laughter danced in his eyes as he turned and caught her glaring at his back.
‘You are very beautiful when cross,’ he said provocatively. ‘Does that fiery hair bring a temper with it?’
She refused to answer him. Her hair didn’t bring rage so much as rashness. Fool that she was, she should have listened to Teddy and calmed down before deciding to come on this crazy mission. She should at least have eaten something, then she wouldn’t be feeling this light-headed.
He paused and waited until she’d looked up into his face again before teasing her further. ‘If you are a good date, you might get a reward.’
‘All I want is the necklace,’ she replied stiffly. And maybe some dinner at some point. Hopefully, there’d be some decent canapés downstairs and not just the tiny, calorie-free stuff that models lived on.
He took her hand firmly in his again and drew her towards the door. He was really serious about her mingling?
‘What are you planning on telling your guests about me?’ she asked.
A mystified expression crossed his face. ‘Nothing.’
Clearly the opinion of others didn’t bother him at all. Kitty tried very hard not to be bothered by what others thought, but there was still that soft part of her that ached to please someone. Anyone. Everyone.
She worked hard to fight it and protect her stupidly vulnerable heart. For too long her self-esteem had been bound up in the opinion of men. First her father. Then her fiancé.
She hesitated at the top of the stairs. Alejandro was already on the first step, but he turned. His eyes were almost at the same level as hers.
‘Come on, my reluctant date,’ he dared in that divine accent. ‘Come down and act the mute martyr.’
Was that what he expected her to do?
She went from famished to galvanised in less than a second. She’d act the ultimate party person—something she hardly ever was. With just that one look from him her appetite vanished. It was her twin, Teddy, who usually held centre stage, while she was the quiet foil—always his most appreciative audience. But now? Now she was energised. Now she had a game to win.
‘You’re obviously very bored with your life.’ She placed her hand on his upper arm, leaning close in a parody of an adoring, clinging lover—half hoping he’d pull away.
He didn’t. His smile broadened. ‘Because I have to coerce a beautiful woman into standing alongside me for the night?’
‘Exactly. You must be very jaded,’ she murmured, trying not to dwell on the size and hardness of the muscles she could feel under the fabric of his oh-so-perfectly tailored suit. ‘Having to spice it up like this.’
He chuckled. ‘I haven’t the time to deal with you the way I want to right now; I need to spend time with my guests. We’ll deal with each other properly later.’
She wasn’t sure if that was a promise or a threat. Worse, she wasn’t sure what she wanted it to be.
‘You don’t think taking me down there with you is a risk?’ She sent him a sideways look. ‘Or do you truly think I’m predictable?’
‘I’m very good at taking risks,’ he said with no trace of humility. ‘And, in my experience, the higher the risk, the greater the reward.’
‘So I’m high risk?’
He hesitated, checking his words ever so slightly. ‘You’re not afraid to put yourself on the line. That makes you interesting.’
She didn’t want to be interesting. She didn’t want to feel the flush of pleasure that he’d complimented her.
She refused his murmured offer of a drink as they descended the last stairs. As much as she yearned for the Dutch courage, she figured it would be more of a hindrance than a help. She needed all her wits about her to successfully spar with Alejandro Martinez and combat whatever ‘reckoning’ it was he had in mind.
Maybe she should have confessed all about the diamond necklace when she had the chance upstairs in the library, but he’d been so irritatingly assured, she’d been unable to resist the urge to bait him right back.
She wasn’t sure what she’d expected from him once downstairs, but it wasn’t the supremely polite courtesy he showed her. He introduced her to everyone as they walked through the atrium to the formal lounge. Many of them were American, like him, and out to enjoy themselves as much as possible. The first few people he introduced her to looked at her with benign disinterest—clearly used to Alejandro appearing every night with a new woman. No wonder he’d looked bemused when she’d asked what he’d say about her to his guests.
‘Meet Catriona,’ he said to the fourth group of people they stopped beside.
‘Kitty,’ she sweetly corrected, yet again, and extended her hand to the nearest of the three women. ‘I’m his special date for the night.’
Three sets of eyebrows lifted in unison.
‘Special?’ one rapier-thin woman queried, her gaze equally dagger-like.
‘I had to promise her that, or break out the handcuffs,’ Alejandro answered smoothly.
The sensuality of his reply rippled through her—and the rest of the group. Eyes widened, then narrowed. But only Kitty knew the truth of his words. Only she knew he didn’t mean fur-lined kinky toys, but tight, unbreakable restraints—yet somehow the thought of them wasn’t as repellent as it should be. Not when she envisaged Alejandro wielding the cuffs and the key.
As Alejandro turned and led her further into the room, the look he sent her was slightly goading as if he knew he was thwarting her prediction of his behaviour. As if he knew the lurching direction of her thoughts. She refused to let the smile slip from her face. She’d ‘sparkle’ down here even if it killed her.
Except it wasn’t that hard at all because he made her laugh too easily. He was extremely charming. In minutes she knew exactly why there were so many women present. He had that charisma, that X-factor, that way of looking at a woman as if she were the only person in the world who mattered to him in that moment. When she was the object of his focus, a woman felt good. It was a terrifyingly unfair talent. And he shared it around. He had his fingers laced through hers, but he talked with everyone equally.
Then she noticed people were watching them more attentively. Their gazes rested on the way he remained close to her the entire time. At the way he constantly touched some part of her—a hand on her back, her arm, or clasping her hand. As time passed into the second hour, he placed his arm over her shoulder and drew her closer to his side.
The guests began looking more assessingly at her. She heard the ripple of inquiry as they made their way from room to room. She heard the whisper of her name. Surreptitious glances became openly speculative.
If Alejandro noticed he said nothing, but his attentiveness became even more apparent. Until he then led her to a corner and stepped in close to put himself as a wall between her and the rest of his guests.
‘You seem to be causing a stir,’ he said, his onyx gaze pinning her in place.
‘Not me.’
He was the one doing all the touchy-feely stuff that was causing the stares.
‘Absolutely you.’ He laughed. That amusement danced in his eyes too and she couldn’t tear her attention from him.
‘You enjoy messing with people’s lives?’
‘In what way am I messing with your life?’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘Don’t overdramatize having to spend one night alongside me. It’s not going to change your world.’
‘It’s not?’ She furrowed her brow in mock-disappointment
. ‘But I thought any woman who spent a night with the amazing Alejandro had her world rocked.’
‘Minx.’ He laughed again. ‘Come on, we’d better keep moving.’
‘Must we, darling?’ she murmured as she stepped alongside him.
The look he shot her then promised absolute retribution.
Kitty lifted her chin, feeling more game than ever. But, now she could look more freely about the house, she realised there was much gone from the rooms. Her family had had a ‘maximalist’ rather than a ‘minimalist’ style of decor but the mantelpieces were bare and shelves barren—the spaces punctuated by used champagne glasses and platters of stupidly tiny delicacies she’d yet to sample. With a pang she wondered what he’d done with all the smaller items of furniture and the trinkets and sculptures that she’d loved all her life—surely they weren’t all crammed into those boxes in the bedrooms upstairs.
‘Alejandro?’ a woman called from almost halfway across the room and walked over with quick, clipping steps. ‘I’ve just had a text from Saskia,’ she added, her eyes cold and wide as she locked her gaze on Kitty. ‘Bit of a bombshell, actually.’
‘Oh?’ Alejandro couldn’t have sounded less interested but his arm tightened infinitesimally, pressing Kitty closer to his side.
She wished he wouldn’t do that; feeling his hard strength was appallingly distracting, but she had the feeling he did it without even realising—so used to having a woman with him.