‘I’m not going to change my mind.’
His gaze darkened. ‘Maybe I should just cancel the party and we can have our own party here, just the two of us.’
Awareness twisted in her stomach. The tension was stifling. She felt as if she were standing on the edge of a deep, dark pool about to jump, with no idea whether she’d be able to save herself from drowning. ‘If we have our own party here, I couldn’t wear my new dress.’
‘You could wear it for me.’ His mouth slanted into that sexy smile. ‘And I could remove it.’
Her hand was resting on his arm and she could feel the hardness of his biceps under her fingers. ‘Isn’t that rather a waste of an expensive dress?’
‘The dress is just packaging. It’s the product underneath that interests me.’ His fingers stroked her neck gently and then his phone rang. He stepped back with a regretful smile. ‘Probably a good thing. I need enough time to do justice to the moment. Our guests will be arriving in a few hours and in true Cinderella style you need to get ready.’
A few hours? ‘How long do you think it will take me?’
‘In my experience most women take a lifetime to get ready. In the hope of speeding up that process, I’ve arranged for you to have some help. Not only am I a knight in shining armour, I’m also a fairy godmother. In fact the extent of my benevolence is starting to astonish me.’ His phone continued to ring and he dragged it out of his pocket. ‘Excuse me. I need to take this.’
As the door closed behind him Selene stood still. Her cheek tingled from the touch of his fingers and the only thing in her head was the memory of hard, male muscle under her fingers.
With a shiver, she wrapped her arms around herself and turned to look at the bed. It was enormous, draped in white linen and facing the sea. Indulgent, luxurious and like nothing she’d ever seen before. Experimenting, she slid off her shoes and jumped into the middle of it, moaning with delight as she felt the soft mound of pillows give beneath her. It was like being hugged by a cloud.
She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, smiling.
She felt free.
Right this moment no one knew where she was. No one was watching her. No one was reporting her every move to her father. No one had told her where she had to be. She was here because she had decided she wanted to be here.
Going to Stefan for help had been her first good decision and agreeing to come to the party had been her second.
Feeling light-headed, she sprang off the bed and explored the rest of the bedroom suite.
There was a ridiculously luxurious bathroom with a wall of glass that made it possible to lie in the bath and look at the sea.
Determined to indulge herself, Selene unpacked her own candles and soap. Then she ran herself a deep bath and lay in it, enjoying the scent of the candle.
She wasn’t so naïve she didn’t know what was going to happen and she wanted it to happen. She’d dreamed about Stefan for years. Had had years to think about it. Imagine it. It was perfect that he should be the first.
Soon, she thought. Soon she’d know everything there was to know about seduction.
She washed her hair and was wrapped in a soft towel, wondering why getting ready was supposed to take hours, when there was a tap on the door and two young women entered, clutching several cases.
‘Selene? I’m Dana. I’m a genius with hair.’ Dana pushed the door shut with the toe of her shoe. ‘This is Helena—she’s the make-up fairy.’
‘I don’t own make-up.’ It was embarrassing to admit it but her father had never allowed make-up or anything that he described as ‘vanity’. He’d only paid for her to have a brace because the dentist had told him it would cost him more in the long run if she didn’t have one.
Dana flipped open her case. ‘No problem. We have everything you’ll need.’
‘Do you think you can do something about my freckles and my non-existent eyelashes?’
‘You’re kidding, right?’ Helena peered at her. ‘Your eyelashes are incredible. Thick and long. What’s wrong with them?’
Selene had assumed it was obvious. ‘Don’t you think I look a bit freakish? They’re so fair they barely show up.’