Daisy decided to answer anyway and ticked off her fingers as if checking off a list. ‘One. You’re a player, not a stayer. Two. You live in Argentina and I live in England. Three. You’re—’
‘Spare me the rest,’ he muttered. ‘I think I get the picture.’
She swung her legs off the bed and reached for the bathrobe, making a little moue with her mouth. ‘I thought men were supposed to be all soft and mellow after sex? You’re a big old grouch.’
He let out a just audible curse. ‘I’m going to have a shower.’
‘Is that code for “you’re pressing my buttons”?’ she asked innocently.
He caught her by the ties of the bathrobe and pulled her roughly to him. ‘No,’ he said. ‘It’s code for “I haven’t finished pressing yours”.’
* * *
Luiz left Daisy sleeping while he read through the sponsorship contract that had come through on email. But his gaze kept tracking back to the bed, where she lay with her cheek resting on one of her hands. Her hair was spread out over his pillow, her kiss-swollen mouth slightly parted. His groin tingled at the memory of her mouth beneath his, the way her tongue played and flirted with his.
He glanced at the bedside clock. Midnight. The second night he’d spent with her. The first one he’d spent watching her sleep. The second one he’d spent making love with her and wondering how he was going to let her go at the end of their affair.
Was this how his brother felt watching Teddy sleep? This inexplicable feeling of tenderness he couldn’t shake off, no matter how much he wanted to?
Daisy didn’t belong in his life. He had no time for a relationship. He wasn’t relationship material—a fact she kept reminding him of at annoyingly regular intervals. He was the first to list his inadequacies. He didn’t need her to spell them out for him. He knew he was unreliable in a relationship. He got bored easily. He liked to get out first before someone left him.
But for the first time in a long time—possibly ever—he didn’t want to leave. He wanted to see Daisy wake up in the morning, blink those big baby-blues at him a couple of times and then smile that radiant smile that made something in his chest squeeze tight. He wanted to sit opposite her and watch her eat her breakfast like a child who had been let loose in a candy store. He wanted to see her embrace her sensuality even more, to indulge her senses without the hang-ups she had about her body. How she could doubt her physical beauty astonished him. She might not be as reed-thin as some of the models he’d dated but she had an inner beauty that was even more alluring.
He liked her sense of playfulness. She could be serious when she needed to be but a smile was never far away. He liked the way her smile lit up her eyes so they danced and sparkled.
She burrowed further into the pillow, her eyelids flickering, just like they’d done the first night he had watched her sleep. Her skin was free of make-up, as pure and as smooth as milk. He could spend hours watching her. The peacefulness of her when she slept calmed him. It soothed that restless energy deep inside him.
He came over to the bed and touched her creamy cheek with his fingertip, tracing the aristocratic slope, watching as her eyelids flickered again before opening to meet his gaze. ‘What time is it?’ she asked.
‘Just gone midnight.’
She sat up and pushed her hair back over one shoulder, holding the sheet up to her chest to cover her nakedness. ‘Have I missed dinner?’
He couldn’t hold back a smile as he traced her cheekbone again. ‘Do you think of anything but food?’
Her cheek bloomed pink under the brushstroke of his fingertip. ‘I do now.’
Luiz bent down to press his mouth against the lush bow of hers. It never failed to amaze him how soft her lips were. Soft and pliable as they moved against his in a kiss that spoke of physical yearnings that simmered under the surface. He cupped her face and deepened the kiss, putting his knee on the bed beside her as he pressed her back down on the bed. Her arms went around his neck, her mouth hot and tempting beneath his. He explored every corner of her sweetness, the taste of her like an intoxicating elixir. He wondered if he could ever satisfy his craving for her. He was trying not to overwhelm her with too much too soon. Her body would be tender and sore if he made love to her too vigorously and too often. It was strange territory for him to be feeling so protective.
It was strange for him to be feeling…
He pulled back as she reached for him. ‘You need food.’
‘I need you more.’
He stood and put some distance between himself and her tempting body. ‘Food first.’