His gaze slanted to her, stayed and lingered over her hair, her jaw, the swell of her bust before he answered. ‘Five years. I’d been looking a long time for a place like this and made the owner an offer he didn’t refuse.’
‘It seems like an it’s-been-in-my-family-since-the-dawn-of-time kind of place.’
One corner of his mouth lifted. ‘Why would you think that?’
She shrugged. ‘Isn’t that the way it goes with royalty?’
He gave a low, husky laugh. The sound settled low in her pelvis, heating her up from the inside out. ‘Am I being pigeonholed again, Violet?’
‘Merely returning the favour,’ she parried.
His smile disappeared, and he tugged on her hand to still her. ‘Explain.’ His voice was terse.
‘Isn’t that how you see me? In a specific way you won’t be swayed from?’ She couldn’t quite keep the hurt from her voice.
‘Several weeks ago, perhaps.’
The unexpected response drew a soft gasp. ‘Are you saying that you no longer think I’m scheming to get my hands on your royal billions?’ she tossed at him.
He studied her as a scientist would a rare and exotic specimen. ‘You may be exceptional in many ways, but I don’t think hiding your true character is sustainable in the long run.’ He stepped closer, saturating her with his power and might and utter gorgeousness. ‘I heard what you said this afternoon, Violet,’ he rasped low and deep.
Heard was one thing. But did he believe her?
She wanted to ask. Wanted to lay bare every fear and secret yearning, every hope and fantasy in a way that scared her enough to pull away, attempt to disentangle her fingers from his.
He held her tight as his hand slowly rose, splayed with reverent gentleness on her stomach. Grey eyes gleaming with an emotion she couldn’t name, he tugged her close once more. ‘We’re going to be indefinitely connected by this unique and sacred experience. Let’s not default to animosity.’
‘I never wanted animosity in the first place.’
His hand shifted, his palm caressing her stomach almost possessively. ‘Good, then let’s address something else. This thing between us,’ he drawled.
Her mouth dried, her senses jumping as she fought her own yearnings. ‘What are you talking about?’
His free hand slid beneath her thick braid to grip her tighter. He pulled her closer, rested his forehead against hers. ‘You’re like a fever in my blood, Violet. I crave you beneath me, satisfying your every need, your beautiful body bare to my every whim.’
A deeper shiver attacked her, unravelling her from head to toe. Zak didn’t miss her reaction, and smiled in pure, arrogant male satisfaction at her response to his words.
‘I... I don’t...’
He grazed his thumb over her lips, dredging another tremble from her soul. ‘Before you deny us, think for a moment, my sweet, of how much better this truce could be if you can have me, without guilt or hesitation, anytime and anywhere you want,’ he urged thickly. His voice oozed pure temptation, so much carnal promise Violet could barely keep her body upright.
Seven days of untold pleasure.
The thought that with one move he’d imprisoned her and with the other he was granting her sexual freedom was almost too much to wrap her head around.
His fierce intelligence had always astounded her, but Zak was demonstrating how he held the world effortlessly in the palm of his hand.
Even the acknowledgement that he’d guided her into the middle of this maelstrom, that she would most likely be annihilated before the tempest was over, wasn’t enough to compel her back from the dizzying edge his words had propelled her to.
Seven days of indulging her every fantasy.
And then what?
She couldn’t lose sight of his ultimate purpose. Everything he was doing was for his child. Well, except maybe the urge to scratch this particular itch.
But...it was the same craving she was experiencing. And wasn’t this the perfect opportunity to crack that hardened emotional shell? Heal him even as she attempted to heal herself?
Her insides shook at the gleaming possibility of what could be.