“I haven’t forgotten the night I first met you, Sienna.” His gaze moved to her lips. “I remember it very well.”
She narrowed her eyes. She remembered it with vivid clarity as well, but she wasn’t going to let the memory—and its tormenting pang for what could have been—affect her now.
Not now. Not after what he’d said to her at Clinton’s funeral. “Listen, Mr. Dyson. I don’t give a rat’s bum if you are the richest man in Sydney. I don’t like the game you’re playing.” Anger coursed through her. Anger and confusion and excitement all jostling to take control of her response. Yeah, she remembered this sensation. One she only experienced when she was around him, damn it. “And, after the last time we met, I sure as hell don’t like you.”
He studied her face with enigmatic contemplation, standing so close to her his heat caressed her bare limbs. His subtle aftershave filled every breath she pulled. Threaded into her being. Unsettled her. She remembered the way he smelled without any trouble. It still teased her in her dreams, the ones she never wanted to admit to having.
But right now, it was his eyes sending her pulse racing. They were the same color as his younger brother’s, as dark as rich chocolate with the same midnight lashes framing them. Unlike Clinton’s, which had been warm and full of laughter, James’s were hard and unflinching. Arrogant.
Here was a man used to dominating people. Used to getting his way. If she were to look into their dark depths for too long, she feared she would crumble under the sheer strength of his will. She’d once seen laughter in those eyes, and playful but undeniable interest. And then he’d discovered who she was, and that interest had turned to something…else.
Hot butterflies stirred in her stomach. She swallowed. There was no damn way she could deny how sexy she still found him. That fact had not changed since their first meeting, no matter how much she wished it had. But she wasn’t stupid, and believing James Dyson was at her home for any other reason than to bring her misery was just plain lunacy.
Taking a step backward, she glared at him. “Any time you want to leave…”
He grinned again, his lips parting to reveal perfect white teeth, the deep crease in his cheek returning. Why the hell did her body have to react at that grin? “I’m not going anywhere, Sienna.” He dipped his head lower to hers, as if to share a secret. “I’ve decided it’s time I reacquaint myself with my brother’s muse. To see if you inspire me the way you did him.” And with that, he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her against him.
He slipped his hand under her tank and smoothed it down the curve of her hip. A spark of wicked electricity passed through her, and she sucked in a sharp breath, her pulse pounding. She’d remembered this as well, what it was like to be touched by him.
In the brief moment they’d shared flirting at Clinton’s exhibition opening—before Clinton arrived and introduced them to each other—they’d brushed fingers over arms, backs of hands, hips, more than once. Back then, the simple contact electrified her.
Even after their second—and last—meeting at Clinton’s funeral, she’d been unable to banish the memory of those playful caresses. But this… His hand on her bare hip… His warm skin against hers… It was so much more consuming. So much more intoxicating.
James moved his head closer to hers. “Clint told me your skin truly is softer than silk.” The low murmur played with her sanity. “I see he didn’t exaggerate.”
He slid his hand farther down her hip and over the curve of her bottom to cup her right butt cheek, drawing her closer to him with a slight tug.
She didn’t resist. She didn’t want to. Was she really that stupid?
His corded thigh deftly parted her legs, his powerful gaze keeping her captive as he pulled their bodies closer together.
And still, she didn’t protest.
Pleasure erupted through her, hot and wicked and tormented. It claimed her. Shamed her. “Oh God.” The words slipped from her lips, a surrender to her memory of their previous connection. An acceptance of his power over her body and desire.