She pressed her hands to her sides, rubbing her sweating palms on the fabric of the robe, and forced herself to say it. ‘Because we... We kissed each other.’
‘I know we did.’ His lips quirked, the sensual smile making her hammering heartbeat plunge into her abdomen. ‘Did you think I’d forgotten?’
She crossed her arms over her chest, then uncrossed them again, the reminder of how tender her breasts were not making her feel any less out of her depth. Any less compromised.
How could he be so nonchalant about this?
> ‘No,’ she said. ‘It’s just... I didn’t think you’d want me to continue with the project.’
‘Why not?’ he said again, his pragmatism astounding her.
‘For the project to have any credibility I have to be an objective observer,’ she said. ‘And now I’m not sure I can be. By kissing you I’ve compromised everything I—’
‘Stop.’ He held up his hand, cutting off her explanation with the arrogance of a man who had been born to make the rules, not to follow them. ‘You’re overreacting.’
‘I... I am?’ she asked, the blush burning her neck.
‘It was a kiss, Catherine,’ he said, as if he were describing something of no significance whatsoever. ‘Nothing more. And it won’t happen again. Of course you can still be objective. Now, do you want to continue with the project or not?’
‘I...’ She struggled, not sure what to say now. Or what to think. She’d convinced herself the answer should be no. But now he’d given her an option she hadn’t expected she couldn’t bring herself to say the word.
‘Well?’ he said, prodding her.
‘Yes, I do want to continue with it,’ she blurted out. ‘I want to continue with it very much.’
Narabia’s story would be a fascinating one to tell, and she already felt invested in being the person to tell it. But as he nodded, then swept out his hand to indicate the seat in front of his desk, she knew that wasn’t the only reason she wanted to stay in Narabia. It wasn’t just the mysteries of this beautiful country she wanted to uncover, but also the secrets of the man who ruled it.
‘Then sit down and let’s continue with it,’ he said.
She forced herself to walk forward and take the seat he had indicated, trying to figure out if the line they’d crossed yesterday could now be uncrossed.
Perhaps her panic yesterday, all the shame and recriminations she had tortured herself with throughout the night, were simply a result of her chronic inexperience. She’d never been kissed by a man like that before, never felt that hunger, that depth of desire. But Zane obviously didn’t think it was that big a deal.
Had she totally blown their kiss out of proportion? Because she had no frame of reference for these things?
‘So, what is it you wanted to ask me?’ he said.
He looked so calm, so confident, so implacable. The opposite of how she felt. But also the opposite of the man who had kissed her with such passion, such purpose yesterday afternoon.
Stop thinking about the kiss.
She flexed her fingers, then brushed her palms down her robe to steady herself. And regain at least a modicum of composure and professionalism.
She dragged out the notepad and pencil she kept in the pocket of her robe. It helped ground her as she flicked through the notes she’d made yesterday in the marketplace. She reread the questions she’d scribbled down before Zane and his men had arrived.
She cleared her throat, nerves assailing her. These were extremely personal questions, but surely he’d just given her his permission to ask them?
‘I guess my first questions would be about how you came to be in Narabia when you were fourteen. Was there a custody hearing in LA, because I couldn’t find any evidence of one? And did you get any say in the decision to transfer custody from your mother to your father?’
The muscle in Zane’s jaw clenched, and his brows lifted. His expression became stormy and turbulent but the shadow of pain was clear and unequivocal before he had the chance to mask it.
Cat’s insides clenched with the brutal sense of connection.
And she realised his reaction had already given her one of the answers she sought. To the question of whether she had any chance of rebuilding her objectivity after yesterday’s kiss.
Because the answer was a categorical no.
* * *