His grin made her chest flutter. It had to be the excessive hormones pumping through her veins.
“You’re the one who wanted to kill me. I just enjoyed teasing you. But we barely know each other. Not really.”
She looked away. She didn’t want to get to know him. Knowing someone meant time, emotions, investment. Things she wanted nothing to do with.
“What are you suggesting?”
“Stay tonight. Here. We’ll talk in the morning.”
“And if I refuse?”
Determination hardened his eyes and chased the pleasantness from his face. “If you refuse, then it becomes a legal problem.”
His threat shocked her into silence. If this went to court, she would lose in a heartbeat. She couldn’t even begin to compete with Alejandro’s wealth or the lawyers he could buy. His menacing words solidified what she had suspected—beneath the smiles and gallant charm, he was just like her father. He toyed with people’s emotions, manipulated them until he had what he wanted and then revealed his true self.
Her hand settled over her stomach as she lifted her chin. She’d play his game for now, maybe use the time to figure out why exactly he was so interested in becoming a father. Was there a business angle, like securing an heir—archaic as that notion seemed—or was it just male pride?
“Fine. We can talk tomorrow,” she replied stiffly.
“Excellent.”
“But I have a hotel room.”
“Where are you staying?”
“Nearby.”
He stepped closer. She stood firm. She despised him, hated him for having the power of wealth, for fooling her, for giving her a taste of what she thought had been true passion only to find out it was just a mirage.
Most of all, she hated that despite everything she’d discovered in the last five minutes, her body still responded to his dark, sensual masculinity.
“Stay here tonight.”
Her spine straightened. Just because she was playing his game didn’t mean she would take orders.
“No. Thank you.”
His expression softened, but she kept her heart hard. She wouldn’t be trapped in the vicious cycle her father had kept her mother in for years. Expensive trips, lavish gifts, a compliment designed to make the heart sing...until the next time he’d cheated. The next time he disappeared for a week and they’d had no idea if he was running wild in Europe or if he was lying in a ditch somewhere.
“It would be easier—”
“I said no.” She spit out the words with such ferocity that she almost blinked in surprise.
Sadness darkened his eyes as he turned away. Her hand came up to...what? Stop him from leaving? Comfort him?
Don’t fall for it.
He pulled back the curtain from the balcony doors and stepped outside, then looked back at her expectantly. He’d managed to turn this into a dismissal even though she was the one who was leaving.
Her defenses hardened. The last three years of conversations and bantering had revealed a keen mind and a sharp wit. Traits many people, including herself, had brushed aside because he seemed so utterly ridiculous. But then last year they’d talked more, delving into business, politics and travel. She’d learned that he was intelligent.
An intelligence she needed to be wary of as they moved into battle.
She walked across the library slowly, not giving him the satisfaction of hurrying to his side. As she started to move past him into the summer night, he caught her hand in his. Slowly, so achingly slowly, he brought her fingers up. She should pull away, should call him every insult she could think of. But no. No, she watched her fingers travel up to his mouth, bit down on her bottom lip as he pressed a kiss to her knuckles.
“Until tomorrow.”
And with that he walked down the stairs to join the partygoers below. She watched his tall figure cut through the crowd with ease, pausing here and there to greet someone.