There.The tiniest fire flickered in her eyes, smoky and defiant. Standing there in all her bare glory, hair unbound and falling in tousled waves over her alabaster shoulders, she looked like a dark-haired version of Aphrodite rising from the black folds of a stormy sea.
“Stop staring.”
He tore his gaze away from the rose-colored tips of her breasts and refocused on her eyes.
Her flat, emotionless gray eyes. Something twisted in his chest. He missed the spark that had flickered to life just last night, then flamed into a blazing inferno as they’d left the empty ballroom behind.
Now that he’d glimpsed the real Calandra, he didn’t want her to retreat back into the detached professional he’d come to know.
Not that it mattered, he reminded himself. He’d be on a plane to New Orleans this afternoon. Calandra would return to her career as event planner for his brother’s company, Cabrera Wines. And their one night of passion, no matter how intensely pleasurable it had been, would gradually fade as time passed and new women graced his bed.
He covered his momentary lapse into maudlin territory with his customary playboy smile.
“Nothing I haven’t seen already.”
“Now, Alejandro.”
With a disappointed sigh, he averted his gaze and stared out the windows at the towers of New York City sparkling in the early-morning light. He hadn’t planned on dropping in for the release party of his brother’s latest wine. Butmaldición, he was glad he had. It had been a solid month since he’d pleasured a woman. As much as he enjoyed teasing Calandra, he never would have guessed that she would be his next lover.
Or that she’d be untouched. Possession wound itself through his veins, hot and...desperate. Desperate to keep her all to himself, to not let anyone see the treasure that had been lurking beneath her dark clothing and stern expression.
A discreet glance over his shoulder made his chest tighten as he took in the sensual curve of her back, her tapered waist and those gorgeous legs disappearing into her dress.
Yes. Definitely glad.
“Well.”
He suppressed another grin as he turned to fully face Calandra. The gown was in place, wrapped firmly around her body, her lips thin and tight as she stared at him, hands by her sides and curled into fists. The coldness in her gaze would send most men running.
But not him. Not anymore. Not after the delights she had placed within his grasp last night as she’d wrapped those stunning legs around his waist and—
“Sorry, what?” he asked, dragging his mind back from his lurid fantasies.
“Thank you for...” She waved her hand in the air, then shook her head. “I hope you have a safe trip to New Orleans.”
Panic flared in his stomach, unexpected and unwelcome. He never panicked when a woman left his bed. Usually he was the one doing the leaving. So why did it bother him that Calandra was practically running into the living room of the suite? Easier to deal with a woman who left on her own than one who took a single night as a sign of something more.
But Calandra leaving bothered him. Before he could examine his emotions, he gave in to instinct and jumped out of bed, grabbed a pair of sweatpants he’d tossed over a chair and followed her.
She had her hand on the door handle when he walked into the living room. Her eyes widened and focused on his chest and then snapped back up, her face red.
Ah.The ice queen wasn’t nearly as impervious as she portrayed herself to be.
“What are you doing?” Her tone, on the other hand, could have frozen hell. “I said goodbye.”
“It would be rude of me not to walk you back to your room.”
Her lips tightened even further. Ever since Adrian had hired her three years ago, Alejandro had delighted in teasing her, trying to get a rise out of the woman who seemed to prefer business over pleasure.
Until last night. Last night, she had definitely preferred pleasure when she’d gasped his name as her hands had clutched his shoulders. He could still feel the heat of her fingertips on his skin.
“I don’t have a room here.”
Alejandro frowned. “Why not?”
“I’m staying with a friend in the city.”
Jealousy slithered through his chest. “A friend?”