‘Don’t keep calling me that.’
‘You don’t like it?’
‘You have no right to slap a pet name on someone you just met.’
The hand holding hers tightened. ‘Calm down—’
‘No, I won’t calm down. I’m not an angel. I’m certainly not your angel.’
‘Inez.’ A warning, subtle but effective.
Inez’s pulse stalled, then thundered wildly through her veins.
‘Don’t,’ she whispered again. Only this time she wasn’t sure what she pleaded for.
He leaned closer until his mouth was an inch from her ear. When he breathed out, warmth teased her earlobe. ‘Don’t use your given name? It’s either that or anjo. All the other words are only appropriate for the bedroom.’
Heat flamed through her belly as indecent thoughts of rumpled sheets, sweaty bodies and incandescent pleasure reeled through her mind.
She shook her head to dispel the images and heard his low laugh.
When she stared up at him, his eyes blazed down at her with a hunger that smashed through her body. Her nipples slowly hardened and the fire raged higher as his lips parted on another heart-stopping smile. Unable to help herself, her eyes dropped to the sensual curve of his mouth.
‘I think it’s my turn to say don’t. Not if you don’t want to be thrown over my shoulder and raced to the nearest cave.’
She forced a laugh despite the sensations rushing through her. ‘This is the twenty-first century, senhor.’
‘But what I’m feeling right now isn’t. It’s very basic. Primeval, in fact.’
He swerved her out of the path of another couple and used the move to draw her even closer. At the fierce evidence of his arousal against her stomach, Inez swallowed hard.
Her confusion escalated.
Constantine had been charismatic and breathtaking in his own right. But he’d never made her feel like this, not even in the beginning…before everything had gone disastrously wrong.
Thinking of the man who’d broken her heart and betrayed her so cruelly threw much needed ice over her heated senses. She’d made a fool of herself over one man. Foolishly believed he was the answer to her prayers. She was wise enough now to know Theo Pantelides wasn’t the answer to any prayer, unless it was the crash and burn type.
‘I believe I’ve fulfilled my obligatory dance duty to you. Perhaps you’d like to find a more unwitting female to club over the head and drag to your cave?’ She injected as much indifference into her voice as possible.
‘That won’t be necessary. I’ve already found what I’m looking for.’
* * *
Theo watched several emotions chase over her features before Inez da Costa regained her impeccable hostess persona.
Although he silently cursed himself for his physical reaction, he was thankful she realised her effect on him.
Let her think she held the power. Allow her to believe that he could be manipulated to her advantage. Or, rather, her father’s advantage.
Her reaction to Delgado’s departure had shown him that fulfilling her role as her father’s Venus flytrap was most important to Inez da Costa. Or was it something else? Did she hope to bag herself a millionaire while serving her father’s purpose? She came from a family ruthless in its pursuit of wealth and power. Was that her underlying agenda?
That knowledge demanded that he rethink his strategy. The conclusion he’d arrived at was surprising but easily adaptable.
He had an opportunity to kill a few more birds with one stone. With any luck, he would conclude his business in Rio in a far shorter time than he’d already anticipated if he played his cards right.
Inez tried to wrench herself from his grasp once more. The primitive feelings he’d mentioned so casually a moment ago resurfaced. When she tugged harder, he forced himself to release her. Her soft hand slid from his, leaving a trail of sensation that made his groin pound and his blood heat.
The plan he’d hatched solidified as he gazed down into her heart-shaped face, saw her fighting to stop her clear agitation from messing with her breathing.
Theo hid a smile.
Either she was offended at his primitive declaration or she was turned on by it. Since she wasn’t slapping his face, he concluded that it was the latter.