A Facade to Shatter(46)

His mouth claimed hers in a hot, possessive kiss that stole her breath and her sense. Lia threaded her arms around his neck without hesitation, melded her body to his. She could do nothing else. She simply wasn’t programmed to respond any other way.

The answering hardness in his groin sent a fresh blast of desire ricocheting through her. Had it been this incendiary between them the first time? Had she felt this sweet, sweet fire raging in her belly, her brain, her core? His tongue against hers was nirvana. She couldn’t get enough. She kissed him back hotly, desperately, her tongue tangling with his again and again.

He groaned low in his throat, pulling her closer, one hand splayed over her hip, the other sifting into her hair, cupping her head, holding her mouth against his.

She was being swept away on a tide of heat and deep burning feelings that ached to get out. If he kept kissing her like this, she wouldn’t survive it. She would not be the same Lia Corretti when it was over.

She would be his creature, his to do with as he wanted. His slave. His, his, his …

With a cry, she pushed him away. She didn’t know why, except she knew it was necessary to her sanity, her survival. She could not be any less in control of herself and her emotions than she already was. She could not allow him to own her like this when he gave her nothing of himself in return.

Because she was certain, as certain as she was breathing, that she had no claim on his heart or his emotions. It was physical, this need, nothing more.

For him anyway.

And that was a kind of servitude she did not need. She knew what it was like to be unnecessary—and she could not bear to be so in his life.

He let her go, his hands dropping to his sides. He looked angry, desperate—and then he looked cool, unperturbed. He wiped a thumb across his mouth, across that gorgeous mouth that had been pressed so hotly to hers only moments ago. Then he straightened his shirt, and she was mortified to see that she’d pushed it askew in her desire to touch him.

“Forgive me,” he said coolly. “I forgot myself.”

Her heart beat hard and swift, and nausea danced in her stomach. She took a step back, collided with the hedge. Tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill free. What was wrong with her? Why was she so emotional?

“I want to go home,” she said.

His head came up, his eyes glittering hard as diamonds. “Home?”

She was confused at his reaction, at the tightness in his voice. “Yes, back to my room. I have a headache, and I want to sleep… .”

She wasn’t quite certain, but she thought his stance softened, as if a current of tension had drained away. He seemed remote, a gorgeous automaton of a man who stared back at her with cool eyes. He stepped to the side and swept a hand toward the entrance to the maze, indicating that she should precede him.

“Then we’ll go,” he told her.

They returned to the house in silence. Once there, they played the game again. Lia smiled, though it shook at the corners, as they moved through the gathering. Their leave taking was tedious, but then they were outside and the valet was bringing the car around. There were people clustered together on the mansion’s grand portico, waiting for their cars or simply finding another place to take the party.

The lawn was wide, sweeping and, though the property was gated, the gates were opened to the street as cars came and went. A valet pulled up in Zach’s BMW while another opened the passenger door for Lia with a flourish. Zach stood by her side. Ordinarily, he would hand her into the car, but this time he didn’t touch her. She reckoned he was angry with her.

She took a step toward the car when something bright flashed in her face. It took her a moment to realize they’d been photographed. At first she thought it was simply someone taking a picture they’d ended up in by accident, but when she glanced at Zach, his taut expression told her it was more than that.

He stood there a moment, fists clenched at his side, but then he started around the car when nothing else happened.

The moment he was gone, the photographer took the opportunity to approach again, this time focusing in on Lia. Zach was halfway around the car when he turned to swing back toward the photographer, his face twisted in rage. The valet tried to put himself between Lia and the other man, but the man bumped against him and the car door swung into Lia, knocking her off balance. Before she could save herself, she landed on her hands and knees on the pavement.

Zach was at her side in a second, helping her up, his face tight with fury as he pulled her into the protective embrace of his body. He held her as if he were shielding her from another onslaught. She clung to him, breathed him in, though she told herself she should push away and tell him she was perfectly fine. Her body was still so attuned to his touch that her nerve endings tingled and sparked like fireworks on a summer night.