Kiss an Angel(106)

As the waiter disappeared, Daisy whispered, “Maybe we should have ordered the house salad. This is awfully expensive.”

Alex seemed amused by her concern. “Even poor folks have to celebrate once in a while.”

“I know, but—”

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. I’ll fit it into the budget.”

She secretly resolved to plan inexpensive meals for the next few weeks to make up for it. Although Alex didn’t talk much about money, she couldn’t believe a professor at a small college earned very much.

“Are you sure you don’t want any wine?”

“No, this is fine.” As she took a sip from her tumbler of club soda, she forced her eyes away from the wine that glistened in his glass. He’d ordered one of the most expensive bottles on the menu and she would have loved a sip, but she wasn’t taking any chances with this baby.

They really shouldn’t be wasting money like this with the baby coming. As soon as they finished their tour, she’d get a job and work right up until it was time for her to deliver so she could help pay all the additional expenses. Four months ago she would never have been able to imagine such a thing, but now the idea of hard work didn’t bother her. She realized she liked the person she had become.

“Eat. I love watching you slip that fork into your mouth.” His voice deepened until it grew blatantly seductive. “It reminds me of all those other things you do with your mouth.”

Color flooded her cheeks. She turned her attention to the salad and with every bite she took, felt his eyes on her. Erotic images began flashing through her head.

“Will you stop it!” She plunked down her fork in exasperation.

He caressed the stem of his wineglass with his strong, tapered fingers, then ran his thumb over the rim. “Stop what?”

“Seducing me!”

“I thought you liked being seduced.”

“Not when I’m fully dressed sitting in the middle of a restaurant.”

“I see your point. I can tell you’re wearing a bra under that top. Do you have panties on?”

“Of course I do.”

“Anything else?”

“No. I’m wearing sandals, so I didn’t put pantyhose on.”

“Good. Now here’s what I want you to do. Get up and go into the rest room. Slip off every stitch of your underwear and put it in your purse. Then come back to me.”

Heat pooled in the most secret recesses of her body. “I most certainly will not!”

“Do you know what happened the last time a Petroff defied a Romanov?”

“I think I’m about to find out.”

“She lost her head.”

“I see.”

“Not without a head. You’ve got ten seconds.”

Although she kept her expression disapproving, her pulse had begun to throb in response to his mischief. “Is this a royal command?”

“You bet your sweet little ass it is.”

His words were a sexy caress that nearly undid her, but she managed to tighten her lips and rise from the table with a great show of unwillingness. “You, sir, are a tyrant and a despot.”

She exited the dining room to the throaty sound of his chuckle.

When she returned five minutes later, she hurried to their banquette. Even though the lights were dim, she was certain everyone in the room could see that she was naked underneath the thin silk charmeuse fabric. Alex openly perused her as she approached. There was an arrogance in his posture that marked him as a Romanov through and through.

As she settled next to him, he draped his arm across her shoulders and ran his finger along her collarbone. “I was going to make you open your purse and show me your underwear so I could be sure you’d followed orders, but as it turns out, that won’t be necessary.”

“You can see through, can’t you?” Her gaze darted to the side. “Now everybody knows I’m naked under my clothes, and it’s all your fault. I should never have let you talk me into this.”

He slipped his hand under her hair and clasped the back of her neck. “As I recall, you didn’t have any choice. It was a royal command, remember?”

He was pulling her chain three ways from Sunday, and she was enjoying every minute. She glared at him to keep him going. “I don’t answer to royal commands.”

He leaned closer and brushed her earlobe with his lips. “With a snap of my fingers, sweetheart, I can have you thrown in the dungeon. Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?”

She was saved a reply by the appearance of the waiter. He had removed the remnants of their salads while she was away, and now he set the main course before them. Alex had blackened salmon, while she’d ordered pasta. Her linguini dish was fragrant with savory herbs and plump, juicy shrimp mingling with an assortment of fresh vegetables. As she sampled the dish, she tried to forget that she was nearly naked, but Alex wouldn’t let her.

“Daisy?”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t want to make you nervous, but . . .”

He flipped open the napkin that covered a basket of warm rolls and perused the contents. Since each roll was identical, she saw no reason why it should take him so long to make a selection, except to keep her purposely dangling.

“What?” she demanded. “Tell me?”