Dirk: A Stepbrother Romance(28)
A jolt of electricity shot through her from their joined hands and she jumped, before nervously withdrawing her palm from his grasp. Her surprised gaze met his and she couldn’t help noting he didn’t look a bit surprised as he gazed steadily back at her.
A faint blush stained her cheeks as she grinned up at him, “Mr Kindersley. Can I just say how honored we are at Forwardaid for your kind donations. The children have benefitted greatly. Melissa mentioned something about an idea you were proposing for Forwardaid?”
His strange grey eyes roved over her features, touching slightly on her mouth before moving down the rest of her body. She was dressed in a long, purple-colored elegant gown. The halter neck of the gown revealed the smooth skin of her neck and shoulders in a tantalizing expanse of flesh that made him clench his fists in his pants pockets as he strove for control. Her lips were ruby-red and slightly puckered as she smiled at him. Her breasts were so big he was certain she had to be at least a 38D. She was a big woman, but she was so damn sexy it was all he could do to keep his hands away from her. Her ass swelled invitingly beneath the smooth silk of her dress; he got hard just looking at it. His first instinct was to ravish her, right there. But he couldn’t do that to her. She deserved candles and flowers and romance. He couldn’t just pounce on her and start rutting!
If the glances coming their way were any indication, he wasn’t the only one who thought she was sexy as hell, he noted jealously.
“It’s my pleasure ma’am,” he assured her smoothly as he offered her his arm and guided her to their seats.
There were many events lined up including auctions, charity fashion shows, awards; but all through the night, Lisa was completely aware of the handsome debonair man sitting beside her. Power clung to him like a second skin but he was also gracious, polite and unfailingly courteous even to waiters. He was a perfect gentleman, she decided.
Every last nerve in her body was on high alert. She was so attuned to him that by the end of the night she was tired, deliciously so. She felt invigorated though, every last one of her senses on high alert as she smiled at every one and studiously avoided the piercing grey gaze of the silent, powerful man beside her.
She stumbled to her feet, aware that a few strands of her hair were escaping her elegant coiffure as she finally steeled herself to face him and bid him good night. His gaze clashed with hers, filled with such heat and unexpected passion that she gasped aloud.
“Miss Fuller, would you care to join me for a late glass of champagne to celebrate the success of this night and the possibility of future collaborations?”
Well how could she refuse when he put it like that?
“I don’t have much of a head for champagne,” she said weakly.
“Coffee then,” he murmured, smiling disarmingly at her as he proffered his arm.
A hot blush stained her cheeks and she ducked her head in embarrassment. She had never been one to blush, not since high school anyway. And suddenly she was blushing like a schoolgirl? He also seemed like someone she should remember, but from where?
She let him guide her towards the coat area and as she was picking up her coat, he went outside, apparently to make certain the car was being brought around.
Melissa appeared at her elbow, her voice breathless with excitement as she whispered, “You seem to be getting along famously with Raven.”
Lisa fought down another wave of blushes as she said noncommittally, “He seems easy to get along with.”
“Oh I think it’s more than that. No one has ever seen him pay any woman more than a passing attention. Heck I was even thinking he was gay or something. But since he clapped eyes on you, he hasn’t taken them off. The entire show he kept watching you with such hungry?”
Melissa cut herself short, and then threw a quick glance at a spot over Lisa shoulder before she said, “Pardon me.”
Lisa didn’t have to turn around to know Raven was heading towards her. Every last hair on her neck stood on high alert. The effect he had on her!
“Ready to go?” his deep voice said at her elbow and she turned to face him with a practiced smile that faltered a little when he smiled back at her, his eyes crinkling at the edges. He was so handsome she wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen him for herself.
CHAPTER THREE
Lisa nervously bit down on her lip as Raven pulled into the garage of his house which had turned out to be a mansion set on a huge sprawling estate that had to be the stuff of fantasies.
She was also acutely aware that she must seem painfully gauche and na?ve to him as she openly stared around at the opulence of her surroundings. The silence was eerie; a huge mansion like this was like something made for the Dukes and lords of the Victorian ages to be filled with at least a thousand house guests.
It was completely empty, not a soul in sight, she noted with a shiver. God what if there was something wrong with him? How well did she know him? He could be a serial killer for all she knew.
“Are you alright? You seem cold,” he observed.
“Nah,” she said with a nervous laugh as he guided her into the biggest living room she had ever clapped eyes on.
He stared at her silently for a beat and then his grey eyes held hers with open honesty as he said, “You’re safe here. If you will believe nothing else, believe that. You have nothing to fear from me,” he assured her.