CHAPTER SEVEN

       Have you ever felt that you were about to do something you might regret and yet were utterly powerless to stop yourself? Well, that’s where I am now. I could do with a gang of you turning up at the penthouse to drag me back from the lustful brink. But I should warn you that if you do I might not be all that pleased to see you.

       Tomorrow’s another day? Yes, and I might need a hug by then. Maybe I’ll know what sex can be like when you choose the right man, but we all know that for every good thing that happens there’s the flip side of the coin, so I could be about to make the biggest mistake of my life.

       And the playboy? The reason I’m telling you this is because there’s a look in his eyes I haven’t seen before, and after months of telling myself I don’t need men I suddenly thought, Do I want to spend the rest of my life wondering what I’ve missed?

      COULD she remember all that? She could hardly race to the laptop now. ‘The writer of this column is otherwise engaged and seems likely to be so for quite some time’ was one heck of a headline, but was this moment something she wanted to share with the world? ‘How is it possible I’m covered in ice cream while you have a magic ring of protection around you?’ Holly demanded excitedly, playing for time. She shrieked as Ruiz prowled closer, while he just grinned and shrugged.

      Why was she out of ammunition? Holly’s chaotic thoughts refused to assemble into a coherent form as she backed away. It wasn’t a fresh tub of ice cream she needed, but a long, cold shower and a few miles’ distance between them. What had she been thinking? That she could play games with Ruiz and there would be no consequences? ‘Okay. I give up.’ She raised her hands in defeat. ‘You’re better at this than I am—’

      ‘What do you expect with three brothers and a sister? I’ve been having food fights since I could lift a spoon.’

      An only child could only dream of having this much fun, but at least Ruiz had ceased hostilities for now. She breathed a sigh of relief as she tried to retrieve a blob of ice cream that had landed on her chest before it could trickle any lower. But this brief pause in the ice-cream war didn’t mean she liked losing. Sneakily reaching for the tub, she launched a counter attack, and, though Ruiz had the reflexes of a fighter pilot, she managed to score a hit on his mouth.

      ‘You’ll pay for that,’ he warned, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

      Holly sincerely hoped so. The fears that had haunted her for so long had been consumed in the fire burning in Ruiz’s eyes. It was enough to make anyone hot and reckless. She held her breath as he prowled closer. Seconds ticked away and then they both launched an attack at the same moment. A fast and furious battle ensued. Ruiz was so much stronger and faster than she was, but she was fast enough, and fiercely competitive. Everything became a blur of limbs and flying ice cream. She managed to put the island counter between them, a barricade that gave her chance to draw breath. Lifting her chin, panting and gloating, she taunted Ruiz across the gleaming stretch of granite.

      He vaulted over it. ‘Now what are you going to do?’ he said, holding her in front of him.

      She hummed, glaring at him defiantly. Struggling was pointless. Ruiz’s grip was light, yet firm, while she was consumed by excitement and covered in sticky ice cream. This was hardly the moment to assume the moral high ground. Resting back in his arms, she began to laugh.

      ‘What?’ he said.

      Every part of her was tingling and aware. She was free. ‘Nothing you need to know,’ she said, straightening up to deliver a challenging stare into Ruiz’s eyes.

      He had never wanted her more. His virtuous resolutions to steer clear of Lucia’s friend were history. He was more interested in licking Holly clean. He kissed her cheek, her neck, tasting her, and then he tasted her some more. ‘You’re delicious,’ he commented as she wriggled in his arms, helpless with laughter.

      ‘And so are you—’

      He wasn’t prepared for her whipping up his tee, and holding it while she licked the sugared cream from his chest. He sucked in a sharp breath and his surprise didn’t lessen with the look she gave him. Her eyes blazed with fire and the sort of confidence he knew was buried deep inside. ‘Kiss me,’ she demanded fiercely, making it sound like a challenge as she locked her hands behind his head.

      A challenge? This was a pleasure. The kiss was long and hot and deep. She tasted warm and sweet, and fiercely female. There was nothing girlie, soft, or vulnerable about Holly now. This was an equal match between a woman intent on claiming her mate, and a man who rejoiced in her strength as he lifted her.

      She had never done anything remotely like this before—had never clawed at a man’s clothes, hungry to feel his naked body hard against her. There was nothing delicate or tender happening here. She was burning up from the inside out.

      Buttons from her pyjama top flew across the kitchen and skittered across the floor as she yanked Ruiz’s top over his head. He only paused briefly to protect them both, and then he took over, resting her on the side as he pushed the top from her shoulders and the pyjama pants from her legs. His clothes dropped to the floor. Excited sounds escaped her lips. Ruiz’s naked torso was stronger, harder, warmer, more beautiful than even she had imagined. The wide spread of his muscular shoulders was enough to turn her on, but it was the look in his eyes that really did it for her, because that promised more excitement than she had ever known. Holding Ruiz’s darkening gaze, she traced the pattern of muscle and sinew from his breastbone to his shoulder, then down over his biceps to his forearms, and on to his hands and the lean, elegant fingers. ‘Now,’ she whispered urgently.

      He brushed his mouth against her lips—a promise that wasn’t enough for her now. ‘Don’t tease me,’ she warned him. But he did, brushing his lips and his stubble against her neck and her cheek, and then her lips, promising, always promising, yet pulling away before she could taste him. He repeated this until her body was a furnace