Natalie began to tremble in earnest; his hand delved into her hair while his arm snaked around her waist and pulled her up and into his torso. He heard the air leave her lungs and her breathing stagger as she stood in the radius of his arms. He lowered his head and his lips came to the corner of her mouth. "You're trembling."
"No--No, I'm not." She reached up and grabbed hold of his biceps, as if needing something solid to hold onto.
"Oh, baby, you are. Do I make you tremble?" At her silence, he moved his lips to hers and kissed her gently. "Are you ready now? I'm going to kiss you." Just as he said it, he tugged her lower lip between his teeth and she let out a tiny, uncontrollable moan.
He ran his lips over hers, taking in her scent, the feel of her, as he slid his fingers to her chin and pulled it down, demanding access to the interior of her sweet mouth. He slipped his tongue inside, steeled his guts against his instantaneous response to her, and tried like hell to be gentle.
He would let himself kiss her now, but that's all he'd allow himself. He absolutely couldn't risk her running from him--the thought of her leaving--of her being scared of him, not wanting to stay here with him, just didn't sit right with him. He wanted her to be comfortable with him, wanted her to be happy so she'd stay here and continue to live in his home--and eventually--sleep in his bed.
With that thought in mind, he ruthlessly pulled himself back from the brink. Removing his arm from around her waist as he continued to kiss her, he lifted the shirt and covered her again. He ended the kiss slowly, only allowing himself a few more seconds of heated bliss, and then moved away from her, putting her at arm's length from him.
He watched her as she slowly opened her eyes. What he saw there almost decimated him. There was desire--but there was fear as well. Fear and confusion. He tried to care--to put himself in a place where he could think about letting her go. But he couldn't. It was out of his power. He could do a lot of things to make things easier for her. He could go slowly with her, seduce her softly and gently. But let her go?
There was absolutely no fucking way. It couldn't be done. It was out of his control.
****
Natalie heard the sound of the door shutting behind Marco and she stood trembling uncontrollably in front of her dresser. Oh, she was in trouble. Never before had she been kissed the way he'd kissed her. Never in her life had she ever felt anything that even remotely compared to the way he'd just made her feel. Her stomach hadn't stopped doing somersaults yet; she imagined it would take awhile to come down again.
Confusion lacerated her insides. Nothing in her past had ever given her any reason to think she could trust a man. Her father--the pain was so intense from what he had done she couldn't even go there in her brain. What he'd done to her mother--no, she wouldn't think about it. And it had taken her mother a few years to let go and trust another man. And that wasn't turning out very pretty. Even Natalie's boyfriend in high school, the one she'd given her virginity to, had broken her heart so deeply and thoroughly, she hadn't dated much since.
And now here was Marco. A man she knew to be eight years her senior, the CEO of a bank, and the most intensely ruthless man she'd ever encountered. He wanted her--there was no getting around that fact. And she'd bet the four-hundred-and-sixty-eight dollars in her checking account that he always got what he wanted.
So how did she feel about him? Well, for one, she'd never met a sexier man in her life, and there was no doubt, he turned her on. But he seemed to have a personality that was more than dominant, and quite frankly, it intimidated her. If only she had some control over the situation, she'd feel a hundred times better. And on top of all that angst, there was the matter of twenty-thousand dollars.
But, dear God, his kisses. His kisses had been--mind blowing.
Chapter Six
The next morning at nine o'clock, Natalie phoned Marco's office and asked for Joy. After an initially stilted conversation about the day's itinerary, Natalie had opened up and expressed her fears about the evening. She'd asked the other woman for input and reassurance and she'd gotten it. Joy had known Marco for a number of years, she knew his tastes and the type of women he dated. She knew about the charity function they would be attending that night.
She'd chatted sweetly to Natalie--had it been Natalie's imagination that the woman's voice had pepped up when informed that Marco had broken up with Tanya--and said Natalie would be fine.
When the car had pulled up at ten, the morning's itinerary was all mapped out. The shopping and the salon--all were prearranged and Natalie only had to go along for the ride and choose what she wanted.
The dress she'd found was perfect. It was more expensive than what she'd ever buy in her life, but the price tag hadn't been on it and she hadn't known the cost until later. She'd hoped for the perfect little black dress, but that's not what she'd ended up with. No, this dress was a white sheath, simple in design, but when Natalie had slipped it over her head, the garment had come to life. It was short; a few inches above her knees, and coupled with silver diamante heels, made her appear taller than she was. The back was low, not ridiculously low, but it couldn't be worn with a bra. The front of the dress was lined for just that reason.
Next the car had pulled in front of a salon, where Natalie had been led inside and pampered to within an inch of her life. The decision to have her hair and nails done was taken away from her; it was a given that she was there for the 'works.' She'd left the salon with an array of cosmetics, and a pair of costume drop-earrings that sparkled.
Standing now in her bedroom in front of the mirror, she couldn't contain the apprehension that screamed down her spine. She wanted to look nice, but she was scared about the coming evening where she knew for a fact that she'd be out of her element, and she had a niggling worry about all the money that had been spent.
Marco had arrived from work sometime before, and Natalie knew he was in his room getting ready.
His knock on her door came too soon; she hadn't had a chance to calm her nerves yet.
She walked to the door and opened it, and what she saw there had her completely forgetting about the state of her nerves. Marco stood in front of her, dressed in a designer black suit, and although she'd seen him in a suit many times, this one packed an added punch.
Her hand trembled on the doorframe as he stood still in the threshold, studying her, but completely silent as he did it.
Her brow wrinkled and she felt a pinch at the back of her throat. "Hi," she managed.
"Hi, yourself. You look--different," he said.
Natalie's stomach dropped to her feet. She so wanted to look nice tonight but his statement didn't sound good at all. Her eyes dropped from his and her hands twisted together.