Entangled

22

"Do you need someone that bad, Deniah?"

His mocking tone raked over her. He lowered his head so his mouth stopped inches from hers. With slow purpose, his hands moved from her arms and upward to circle around her neck. Linking his fingers around the sensitive flesh, his thumbs tipped her head up, so he clearly spotted the wildly beating pulse her dress didn't hide.

He watched her face while he continued the torture by tracing the line of her collarbone, the slope of her shoulders. Then moved lower. Both palms slid down her front and cupped her breasts in his hands. Excitement danced over her nerve endings. Her muscles softened and grew weak. Her breasts swelled and ached, rising to meet him. His thumbs grazed the tips, and a low groan rose from deep in her throat. He made a low murmur of satisfaction as he continued the stroking, teasing motions. She felt him harden, rise and press against the sensitive apex between her thighs. Liquid warmth rushed through her.

"Maybe I should give you what you need so badly." He thrust his hips against hers to give her a taste, and she shook in response. His hands slipped under her dress, under her bra, and met warm, willing flesh. "Maybe if I took you now, you wouldn't need to go running to Bianchi." Her tummy plunged as those talented fingers plucked at her n*****s and stroked her, his motions gentle and tender even as his words stung.

She trembled before him, a bundling mass of emotion and sensation, but her mind stayed icy clear. The truth of his actions forced her to play out her hand to win. Letting him win this battle would weaken her. He was going to kiss her. Right here, right now. He'd give her so much pleasure she'd beg for more, and leave her pride and sanity shredded. He wanted to kiss her for one reason—his power and manhood had been threatened, and he wanted it back. He didn't want her. The wild call of mating and male dominance beckoned him, and she was stuck in his path.

So, Deniah gathered up the scattered threads of her control and played her trump card.

Lumapit pa siya ng bahagya sa lalaki and let her lips rest a bare inch from his. His breath rushed over her mouth. Aminado siyang gusto niya ang mga halik ng lalaki ,and she wanted release, pero ayaw niyang masaktan sa huli, kaya kailangan niyang patatagin ang sarili.

"No, thank you," bulong niya dito. She pulled his hands off of her and push him slightly. "Mas magandang manatili na lang tayong business partner. Good night."

She turned her back on him and disappeared up the stairs.

.......

Arkel's hands hung at his sides, empty. For one moment, he'd been filled with her: her curves, her scent, her heat. Now he stood in the middle of the room, alone, just like he had on their wedding night. A married man with a hard-on and no relief in sight. Amazed at his ridiculous predicament, he tried to go over the events of the evening and see where he'd gone wrong.

Sa sandaling nakita niya ang asawa sa tabi ni Bianchi, a slow, steaming anger had risen up within him. Nagsimula ang init mula sa kanyang mga paa, sumunod sa kanyang tiyan, sa kanyang dibdib, and finally settled like a hot band around his head. If he was a horse, he would have snorted out smoke and stamped his hooves. If he was a wolf, he would have howled at the moon and snarled at the man.

Ang isang kamay ng kanyang asawa ay nakahawak sa braso ng lalaki. Siguro may nakakatawa itong sinabi, because she threw her head back and laughed, her cheeks flushed and rosy. Her full lips had gleamed under the chandelier light. Para silang magkakilala at matagal ng magkaibigan sa halip na mga taong ngayon lang nagkita sa unang pagkakataon.

But the worst was when she smiled at him.

It was a dazzling, bewitching, come-hither smile that told the man on the receiving end he was everything she was looking for, everything she wanted. A smile that gave a man nasty dreams at night and haunted his waking hours. Ni kailan man hindi nakita ni Arkel ang ganoong ngiti ang pinukol sa kanya ng babae. He was alarmed and something crazy exploded inside him.

His plan had misfired. Ang ine- expect niya is i- entertain lang ito ng asawa at baka may malaman siya na pwedeng makatulong para makuha nila ang deal. Not actually enjoy the man so openly.

Napamura si Arkel at kinuha niya ang kurbata mula sa coffee table, ready to go to bed. Habang papa- akyat siya ng hagdan, iniisip niya ang sinabi ni Deniah . Kung totoong hindi pinagsasabay ni Bianchi ang business at pleasure, mali ang akala niya at ang ginawa niya sa harap ng lalaki. Maybe when he requested a business meeting he'd concentrate on the rational logistics of the building rather than paint an emotional landscape for the sale. Maybe Bianchi was only passionate when it came to women. Maybe he wanted a cool-headed executive to head the architectural team.

Tumigil si Arkel sa harap ng kwarto ni Deniah. Patay na ang ilaw. He paused for a moment and listened for her breathing. Ano kaya ang suot nito pantulog?

Images of scanty black lace wreaked havoc with his mind, but even the thought of her in flannel pants and a cropped T-shirt did things to him no other woman had ever accomplished. Was she lying awake in bed, dreaming of Bianchi? Or was she thinking about their last kiss and wanting more?

Umalis na siya sa pinto at tinungo ang sariling kwarto. Tinanggihan siya nito. Ang sarili niyang asawa. And he was stuck with the one thing he'd been horrified of.

A wife he was attracted to.

He shut his bedroom door and forced the thought out of his mind.