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But there was something extremely exciting about having a man in her bedroom in the dead of night. A man she’d imagined in her bed more than once.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” His voice was soft, his touch softer as he drifted his fingers through her hair.
“How did you get in?” Her bedroom was on the second story. Yes, she had her window open, but had he actually scaled the wall?
“I have my ways.” Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she could make out the flash of white teeth when he smiled. Her heart tripped over itself at first sight of his wicked grin, her breath stalling in her throat, and she swallowed hard.
His answer was proof enough that he’d done something so extremely reckless as scale the wall of her family’s home just so he could slip inside her room. Was he crazy?
He had to be. He also needed to leave. If they were caught together in her room in the middle of the night, her mother would freak. Her sister would demand retribution. And her father would most likely force her to marry Rafe. She couldn’t have that.
Cat frowned. Had he come here on purpose? To force her hand into marriage? God, she hoped not. She thought less of him enough already. She didn’t want to believe he would be so purposely cruel as to trick her and her family like this.
“You should leave,” she said, her voice firm as she tried to sit up. But he pressed his hand against her shoulder, holding her firm and she had no choice but to lie there and wait for his next move.
Damn him and his masculine strength.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he murmured, his deep, sensual voice rippling along her nerve endings. He sounded dangerous, dark and mysterious. Leaning in, his face was in hers, his warm breath wafting across her lips, making her tremble. “Did you really think I would let you go so easily?”
“Rafe…” Her voice trailed off, a gasp escaping her when he brushed her mouth with his. His lips were hot and damp, that brief touch setting her skin on fire, and she closed her eyes, furious at her traitorous body and how easily she reacted.
How she wished she wouldn’t react at all.
“You want freedom, an adventure. What if I promised you all of that and more?”
Her eyes popped open as hope rose within her. She immediately squashed it down. He was trying to fool her. How could he promise her freedom with marriage? It made no sense. “You don’t mean it.”
“Oh, but I do.” Rafe bent over her, pressing his cheek next to hers, his mouth right at her ear. “I would give you whatever you want, Catalina, if you would just come away with me.”
His pretty little future bride actually snorted at his suggestion. It was adorable, though, that snort. He found every little thing Cat did adorable.
He was smitten. Hadn’t realized how badly until he had her in front of him earlier, ready to fight, ready to walk away from him without a backward glance. Which she’d done, much to his surprise.
No woman had ever walked away from him before. He left first. Always. Catalina Campioni intrigued him. He’d thought her a simple Italian girl he was going to marry, but there was more beneath the surface. Much more.
And he’d quickly become determined to discover those mysteries, what she hid, what she was really like. He wanted to get to know her, just as he promised earlier.
Just before she turned him down.
Rafe could admit her defiance was a turn on. Sick, twisted bastard that he was, he’d never looked so forward to a challenge before.
“And go where? As if I would never leave with you. Are you crazy?” she asked incredulously.
Maybe he was, he didn’t know. He knew one thing—he was crazy for her. Thought he might go crazy if he couldn’t have her. But was it more a case of wanting what he couldn’t have?
He pushed that ugly thought aside.
“I might not give you a choice,” he whispered as he leaned down to press his mouth to hers in a searing hot kiss. Her lips parted for him easily, the little moan that escaped her fueling him as he slid his tongue against hers, taking the kiss instantly deeper. He pressed closer, his body hardening when he felt her soft, supple form clad in only a thin nightgown.
She wrenched her head away from him, abruptly breaking their kiss. “Stop,” she said between panting breaths, her tiny hand resting against his chest. “I don’t want you to kiss me.”
All lies. Her reaction gave her away. “Stop denying the attraction between us. You know it’s there. The minute my lips are on yours, you open for me. You want this. You want me.”
