“That’s not good enough.”

He growled. “What do you want from me?”

Aria knew exactly what she wanted from him. Their mind-blowing kiss was still on her mind. But she couldn’t ask for that. She wasn’t bold enough, or stupid enough.

“I want you to kiss me,” she whispered. Apparently, her brain hadn’t gotten the memo. His eyes widened and darkened, then he shut them tightly. Was it desire she’d seen burning in them? She thought so. Good; she wanted to melt his cool façade. At the same time, she knew it was a terrible idea. “And I want you to touch me.” The words were coming from a seductress who had taken over her body. She couldn’t believe anything else. What was it about him that made her reckless? “I want to feel your skin against mine,” the seductress continued.

Eli tensed—whether to pounce or flee, she wasn’t sure. Driven by a crazy impulse, she reached over and traced a finger down his taut stomach, discovering that the ridges of his muscles were hot steel covered by hotter flesh.

He gasped when she touched him. “You’re driving me crazy,” he said. “God, Aria.”

Spurred on by his reaction, she smoothed her palm up his arm, feeling the firm bicep and strong shoulder. The feel of his hot skin inspired thoughts in Aria that she’d never expected to have. Fantasies of rubbing against his superb body in bed, luxuriating in the sensation of his heat covering her.

Aria had only slept with two people—both long-term boyfriends—and she’d been in a sexual drought for a long time. She was overdue for some nookie. Maybe it was time for her to be a little wild. Powerful men could ruin lives, but surely she could retain a degree of control if she didn’t give Eli her heart. Her reputation wasn’t pristine. Some people would always believe she was a gold-digger. How much more damage could she do by being with Eli Lockwood? Anyway, she was beginning to think he might be a decent guy, despite his old-fashioned tendencies.

“Have dinner with me,” he demanded, removing her hand from his stomach. “Any time, any place.”

Aria shook her head. She couldn’t become involved in that way. Her heart had to stay out of this. “I can’t,” she said, unsure what had come over her. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I need to cool off.”