“It’s the reason you chose me.”

“I will admit to finding you fascinating.”

“Have we met before?” He didn’t think so. He’d have remembered that mouth, the shape of it, the full lower lip that gave the impression of being in a permanent pout, the bow shape of the upper lip, thinner, half the plumpness of the lower. Her mouth would provide a nice cushion for his.

“No, but I’ve seen you from afar, heard tales of your . . . prowess.”

“I have a policy of kissing but never telling. I’d always assumed ladies, especially those who wandered about above the riffraff, kept their affairs secret.”

“No one has ever spilled any secrets. It’s simply the way your name is always spoken on a sigh that led me to believe you had hidden talents. Then, of course, there is all this. Why provide such decadence if you’re not willing to partake?”

“Perhaps my preference is to simply watch from the shadows.”

“An onlooker?” She shook her head. “No, I see you as an active participant. There’s too much maleness in you.”

And that maleness was directed at her with a smoldering gaze that nearly had her tripping over her feet. She was accustomed to lighthearted banter and flirtation, not looks through half-lowered lids that had every pore in her body steaming, every inch of her skin sweltering, her nipples puckering, and the secretive place between her legs begging for her to crush it up against something, against him. His hand. His thigh. His crotch.

Dear God, where had those thoughts come from?

As though her body had written its needs across her pupils, he shifted his hand until the edge of his palm rested against the lower portion of her back and pressed her slightly, with just enough force, enough determination that she was keenly aware that his body was reacting with needs similar to hers.

Her earlier question was unerringly answered. He was interested in bedding her. Desperately, if the hardness that greeted her was any indication.

Then he eased away, leaving her to wonder if he’d been teasing her or staking a claim. The latter she decided. A man who threatened bodily harm to his employees was not one to reveal his desires unless he was assured that they’d be reciprocated.

The music finally came to a halt, and so did they. This time they didn’t wait about. Instead, he placed her hand snugly in the crook of his elbow and led her from the dance floor, from the room, into a darkened corridor, and swept her along a maze of rooms, hallways, and passages. He was intimately familiar with every inch of them as he needed no light to guide him. Strange how she didn’t hesitate to follow, how her steps were as sure as his. She trusted him. It was an odd sensation to give herself wholly over into a near-stranger’s keeping.