There it was. His bossy. It was natural to him. Before she could protest, he rubbed his face against the side of her neck, his lips leaving behind tiny flames with each kiss he gave her. Tiny ones. Barely there. She felt them all the way to her toes. She felt her sex flutter and clench, a slow burn starting. She sighed heavily, but he didn’t loosen his hold on her, so she gave in. Like she seemed to be doing a lot of with him.

“Somewhere my grandfather got the idea that he wanted me to marry either Paolo or Alonzo. They ran things for him, carried out his orders, knew the business inside and out, he said. I thought he was talking about the winery and our other legitimate businesses. We own several, mostly to do with wine. We own several vineyards as well. I wasn’t happy about it and I figured when I got my degree, rather than come home and face disappointing him, I would continue my education.”

“You went clubbing.” It was an accusation, and it came out like one. “I saw you. You were dancing and every man in the place was watching you. You wore a dress that clung to your body. Dios. So beautiful. I wanted my hands where that material was. All over you. It was all I could do not to carry you off that night.”

“I didn’t see you.” And she usually had radar where he was concerned.

“I was so damned hard looking at you I could barely walk, let alone dance,” he admitted. There was a definite edge to his voice. “I couldn’t take all the men drooling over you, and I knew if I stayed, I’d end up hurting someone.”

She glanced at him over her shoulder again. His handsome features had settled into hard lines and flecks of dark burst through the mercury of his eyes. It was fascinating to watch his eyes changing color.

“What did you do?”

He cursed in his native language, a rapid staccato of Spanish. “I took a woman home and fucked her brains out. It didn’t help. I took a shower and jerked off. That didn’t help either.”

She blinked, shocked at his honesty. Reading his anger in his darkening features. “Why are you upset with me, Elijah? I went dancing.”

“In that fucking dress, without me to protect you.”

“I had bodyguards.”

“I don’t give a fuck whether you did or not. You wore that dress. You look the way you do, and every bastard in the place had his eyes on you. Hell, half of them probably went into the bathroom and jerked off. I knew you were my woman, and I don’t share with others. Not any part of you.”