Filthy Rich (6 page)

He knew too much about how to use his brawn, too much about how to touch her and send her thoughts scattering.

She trembled again, fighting the urge to draw her fingertips down his chest.

Shit!

Her self-control was dissolving, dropping her on her butt and leaving her at the mercy of her impulses. That idea dragged her down into the failure of her marriage. It was a churning pit of impulses that had cost her dearly when she trusted a man enough to let him into her bed.

She wrenched out of Nartan's arms, feeling the parting too damned much, but she shook her head and left. Two couples looked up as she nearly bolted from the center of the floor where Nartan had taken her. The building was too damned hot, so she made her way out one of the huge doorways that was wide enough for a Hummer to fit through and walked toward the far corner of the building. Only after she turned the corner and left the doorways out of sight did she stop.

She closed her eyes and forced herself to perform a breathing routine she'd learned in marital arts. Her heart slowed, her respiration coming back into a normal rhythm.

When she opened her eyes, the great expanse of natural wonder didn't impress her. She was still fighting for control, fending off the attraction that Nartan unleashed in her. She ordered herself to ignore it, but her body was still trembling from his touch. Her blood was hot, her nipples hard; and every bit of self-discipline she'd learned from Master Lee was nowhere in sight.

“Tarak wasn't pulling my leg when he said your ex was a prick.”

Celeste jumped, a startled sound escaping her lips, and whipped around to discover Nartan three feet from her. Her eyes widened, shock filtering through the haze of arousal fogging her brain.

“He had no business telling you anything about me,” she said. Her temper was nowhere to be found, leaving her sounding like a lost little girl. Which sure as hell didn't mix well with the way she was fighting the urge to look at his lips.

Nartan raised an eyebrow. “So you'd prefer I just feel like a total dick when you take off in the middle of a dance, insinuating to everyone watching that I can't be a gentleman at my best friend's wedding?”

Shame threatened to choke her as she realized how her exit must have looked. Heat teased her cheeks but she lifted her chin, realizing it was time to face off with him before she lost any more of her wits. “We already agreed—”

“Agreed?” he cut in, stepping toward her. “No, honey, we didn't agree on anything.”

He was pressing her. She felt him as much as she heard or saw him. Every muscle she had was taunt or quivering. “I made my feelings clear.”

“You made it clear that you're afraid to face that ghost. You were just as interested as I was last night.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Are you going to double-dog dare me next?”

His eyes glittered with hard enjoyment. “Maybe.”

He closed the gap between them again, but she was too stubborn to heed the warning bell urging her to retreat.

Like hell she'd back away from him. “We're a little too old for schoolyard games.”

“Agreed. I'm interested in playing adult games with you.” He loomed over her. “You're attracted to me, but it scares you.”

“I'm not afraid of you.”

“Your actions tell another story,” he fired back, relentless.

She drew herself up and planted herself firmly. “Not trusting myself isn't the same as being afraid of—” She snapped her mouth shut when she realized how exposing her words were.

“Trust takes time.” Nartan reached out and cupped her elbow. She would have wrenched away from him, but his hold was soft and nonthreatening. Undermining. Like it had been the night before. She had no defense against tenderness. Not even the desire to resist.

And it sent a shiver down her back.

“And courage.” His tone was deep and husky.

The ripple of sensation stunned her. Somehow, she hadn't realized how lonely she felt, how much she yearned for human contact. She hesitated, held spellbound for a moment, granting him enough time to smooth his hand around her elbow and along her lower arm before sliding his fingers along hers and releasing her. He tightened his fingers into a fist and forced it into his suit jacket pocket. He concealed his thoughts well, but she still saw the tiny signs of strain at the corners of his eyes.

He wanted to pull her toward him.

But he didn't, and that left her open to a new sensation, one she hadn't felt in a very long time.

Trust.

Just a hint of it really, but she rolled her lower lip and set her teeth into it as she contemplated the restraint he was employing.

“I shouldn't have stomped off the dance floor,” she offered softly.

He growled softly. “I didn't follow you out here for an apology.”

The sun had set and the wind suddenly gusted, raising goose bumps along her bare arms. “So why did you? It isn't like you'd find it hard to hook up with someone else.”

She shouldn't have asked, shouldn't have laid herself open so completely.

“Because I liked having you against me.”

She'd known he'd say that.

It was like a secret hope, one that sent a jolt of enjoyment through her, but slammed into the wall her fears had built.

“You liked being against me too.”

Hard certainty flickered in his eyes, driving that bolt of enjoyment into the wall a few more inches. She fingered the fabric of her skirt as she fought the urge to reach for him but at the same time, enthralled with the effect he had on her reservations. He was so tempting until she remembered that she wasn't ever doing a long-term relationship again.

“Sabra is my best friend too, so let's leave each other alone before things get tense.”

His eyes narrowed. “I don't get tense over relationships.”

She found herself recovering her poise. “There's my point. If I'd accused you of being the playboy type a moment ago, you'd just call me judgmental.”

He offered her a lazy shrug. “True.”

He reached out and captured her wrist. Before she finished deciding if she was going to let him keep hold of her, he'd stroked the delicate skin of her inner wrist with his thumb and sent a ripple of awareness across her skin that made her nipples pucker. “There's a charge between us.”

There sure was.

Playing
with
fire…

But it was intoxicating in a manner she'd never encountered before. She really questioned if she was tossing away a prime opportunity to get it dealt with. No strings attached, and a pistol like Nartan might be the perfect remedy for her trust issues.

“We're not going to connect.” She twisted her wrist and dropped it on the other side of his hand to break his grip and held a finger up to keep him back while she finished her thought. “Because I would be using you to cross a line item off my to-be-dealt-with list. I don't use people.”

His eyes narrowed as his lips thinned.

“Parts of me would really enjoy being used by you…but your point is valid.” He nodded and forced himself to step back a pace. “You should get some…therapy…”

She offered him a dry laugh. “I don't need therapy because I'm not interested in a fling with you. It's called maintaining the integrity of my soul.”

“You're interested and that scares you,” he countered ruthlessly. “That's why you need therapy. You're being a bitch now because I called it on the money.”

He saw too much. And she
was
being a bitch.

“I've had some. Court ordered, no less.” She felt like her emotions were draining her. “It was just another way Caspian was able to ensure I did what he wanted. Just another hold stuck in the fine print of our divorce papers. So public, but such a private little stab too. No freedom until I performed one final act of obedience.”

“What a prick.”

There was venom in his tone. It surprised her and nurtured the little spark of trust taking root inside her. He looked sincere, but she couldn't afford to let her budding feelings grow.

“Yeah, but it's over.”

She was shutting him out.

Nartan watched the way Celeste tightened her features and looked away from his face. He really didn't need to get involved. But leaving felt like quitting.

That was something he never did.

“It won't be over until you pull that weed out by the root,” he informed her. “That's how that ghost maintains its grip.”

She started to shake her head. “This isn't your concern.”

He stepped into her path when she tried to make a getaway.

“Or maybe I should have said, it won't be over until you find the courage to face your demons.”

Her eyes widened in surprise before her temper flickered in her eyes. “Like I said, neither of us needs the tension hooking up will create.”

“The way you blush when you look at me says differently.” He shrugged and watched the way her gaze lowered to his shoulders. “Am I the first man who's excited you since you left the prick? Or am I just the first one who's made it past your defense system?”

“You don't—” She bit back the lie, a hint of disgust surfacing in her expression. “My sex drive works just fine.”

He offered her a raised eyebrow. “You're good at it, the brush-off.”

“How would you know?” she questioned. “You don't look like a man who gets told ‘no' very often.”

He chuckled. “Thanks for noticing.”

“Can you even name the last five partners you had?” she asked.

Nartan locked gazes with her. “Now you're back to being a bitch to get me to shove off.”

“Maybe I am a bitch.”

He studied her for a long moment. “You aren't. I know my share of them.”

She drew in a deep breath. “My point exactly. But just in case you don't get it, I'm not interested in joining your list of friends with benefits. I know what it's like to be used, and I won't do it to someone else. Even if you're willing.”

Surprise flashed through him and unleashed a wave of need that shocked him with its intensity.

“Tell me you don't want to touch me and I'll walk away.”

She'd crossed her arms over her chest. She gripped her own bicep, her fingertips pressing into the skin. There was a flash of guilt in her eyes, a hint of fear over being unmasked, which sent a jolt of excitement through him.

“I want the same thing.”

“Yeah, I got that message when you pinched my butt,” she responded in a dry tone.

“I cupped it.” He withdrew his hand from his pocket and mimicked a little pat. “Only a boy thinks a girl likes to be pinched. I know how to touch a woman.”

Her face turned scarlet.

But the tip of her tongue appeared and swept across her lower lip. He stepped toward her and had to force himself to stop when her expression become guarded.

“Touch me, Celeste.”

She blinked. “Excuse me?”

He crooked his finger, beckoning her forward. “Come here and finish what we started last night…” He laid his hands on his chest for a moment. “Do what you felt the impulse to do, and don't let that prick keep you bottled up.”

“I told you, I'm not interested in doing anything about what I feel for you.” She shook her head. “Why would I? Your ideas are clearly different than mine when it comes to relationships. I'm a complication you don't want any more than I want to be disappointed in myself by how I treat you.”

“And still, I followed you out here.” Determination edged his words.

“All that proves is that you like getting what you want,” Celeste countered, doing her best to recall exactly why using him was something she wanted to avoid.

“You think I have to follow you to get it?” It wasn't really the tone of his voice, just the way his features sharpened with confidence. He knew his effect on women and enjoyed reaping the benefits.

“Thanks for confirming what I thought about you the first time we met.”

She went to step past him, but he moved into her path. “And what was that?”

“That you are very successful and accustomed to being in control.” She sighed and held up her hand when he started to speak. “It's nothing personal. I just don't go for the controlling type.”

His eyes had narrowed, but his lips lifted just a bit at the corners. “The hell you don't. That little puppy dog that tried his hand at impressing you on the dance floor didn't have a prayer, because you need someone who is going to impress you before you yield.”

“You sound like a caveman.”

He reached out and clasped her nape, curling his hand around the slender column of her neck and pressing with his fingers into those points of tension she seemed to always have. He gave her just a taste of his strength, enough to unleash a flood of heat before he released her.

He chuckled softly when she averted her gaze to keep him from seeing what she felt. “What's wrong? Don't know what to do when there's no way to divert your attention away from how I affect you?”

Exactly.

She was forced to admit there was a lot of truth in what he was saying.

“Nartan, this is just going to get messy.”

“You don't trust a confident man, but there is no way you'd surrender to one who wasn't confident.” His voice hardened. “Your ex is succeeding in getting you to build your own prison.”

Was
that
true?

She hated the fact that it might be.

He reached out again. Doing it slowly, testing her nerve. She felt the distance between them closing, everything slowing down as she became immersed in the sharp sensation of anticipation.

But she didn't pull back. She locked gazes with him. “You might be right.”

“And you don't like that?”

“No.” She stepped closer to him. “Let's see if it was moon madness last night.”