There wasn’t satisfaction on his face. Nor the smug arrogance she’d expected because he’d got what he wanted. Got it so easily. If anything, he seemed as breathless, as speechless as she. But that was impossible.
Breathing hard, she broke free of those invisible bonds and stepped back. She didn’t want him to know how deeply that had affected her. She’d spent so many years hiding by staying silent. For once, she was going to have to speak up to cover up. She was going to have to pretend.
‘I’ve changed my mind.’ She expelled a shaky breath. ‘I don’t need your key code. I’ve come to consider the bunker a safe haven. I’ll happily stay down here.’
A smile spread across his face and that arrogance gleamed. ‘You were that moved, huh?’ He nodded. ‘So now you’re too scared to have dinner with me.’ He lifted his hands from the bench and shook them. ‘Has that one kiss made you too frightened of what else you might find yourself wanting to do?’
That was so accurate she wanted to hit him.
He stepped forward. ‘Do you really think you’d be safer now, stuck in here with me? In this teeny, tiny space?’
‘It’s not that tiny,’ she said, desperately defending her position, and decided to appeal to his humanity. ‘And I really think you’re not the animal you make yourself out to be. You’re not that desperate for anything.’
‘No?’ He half laughed. ‘I’m glad you’re so certain. Because I’m not. And now I can’t escape the sight or scent of you? Now I’ve had a taste?’
He stalked towards her, but at the final moment, when she was bracing for impact, he swerved and stepped past her—pulling off the move she’d planned but failed to perform.
And the sudden sense of loss? Of disappointment? In that second she hated her own body—the chemicals and hormones that had been so thoroughly turned on. She watched him viciously prod a discreet panel in the study area of the living space. Only a second later she heard a hissing sound and the clang of some mechanism.
‘The door’s open, Merle.’ Ash glanced at her. ‘I suggest you return to the real world.’
CHAPTER FIVE
THE PROBLEM WAS that the ‘real world’ was no different. Above ground, breathing fresh air, forcing physical distance, Ash still wanted her more than he’d wanted any woman ever. He rolled his shoulders, unable to release the tension that had been building since the second he’d first seen her. Tension that was now unbearable after he’d touched her. What had begun as the most chaste kiss of his life had ended as the most unforgettable. How was it possible that he’d been left aching with such desperation? It wasn’t like anything he’d experienced before. It was no lie that he’d needed to get them out of there as fast as possible.
When she’d professed her desire to stay locked down there? He’d had to move before he took her up on it.
Ordinarily, most kisses didn’t end like that. Not so suddenly. Not with his lover walking away. Ordinarily, most kisses ended with all clothes off and multiple orgasms on. Not with Merle Jordan though. Of course it couldn’t be ordinary with her.
She was so tantalising. He’d never been as careful, absurdly terrified that he’d scare her off somehow. But then he’d lost track of any planned seduction. His mind had hazed. All that had remained was sensation in that sweet, scorching moment when he’d had his mouth on hers. Then she’d put her hands on him.
There’d always been a clinical element to Ash’s conquests. A decision to accept the offer of some mindless, emotionless physical relief and pleasure. This was different. This was a visceral ache in his core. Desire he couldn’t deny. Every other time it had been easy enough to walk away. Now he couldn’t. It wasn’t because he was trapped here. For all his hedonism, all his copious enjoyment of easy pleasure, he’d never been so fixated. Now he feared he was on the edge. That he’d do almost anything to have Merle Jordan in his bed was a frankly alarming feeling.
And there’d been inexperience in her kiss. Ash didn’t fool around with women who didn’t know the score. Not since he’d broken a young woman’s heart a decade ago. He didn’t like to think of Rose but her visage flickered in his mind. Of course it did—his treatment of Rose had been the reason for his mother’s anger here, that afternoon when his whole world had been turned upside down.
He slammed the door on those recollections. Things were very different now. While Merle’s initial shyness had reminded him of Rose, she’d shown herself to be very different just beneath the surface. Merle wasn’t some sweet-sixteen, never-been-kissed, awkward girl. She was an adult—fully capable of handling this attraction and of standing up to him more devastatingly than most people he’d met. He knew she wanted nothing more than to put him properly in his place. And when she let her tongue off the leash? When she was provoked enough not to hold back?
He wanted that too. Because he wanted her. But, given the inexperience that he intuitively sensed, he needed her to come to him. He needed her to be more than sure. He needed her to be in charge. Instead, she’d vanished back into that study.
He paced through to the kitchen, grumpily fixing on the perfect displacement activity. He was no great cook but he also wasn’t afraid to source expert help when necessary. Seeing those little puddings of hers last night had made his mouth water, so he’d been deliberate in the groceries he’d ordered for delivery from one of the local delis this morning. He’d tempt every one of her tastebuds until she could do nothing
