A Madaris Bride for Christmas. Brenda Jackson

And he smelled good, as if he’d just showered.

      “Won’t you come in,” she said, stepping aside.

      She watched him walk through the open doorway, thinking the snug jeans fit him too well. He was definitely an amazing specimen of a man.

      “I’m sure you want to start cooking, so I’ll take you to the kitchen,” she said.

      His gaze gripped hers like a tight fist. “You think that’s what I want to do right off the bat?”

      Her thoughts scattered. She could feel herself losing control. Her stomach stirred with lust. She’d never been this sexually drawn to a man before.

      “Yes, that’s what I would assume since you offered to prepare dinner.” She wished she wasn’t so fully aware of him.

      “If you’ll recall, the reason I offered to prepare dinner was because I wanted to see you again. I wanted to get to know you and for you to get to know me,” he said smoothly. “Since you’re so distrustful of my motives, I suggest that you get to know me first.”

      “Is that important to you?”

      Did he feel the same magnetic pull that she felt? It made breathing difficult and plagued her with the inability to break eye contact with him.

      “Yes. There’s a reason it’s important,” he said in a deep, husky voice.

      “Is there, Lee?”

      His gaze raked over her seductively before he surprised her by wrapping his arms around her waist.

      “We’ll talk about the reason later. You look nice today.”

      Heat streamed through her body the moment he touched her. “Thank you. You look nice as well. How was your trip?”

      “We’ll talk about my trip later too.”

      That was when he kissed her, taking her mouth with a hunger that she enjoyed to an extreme that couldn’t be good for her. But she figured she would worry about that later. Right now all she wanted was to indulge.

      Never had her mouth been devoured with such voracious need. Her mouth felt ravaged, raided with an urgency that had her moaning. He could stoke a fire within her so effortlessly. Was it because she’d gone without passion for so long? Passion with Nathaniel had never been like this, where her breasts ached and the area between her legs throbbed.

      He shifted, intentionally sliding his jean-clad leg against her. She felt his heat through the material of her dress. She felt something else as well. His erection strained against his zipper, pressing into her and creating a slow burn at the juncture of her thighs.

      Lee finally broke off the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers. Their breaths mingled. She closed her eyes briefly and when she reopened them he was staring at her. He kissed her lips again gently, before dropping his hands from her waist and taking a step back.

      Drawing in a deep breath, he licked his lips, as if savoring her taste. Smiling at her, he said, “I needed that.”

      Carly’s heart pounded deep in her chest. She hadn’t expected the kiss. It left her senses spinning. What she refused to admit was that she’d needed that as well.

      He glanced around. “Nice place.”

      “Thanks.”

      “Now,” he said softly, his smile widening. “You can take me to your kitchen.”

      * * *

      Sitting at her breakfast bar, Carly watched Lee’s ease and confidence as he moved around her kitchen. Once she’d told him where everything was located, she’d left him alone. She hadn’t wanted him to feel she was scrutinizing his every move, so she had gone outside in the backyard for a while.

      When she’d returned, he had invited her to keep him company. She had slid onto the barstool and he’d poured a glass of wine for her and one for himself before going back to the task of preparing dinner.

      She had yet to ask what was on the menu. From the groceries delivered yesterday, she had a pretty good idea of what they’d be eating. Lee had asked her what she liked and now he was preparing it. That was thoughtful of him. She had to admit that he’d been pretty thoughtful since the first night they’d met, which made her wonder...

      “If you have a question just ask me.”

      Was he a mind reader? “What makes you think I have a question?”

      He smiled. “The way your forehead bunches up. I noticed that about you.”

      Had he? “Well, there is something that has me puzzled.”

      “What is it?”

      She took a sip of her wine. “Why isn’t there a steady woman in your life? Why aren’t you taken?”

      His chuckle was low and throaty. “Should I be?”

      Most men who look like you usually are. “I’d think so.”

      He paused in the midst of chopping the tails off the shrimps. “I could ask you the same thing. Why aren’t you taken?”

      She shrugged. “I have my reasons.”

      “Share them with me.”

      “I asked you first.”

      Lee chuckled again. “So you did.”

      He put the knife aside, leaned against the island and leisurely sipped his wine, as if giving a lot of thought to what she’d asked. “One of the main reasons is because I’ve been too busy for an involvement,” he said finally.

      “We were barely getting the Grand MD Dubai erected when the opportunity came to build here. It was a miracle that Mitch Farrell got that land on the Strip. And when he approached me and Angelo about building another hotel before the first one was completed, we jumped at the chance, even though we knew doing both would be tough.”

      She rested her hands under her chin. “So your busy schedule is just one of the reasons you aren’t involved with anyone. What’s another?”

      He looked down into his glass of wine. When he lifted his head his expression was serious. “I’ve never met a woman that I wanted to spend a lot of my time with...whether I was busy or not. In other words, Carly, there has never been a woman I craved. Until you.”

      She wished his words didn’t send a surge of desire rippling through her. “Crave?”

      “Yes, crave. You know how you get a taste of something, and you aren’t satisfied until you get some more? That’s how it is with me when it comes to you. I taste you, and I want to taste you again. I lust after you. Yearn for you. Ache for you.”

      Carly stared at him, not believing he would admit such things. She said nothing as he put his wineglass aside and picked up the knife to finish the shrimp.

      He moved around her kitchen, checking on the pasta and the bread baking in the oven. Her gaze traveled over him, appreciating the way the fabric clung to his masculine thighs. He had removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, displaying a powerful chest, great abs and wide shoulders. He radiated sensuality that drew her in like a magnet, powerless to resist.

      He placed the shrimp in the colander and walked over to the sink to rinse them off. Glancing over his shoulder at her, he said, “You never said why you’re unattached.”

      “I didn’t?”

      “No.”

      She shrugged. “Let’s leave that discussion for another day, okay?”

      He held her gaze, nodded and then said, “Okay. We’ll table it, but there will be another day, Carly.”

      Carly had no reason to doubt him.