By Request Collection Part 3. Robyn Donald

the starkly sculpted face suddenly so close. A passing light played over him. Far from being coolly remote, heat ignited in Raul’s eyes. His expression sent adrenalin surging.

      His head lowered and his warm breath feathered her face.

      ‘Like this, you mean?’

       CHAPTER FOUR

      RAUL’S mouth claimed Luisa’s, pressing, demanding, till on a gasp her lips parted and he took possession.

      Too late he realised his mistake.

      The spark of indignation and guilt that had urged him to silence her grievances flared higher. Hotter. Brighter. He tasted her and heat shimmered, molten in his blood. He delved into her sweet, lush mouth and discovered something unexpected.

      Something unique.

      He slanted his mouth, demanding better access. Needing more. A ripple of stunned pleasure reverberated through him. He’d suspected almost from the start that there was something unique about Luisa. But this …!

      His tongue slicked across hers, laved and slid and explored and there it was again.

      An excitement, an anticipation he hadn’t felt since he was a green boy.

      Still it persisted. The feeling this was different.

      He tugged her satisfyingly close between his wide-planted legs. His other hand slid up into the thick silken mass of bright hair that had caught his eye as he’d walked into the salon this afternoon. He’d wanted to touch it ever since.

      It felt even better than it looked, soft as seduction.

      The fire dropped to his belly, kindling like a coiling Catherine wheel that jetted sparks in all directions.

      Tension screwed unbearably tight as her hand fluttered at his throat, a barely there touch that weakened his knees. When she slid both arms over his shoulders to clasp his neck a great shudder rocked him.

      How could a kiss ravage his senses?

      Trying to staunch the feeling that he spun out of control, Raul moved his lips to the corner of her mouth but she turned her head. Instead of an almost chaste caress, he found himself transfixed as her lips opened beneath his. Her body pressed close and her tongue slipped into his mouth in a move that he’d have called tentative if it hadn’t sent every blood cell in his body rushing south.

      Her kiss was slow and deliberate. Unbelievably provocative as she treated him to a devastating sensual exploration that almost blew the top off his head. Shivers of delight coursed through him.

      Once or twice she hesitated as if unsure how to proceed. But the feel of her tongue mating with his in slow, lush pleasure soon obliterated such crazy notions.

      Raul slid a hand under her long coat, over the tight curve of her bottom. His splayed fingers dragged her close, where that flicker of heat was now a blazing furnace. He tilted his pelvis and felt her welcoming feminine softness. Lust shot through him.

      He swallowed her gasp, returning her kiss with growing fervour. Every nerve was sharp and aware, as if it had been an age since he’d held a woman.

      Luisa tasted like sunshine, felt warm and soft and luscious like a summer peach.

      Heat spiked in his groin and a hard weight surged there. The audacious notion rose that here, now, they should let passion take its inevitable course. He’d never felt such an unravelling of control.

      Dimly he registered astonishment as desire blasted him. He met her kisses hungrily, her soft little whimper of pleasure driving him on even as he tried to slow down.

      Luisa, with her sweet sensuality and her delicious hesitation, piqued an appetite jaded by over-eager women.

      Brightness spilled over them, a wash of cold sanity.

      Raul blinked in the light from an overhead bridge. He raised his head but his hands were still on her, their lower bodies welded together, even as they passed a group of sightseers peering down at the Seine.

      Even now hunger gripped him.

      Hell!

      What was he doing, giving free rein to passion in public? It was unheard of! Raul kept his sex life scrupulously private after the nightmare scandal eight years ago. He’d worked tirelessly since to shore up his people’s belief in and respect for the monarchy.

      Yet he couldn’t drag his eyes from Luisa, couldn’t force himself to step away.

      Her lips were parted. Her dark eyelashes fanned, concealing her eyes. She looked wantonly inviting and the heat in his groin intensified. His hold tightened.

      Could this be the same woman he’d once thought unfeminine? She was beautiful.

      Yet more was at work here than a no-expenses-spared makeover. Even if the result surpassed his expectations.

      He met lovely women all the time. But none made him feel like this.

      The women in his life were easy company, a pleasure to look at. They satisfied his need for sex. He treated them well and they were eager to please. Simple. Uncomplicated.

      Yet with Luisa he didn’t merely respond to a pretty woman. Her fire, her determination, her strength made her unique. He felt as well as desired.

      She stirred against him and a bolt of erotic energy speared him.

      No! He imagined things. This desire was so intense because he’d allowed her to provoke anger.

      He avoided dwelling on the fact that in itself was unusual. He’d learnt years before to channel all his energies into his work. Emotion had led him to the brink of disaster. The eventual fallout of that error had destroyed his family and threatened the state. Now he knew better. He controlled his world. Never again would he be a hostage to sentiment.

      Luisa’s eyes flickered open and a jewel-bright stare skewered him. His heart thudded out of kilter as his rationalisations crumbled.

      Abruptly he released her and stepped away.

      What had she done?

      Heat blasted Luisa and she swayed, legs wobbling, as unfamiliar sensations cascaded through her.

      She couldn’t—surely she couldn’t have kissed the man who’d blackmailed her into doing his bidding?

      Surely she hadn’t … enjoyed it?

      Cool air chilled her face and crept in the open front of her jacket. Yet she burned up, her cheeks fiery. Heat seared through her stomach and down to the terrible hollow throb between her legs.

      Inwardly she cringed. So much for defiance. And for self-respect. What had happened to the reserve that had kept her impervious to the masculine sex for so long? The wariness borne of disillusionment and hurt?

      Raul had hauled her into his embrace, kissed her and her brain had shorted. She’d gone from indignation to helpless need, craving each demanding caress.

      How could she have responded to a man she surely hated?

      And to have revealed her inexperience to him! No way could her shaming enthusiasm have made up for her lack of expertise. He knew now just how naïve she was. How he must be smirking. The country bumpkin, easy to twist around his little finger. Show her a taste of what she’d never had and she’d be eating out of his hand.

      Sickening echoes of the past filled her brain. Hadn’t she learned? How could she be susceptible again? Self-disgust was bitter on her tongue.

      Reluctantly she opened her eyes.

      Instantly he moved away, his brows drawing down in a ferocious scowl as if he couldn’t believe he’d touched her.

      Pain speared her. No doubt she didn’t measure up to his exacting royal standards. Déjà vu