Free Beauty and the Greek by Kim Lawrence Page B

her breath.
    â€˜If they criticised your skin, they are fools,’ he pronounced, rubbing the pad of his thumb along her jaw. ‘It is perfect and flawless like silk.’ His lifted his hand and pushed his long fingers in her hair, an expression that had all the hallmarks of compulsion sliding into his eyes as his fingertips grazed her scalp.
    Beth flinched and pulled back, shocked clear of the creeping paralysis that had nailed her to the spot by theshock of the electric surge that tingled along her nerve endings.
    â€˜Nothing I say will convince you that you look fantastic, will it?’ His questioning gaze swept across her flushed upturned features.
    She shook her head and watched the annoyance and frustration flash in his eyes. Breathing fast and uncomfortably conscious of the heat low in her belly, Beth ran her tongue across her lips, unwittingly drawing his attention to the soft curve.
    Unable to explain the physical effect he had on her, she lifted her chin and took a casual step backwards.
    Foiling her attempt to regain some personal space, he shadowed her action and then took another step, standing way too close. She couldn’t think; she couldn’t breathe.
    â€˜I thought not.’ His thumb skimmed lightly over the curve of her cheek before he slid his fingers down the pale column of her neck; he could feel the vibration of the pulse at the base of her throat through his fingertips.
    His touch was light. There was nothing stopping her just stepping away, but she didn’t; the powerful aura of raw sexuality he radiated froze her to the spot. She had never been physically aware of a man the way she was of Theo.
    The seething intensity in his stare made her shiver. His dark sensual gaze sealed to her face, he curved a hand across her behind and pulled her into his body. Beth lifted her hands to push him away but somehow they stayed where they were against his chest. Palms flat, she spread her fingers, conscious as she did so of the hard solidity of his chest, the heat of his skin and the vibration of his strong beating heart.
    Her own heart was acting like a captured bird throwing itself against her ribcage.
    The corners of his sensual mouth tugged upwards in asmile that spelt danger as Theo reached his other hand to cup the back of her head.
    She swallowed past the emotional thickness aching in her throat and opened her mouth a split second before Theo covered it with his own.
    Shock held her immobile.
    Eyes wide, she stood there while his lips settled against her own, then, as his tongue slid between her parted lips, her eyes drifted shut. Without knowing how it happened, she was kissing him back, her arms curved around his neck as her feet left the floor. Above the roaring in her ears she heard a soft fractured moan but did not associate it with herself.
    When he released her Beth took a staggering step backwards, batting away the steadying hand he extended as she wiped a hand across her trembling mouth. The seductive mixture of passion and dazed shock in her glazed eyes made Theo want to kiss her again.
    â€˜Was that actually necessary?’ she asked, even as she asked herself how she had come to be kissing him back. He wasn’t Andreas; she didn’t even like him.
    â€˜I think so,’ he responded calmly. ‘Do you believe me now that you look incredible?’
    She blinked. ‘You kissed me to—’ It was an explanation, but not one that explained the raw driving need she had glimpsed in his face.
    â€˜I kissed you because you weren’t listening.’ It did not seem necessary to add that he had wanted to kiss her, that the idea of doing so had been growing all day until it had become a constant distraction.
    It had been a two birds with one stone situation—satisfy his curiosity and remove the distraction.
    In theory, at least.
    â€˜The only thing you proved is that you know how to kiss, though, frankly, given your press, I was expecting