Spiraling Deception (6 page)

“
That’s a shame and I
agree. The Bordeaux region of France is very beautiful. Exquisitely
beautiful, as are you.” His words were spoken in a soft and sincere
tone and they instantly washed away most of my previous
irritation.

“
I’m just a little
disappointed that I’m only here for a day because this chateau is
beyond magical and the grounds surrounding it are so picturesque.
It’s like a fairytale come to life. It must be very hard for you to
leave here,” I stated, my voice equally as sincere. And I meant
every word. Heck, if I owned this place, I would never leave—it was
just that magical.

His eyes softened at my words and those damn
flutters roused in my belly once more.

“
I agree, it is very hard
to leave when I visit here but unfortunately my business is
predominantly based in New York. I’m afraid that doesn’t allow me
to travel as much as I’d like to. So this is your first time to
Europe?”

“
Yes, first time abroad,
actually. I’ve traveled extensively throughout the States with the
troupe over the years but never abroad.”

Wow. I couldn’t believe we were actually
talking like two mature adults and I had to admit it was…nice. The
deep, soothing sound of his voice did curious things to my senses
and I found myself wanting to talk to him more. My gaze wandered to
Courtney, who openly stared at me with a crazy grin on her face and
then flickered to Jake, who looked between Roman and me, silently
assessing us. As was Uncle Mike, who I glanced at next.

Had I said something incredibly stupid that
made them all lapse into a cone of silence?

I shrugged. “This trip is the first time to
Europe for all of us.”

Absently, I wondered how old Roman was.
Clearly he was older than me—maybe early thirties, at a guess.

“
Charli, Jake, and I are
heading to Paris for two days tomorrow by train before we fly home
on Tuesday morning,” chimed Courtney. “It’s been a dream of mine
and Charli’s to visit Paris ever since we were little girls.” Her
face became all dreamy. “I can’t wait to see the most romantic city
in the world.”

“
What a coincidence.”
Roman turned his attention back to me. A glint of calculation
sparked behind those intense midnight-blue eyes of his. “I’m
heading to Paris tomorrow morning myself for business. Instead of
the train, why don’t the three of you accompany me in my corporate
plane?”

Hell no!

No, no, no.

I couldn’t possibly spend any more time in
the company of this man—he was confusing, and confronting, and too
beguiling.

“
Thank you. That’s really
kind of you but we already have our train tickets—”

Courtney cut me off with a squeal of
delight. “Ohmigod! That would be amazing. Thank you. Thank
you!”

I squinted at Courtney, wished I could
throttle her right there and then, and asserted my voice in a more
firm tone. “No. We couldn’t impose like that.”

“
What do you mean we
couldn’t impose?” Courtney snapped at me and frowned.

She started to give me the stink eye when
Roman inserted, “Nonsense. It’s settled. You’ll all fly with me to
Paris in the morning. Besides, the trip by plane will be far
quicker than the train, giving you more time in Paris. Two days is
barely enough time to see the major attractions as it is.”

Those intense dark eyes of his fixed
steadily on mine, as if silently daring me to challenge him. I bit
my tongue to stop myself from saying something unpleasant.

“
It’s okay with me.” Jake
shrugged and Courtney squealed in delight.

With a heavy sigh of defeat, I said, “Fine.
Thank you. That’s very kind of you, Mr. Knight.”

“
Roman,” he corrected, his
features smug with a combination of amusement and
triumph.

The jerk!

Chapter Four

Uncle Mike had stood by silently throughout
the whole exchange and with a clearing of his throat, said his
goodnights, gave both Court and me a kiss on the cheek, a firm pat
to Jake’s back, and lastly he shook Roman’s hand, before he
disappeared across the room.

“
I think that’s our cue to
leave, too, babe,” Jake murmured to Courtney as he tucked her close
into his side. “Let’s call it a night.”

“
Yeah, I’m really beat,”
she agreed. With a quick peck on the cheek from both of them, they,
too, disappeared and left me alone with Roman Knight.

“
Excuse me,” I said to
Roman, placing my empty wine glass on the tray of a passing waiter.
“I think I’ll head up to my room too. It’s been a long
day.”

I extended my hand cordially to him. “Good
night, Mr. Knight, and, umm, I guess I’ll see you in the morning.
Thank you again for your hospitality.”

He ignored my hand and held out his arm.
“Roman. Please call me Roman, Charlotte, and I’ll walk you up.”

What? No!

Panic bubbled up like
boiled water.
“No, that’s okay,” I quickly
said. My voice rose higher than its normal level. “I know the way.
Please—please stay. Enjoy your guests.”

Roman thwarted my escape once again by
placing one of his large hands on my forearm and bent so his lips
were nary a hairsbreadth from my ear. “I’m walking you up to your
room whether you’d like me to or not.”

Patronizing as well as arrogant…oh yeah, the
guy’s list of misdemeanors grew by the second.

Shit!
The room was still full of people and sometime during our
huddle, several people had moved closer to our little nook of the
room. I could either make a scene, embarrassing myself in the
process, or I could just let him walk me up two flights of
stairs.

“
I guess I haven’t a
choice,” I mumbled as I pulled my arm from his touch and started to
walk. Huh! Let him follow me if he wants, but I wasn’t waiting
around any longer.

Roman caught up to me with two large
steps—damn those long legs of his—and lightly placed his hand at
the small of my back. Once again, his palm was in direct contact
with the skin of my lower back and I shivered from the contact. The
searing heat from his touch spread out along my body, and made a
beeline toward my vagina.

Once we cleared the ballroom and reached the
foyer where the huge mahogany staircase led up to the first,
second, and third floors of the chateau, I stopped abruptly. His
hand dropped away as I whirled to face him.

“
Who the hell do you think
you are?” I hissed, barely containing the anger in my voice. I
mean, enough was enough already! He was messing with my
head—
one second, he was arrogant, and then
next all suave and charming with my family and then lightning
quick—he was back to being a big old jerk again!

“
Did you forget my name so
soon, Charlotte? You wound me,” he teased, unperturbed by my anger.
Amusement sparkled in his eyes, which only served to further piss
me off.

I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes at him.
“Pfft…please. I doubt they’ve invented a weapon big enough that
could wound your colossal ego. And you know good and well what I’m
talking about.”

“
Alright. Let me skip
straight to the point then.” The teasing tone from his voice
completely vanished. His features sobered as his eyes flared with
determination and I instantly regretted provoking him.

“
You’re the most
enchantingly beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. The way you
danced out there earlier tonight—pure poetry. It was nothing short
of magnificent and off that stage, you’re even more breathtakingly
beautiful in person. I find you both intriguing and challenging,
Charlotte. And something to know about me, Princess—I live for a
challenge.”

Hmm…okay, maybe as far as compliments go—the
first part was a doozy but I will be damned if I’ll be any man’s
challenge.

Before I could open my mouth to respond,
Roman continued. “Every man in that room tonight had a fucking
hard-on at the thought of having all this…” He paused and caught a
stray lock of my hair between his fingers; his gaze followed his
movements. My body shivered uncontrollably.

“
All of this,” he
murmured, “wrapped around their hand while they fucked your
beautiful brains out.”

And the jerk was back!

Scoffing, I gathered my hair to the side and
out of his reach. “First of all, not every man out there tonight
has their mind in the gutter like you apparently do.”

With a chuckle, he interrupted me before I
could continue with my second point. “I’m a man, Charlotte, and I
assure you, I know exactly what every man in that room was thinking
as they watched you perform. But that’s beside the point.”

“
So what is your point?” I
spat, all pretense of politeness between us gone.

How could I possibly be so attracted to
someone who was both brazenly aggressive and vulgarly repulsive at
the same time? I needed my head examined.

He leaned into me again and closed the
distance between us. The heat from his body radiated out toward
mine and his tone softened to an almost whisper. “I’d like to spend
some time with you. For us to get better acquainted.”

My hands fisted on my hips. “In other words,
you want to fuck me.”

“
Yes.” He replied
instantly and totally unapologetically.

The implication caused my body to stiffen
but the urge to taunt him became too irresistible to deny. “Does
this kind of approach usually work for you, Mr. Knight? Because
I’ve got to say—I’m not impressed in the least. What makes you
think I’m even attracted to you?”

His answering short burst of laughter
coupled with the arrogant smirk made my hand itch to slap him. “I’d
say you’re more than a little attracted to me, Princess. You stood
there beside me tonight and allowed me to touch you without
complaint. And those big baby blues of yours have been eye-fucking
me all night. You want me just as much as I want you.”

My mouth hit the
floor.
Was this asshole for
real?

“
Well, let me enlighten
you, Mr. Knight. I’m not attracted to you in the least, nor am I
interested in sleeping with you either. Not. In. A. Million. Years!
Not if you were the only man left standing alive on this planet
after a nuclear explosion, and held the sole key to an underground
bunker that stocked the only edible food and drinkable water in
existence. In other words—I’d rather die than sleep with you,
asshole!”

Straightening, I squared my shoulders and
took a calming breath. “Now, if you will excuse me.”

“
Not so fast.” Both of his
hands shot out and smacked flat against the wall on either side of
my head, effectively caging me. I gasped and my heart rate spiked
to an alarming rate. His incredibly tall, broad body took one
forward step and forced me back against the cold surface of the
stone wall. He was so close that I could feel the fabric of his
suit brush lightly against the lace of my dress. The previous heat
of his body became a scorching inferno.

“
Let go of me,” I
whispered hoarsely. My pulse continued to race and I began to pant
as a dizzying swirl of emotions assaulted my senses: anger, fear,
frustration, arousal, and burning lust.

“
I’ll let you go in a
minute, Princess, but first…allow me to test this theory of
yours.”

Before I could even process the words he’d
spoken, his mouth slammed over mine; his tongue slid across the
seam of my lips and pried them apart. My brain screamed in protest
but my body eagerly capitulated to his demand and my lips parted,
allowing him entrance. His tongue wasted no time as it thrust into
my mouth: tasting, exploring, and sweeping away all coherent
thoughts I had. His hands dropped from the wall on either side of
my head to wrap around my waist and roughly hauled me against his
body. Vaguely, I registered one of his hands slide up the bare skin
of my back and trail a path of goose bumps in their wake. His palm
reached the base of my neck, where his fingers dove into my scalp
and angled my head to the side to deepen the kiss. And I was lost.
Lost in the kiss, lost in the heat of his body and the musky scent
of his aftershave.

My hands involuntarily threaded through the
dark, silky locks of his hair and held him to me just as tightly as
he held me. Our tongues dueled in a frenzied dance of dominance,
unabashedly fighting each other for control. He tasted of hot spicy
wine and cool refreshing mint—the combination both unique and
invigorating.

Melting further into his body, I brazenly
moaned and sought more of his intoxicating taste. His other hand
glided slowly down over the exposed skin of my lower back and
finally stopped to cup my ass in his palm. I panicked as the carnal
sensations from the feel of his fingers digging into the soft flesh
of my bottom overwhelmed me and reeled back from his embrace. My
breath came out in shallow pants as I struggled to clear the haze
of desire from my head.

“
Not only do you want that
key, Princess, but I think you’d follow me willingly down into that
bunker and it would have absolutely nothing to do with food and
water.”

Roman’s voice was low and husky, his own
breath ragged; those damn indigo eyes of his were lazy and half
masked but there was no mistaking the egotistical smirk spread
smugly across his lips.

The fucking jerk!

“
You’re a jerk!” I hissed,
and then ducked under his arm, out from his reach. With those lame
parting words, I ran like lightning up the staircase, down the long
winding hallway and straight into my
French-seventeenth-century-chateau fairytale bedroom, slamming the
door with a resounding thump and locking it.