Lee looked away, suffocated by this kind of proximity to a man who was off limits to her for more reasons than his engagement to Sophie.
Before long he’d treated them both to a feast of warm brioches, ham, hard-boiled eggs, fresh fruit, yogurt-literally anything she wanted. Despite the heavy tension in the room, food had never tasted so good. She ate everything.
His eyes glittered over the rim of his coffee cup as he watched her munch on a banana for dessert. No doubt about it. He was fattening her up for something that could put her friendship with Sophie in grave jeopardy.
Lee struggled to find interest in anything other than him. But it was impossible not to take the occasional glance. In a navy turtleneck, his coloring and rugged features made a devastating impact on her senses. If her heart would just behave long enough to let her see this through and get on the train, away from him…
“Another roll?”
She shook her head. “I couldn’t. Thank you anyway.”
“Then I suggest we go in the other room.” After wiping his mouth with a napkin, he got to his feet and came around to help her.
“Sh-shouldn’t we put things away first?” she stammered as she started to get up from the chair. The action inadvertently brought her cheek against his. When she jerked away from the contact, she lost her balance.
His quick reflexes saved her from falling, but in the process his strong arms went around her, bringing their faces within centimeters of each other. She never heard the answer to her question.
Suddenly their mouths and bodies were gravitating toward each other, seeming to possess a will all their own.
“Raoul-” She moaned his name, helpless to stop her response as he coaxed her lips apart and then began kissing her with a shocking hunger that matched her own. Long, drugging kisses that couldn’t possibly be viewed as tentative or accidental.
Deep inside she’d been wanting this, and could no more call back her desire than she could stop breathing.
“Lee…I’ve needed to taste you like this since the first moment I saw you,” he confessed on a groan before before reclaiming her lips.
Lost in sensual ecstasy, she gave herself up to Raoul, never wanting him to stop. As time passed, their kisses grew more passionate. Her craving for him was becoming insatiable.
Forgetting where it could lead, she clung to him, wanting fulfillment from this man more than she’d ever wanted anything in her life.
It wasn’t until she felt her back against the kitchen wall that she remembered this was Sophie’s betrothed who was kissing her into oblivion.
In eight weeks her best friend would be the woman who had the right to get tangled in his arms, delirious with longing.
In panic, Lee wrenched her mouth from his. “We can’t do this!”
“We already are.” His breath sounded ragged. “It’s the reason you’re here with me. Don’t be afraid to admit it.” He covered her face with kisses before burying his lips in her silvery-gold curls.
“I admit Sophie sent me here on a mission,” she whispered in anguish. “If you’ll let me go, I’ll swear I’ll tell you everything.”
He eased away from her. The moment she was free, she ran out of the kitchen. He followed at a slower pace.
Now they stood in the living room facing each other like adversaries. Those incredible eyes had narrowed until she couldn’t see the blue. He lounged against the built-in bookcase. It didn’t seem possible that a minute ago they’d been so enthralled with each other they’d forgotten the world for a little while.
“Any time now you can begin telling me about this mission of yours.”
It was maddening to her that he could sound so in control when she was a writhing mass of emotions.
She realized that what she was about to do would sever her relationship with Sophie for good. But she’d reached the point of no return. So had Raoul.
“The Princess doesn’t want to marry you,” Lee confessed in a quiet voice. She didn’t dare tell him about Luciano. Sophie would have to do that herself when the time came.
He stared at her for an endless moment, yet his enigmatic expression gave away nothing of his thoughts.
“Why couldn’t she have told me that herself instead of deputizing you to speak for her?”
Lee needed support and found the nearest chair. Her heart had started to run away with her and wouldn’t slow down.
“She sent me to Zermatt for the express purpose of getting you to come on to me.”
At those words Raoul moved closer. “For what end?”
“S-so I could report back to her parents that not only were you unfaithful during your engagement, you didn’t care if the woman in question was Sophie’s best friend. She counted on my testimony to carry weight with her parents so they’d call off the wedding.”
Lines darkened his striking features. “It appears your loyalty to the Princess knows no bounds.”
“This time it went too far. I’m deeply ashamed.”
“You shouldn’t be,” he mused ironically. “Sophie knew exactly what she was doing when she sent you. I congratulate you on a very convincing performance. Incredible to think that what went on in the kitchen was playacting from start to finish.”
Nervousness caused Lee to clasp and unclasp her hands. “I admit I got carried away in there. You’re the first man I’ve been with s-since my fiancé was killed three years ago.” She averted her eyes. “It felt good to be in a man’s arms again. Obviously I’m more vulnerable than I realized.”
Please God, let that be the truth. Otherwise I’m in over my head.
“Not so vulnerable that you didn’t stop us in time,” he said in a thick-toned voice. “I’m afraid if it had been left up to me we’d have graduated to the bedroom and wouldn’t have surfaced until Roger demanded entrance.”
Flame scorched her cheeks. He shouldn’t have said that. It had started up a familiar ache that would never go away now.
“Raoul-” She tossed her head back to look at him. “Whether you believe me or not, I would never have gone to Sophie’s parents to tell them anything.”
His penetrating eyes searched her features, as if looking for something elusive. “Then why bother with any of it?”
“Because I didn’t know I would back out of this impossible charade until…after,” came her lame explanation.
Something flickered in the depths of his eyes. “After what?” he persisted.
Don’t ask me anymore.
She took a deep breath. “After you opened the car door and discovered that Philippe had brought me from the station instead of Sophie. I knew then it wasn’t going to work.”
“I must confess you came as a surprise.”
“Yes, well, the whole idea was ludicrous. Sophie should never have asked me to do it, and I should have had the courage to tell her no.”
“Why didn’t you?” he asked in a husky tone.
With adrenaline surging through her body, Lee couldn’t remain seated. What she had to tell him was hard to talk about, but it was probably the only way he would understand her bond with Sophie.
“My father was a colonel in the Army. When I turned seventeen, he was assigned to the Middle East. Mother and I left Jackson to join him. Unfortunately there were no good schools for me there, so they investigated other avenues. Someone recommended Beau Lac and the arrangements were made. Sophie and I hit it off from the first day and grew close, like sisters.”
She paused to catch her breath. “Three years ago Mom and Dad were living in the Middle East. I’d just been to visit them and my fiancé, who was also in the military. He happened to be my dad’s driver. Sophie had come to Beau Lac to welcome me back. We were in the salon when a military man arrived to inform me that my parents and fiancé had been killed in a terrorist raid.”